COURSE BASICS | |
Location: | Columbia Hotel, LONDON/Hawkwood, STROUD |
Price: | from £990 |
Duration: | 5 days |
Leader: | Carl Surridge / Michael Harris |
Frequency: | Spring & Autumn |
Eligibility: | Module 1 or prior cranial training |
OPS & CPD OVERVIEW | |
Total CPD hours: | 40 hours |
A – Communication & patient partnership: | A3 |
B – Knowledge, skills & performance: | B1, B2, B4 |
C – Safety & quality in practice: | C1, C2, C3, C4 |
D- Professionalism: | D3 |
Hawkwood College accommodation
Please be aware that accommodation at Hawkwood will be in shared rooms (single sex). Some single rooms are available on a first-come-first-served basis and will carry a supplement. Requesting a single room is not a guarantee that one will be provided.

In this, the SCCO’s flagship course, we study and clinically apply the key hypotheses that comprise ‘Osteopathy in the Cranial Field’ as developed by W.G. Sutherland. Over the course of 50 years Dr. Sutherland developed key concepts, calling them the five phenomena, as a way of assessing and treating whole body function.
The course introduces each of these five phenomena along with treatment approaches that you can use immediately in practice. In addition, the course will present how contemporary scientific research has enhanced our understanding of the relevance of these five phenomena:
- The mobility of the cranial bones
- The reciprocal tension of the membranes
- The motility of the CNS
- The fluctuation of the CSF
- The involuntary motion of the sacrum between the ilia
This course will help you understand how treating the involuntary mechanism (IVM) can be applied to all, from paediatrics to geriatrics, and how to attain better outcomes of treatment. In the first half of the course you will learn to recognise the unique palpatory quality of the structures making up each of the five phenomena, and begin to understand how they relate to each other. The second half of the course moves into the area of diagnosis and treatment, including the fascia, face, ligamentous and intra-osseous problems. This course will teach you treatment approaches such as balanced membranous tension (BMT) and fluid management techniques that you will be able to use immediately in your practice.
The course consists of a well-balanced mixture of short lectures or workshops followed by practical sessions. You will work in small groups of 1 tutor to 4 students, giving you almost individual tuition in the practicals. Time is set aside at the end of each day for individual reflection and discussion with your tutor.
SCCO Course Providers: All SCCO courses are run by a resident Course Director, who is an Osteopath and a member of the SCCO Faculty. Pathway courses are delivered by SCCO Faculty and may be supported by guest speakers. Short courses are usually delivered by a visiting guest lecturer. SCCO Faculty members all hold recognised osteopathic qualifications but may not be GOSC registered osteopaths.
Recorded during lockdown.
Osteopathy in the Cranial Field [M2] Course Directors, Dianna Harvey and Taj Deoora, discuss what you can expect when you come to a Module 2 course.
Dianna Harvey & Taj Deoora, Course Directors of Module 2: Osteopathy In The Cranial Field…
Module 2 is an opportunity to experience a learner-centred exploration of cranial work. The 1:4 Tutor:Student ratio gives students in depth feedback from models and from a different tutor every day.* Osteopathy in the cranial field is a different approach, treating the whole person and their life history, where we listen, we tune in to the tissues and work with them to support the body’s own self-healing mechanisms.
* If this is permitted by government COVID restrictions
If the video does not play, please click/tap the pop-out button (in the view pane) to watch.
“The course really exceeded my expectations, I was surprised by the clarity, quality and depth of the teaching and especially the space and supportive learning environment that was created by the faculty.”
– Module 2, September 2021
“An amazing learning experience that challenged me and helped me grow as both an osteopath and person!”
– Module 2, September 2021
“It was a fantastic course. A great balance between the theory (with lots of anatomy revision) and practice. I loved it!”
– Module 2, May 2021
“Really enjoyed the 1 to 4 ratio with our tutor and tutor group. I find it really helpful and brilliant that our tutor tailors the practicals according to our previous experiences with cranial treatments and made the course even more invaluable this way.”
– Module 2, May 2021
“Basically the course refreshed my enthusiasm for cranial osteopathy and gave me the impetus to revise my anatomy and really apply everything I’ve learned to my clinic practice. I’m so excited to get going… firstly by setting up a plan of action to go through my learning and create goals going forward (i.e. doing a different assessments and techniques every week or month). Thanks to the SCCO team.”
– Module 2, May 2021
“Our tutor was amazing. He didn’t just give us the answers, he helped us to find the answers ourselves. He also had some fantastic analogies which I found essential to picture things in my head.”
– Module 2, October 2020
No. | LEARNING OUTCOMES On completion of this course you should be able to: |
EVIDENCE OF LEARNING To achieve the learning outcome you must demonstrate the ability to: |
---|---|---|
1 | Immediately use treatment approaches in practice relating to the mobility of the cranial bones, the reciprocal tension of the membranes, the motility of the CNS, the fluctuation of the CSF and the involuntary motion of the sacrum between the ilia. | Select from a diverse range of osteopathic techniques relating to the five phenomena in a range of settings in order to attain better treatment outcomes. Critically defend decisions, backed by research-based evidence as appropriate |
2 | Evaluate and map complex and conflicting evidence encountered during the evaluation of one’s patient, working confidently and independently. Provide a reasoned treatment and management plan for a patient that is based on osteopathic evaluation of the individual and responsive to the patient’s needs, values and expectations. | Confidently and autonomously provide osteopathic care for a diverse range of patients that is underpinned by a range of cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills; Take full responsibility for managing all aspects of their care, centered on their needs as a person and your duty of care as a professional. |
3 | Communicate osteopathic evaluation and the proposed treatment and management plans to patients (and other stakeholders if appropriate) so that they are equipped to make informed decisions about their care. | Flexibly adapt communication skills to ensure patients and other stakeholders are appropriately informed about all aspects of their care. |
4 | Apply and reflect on a variety of specialised cranial approaches to osteopathic practice, informed by one’s learning experiences both taught and observed. | Competently provide effective osteopathic care using cranial techniques. Reflect on the impact of one’s experiences on development as an osteopath. |
Type of Learning | Learning Activity | NLH* |
---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning Hours | Lectures | 15 |
Practical classes | 15 | |
Workshops | 5 | |
Scheduled online activities | ||
Guided Learning | Directed reading & research | |
Reflective portfolio development | ||
Peer assisted learning | ||
Independent Learning | Unguided reading from defined reading list | |
Assessment preparation | ||
Tutor defined project / Dissertation activity | ||
Autonomous Learning | Reading from non-specific sources | |
Reflection on clinical experiences | 5 | |
Placement | Clinical observations | |
TOTAL | 40 |
* Notional Learning Hours
OPS Theme | OPS Mapping | ||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
Communication & Patient Partnership | √ | ||||
Knowledge, Skill & Performance | √ | √ | √ | ||
Safety & Quality in Practice | √ | √ | √ | √ | |
Professionalism | √ | ||||
CPD Standards | |||||
CPD activities are relevant to the full range of osteopathic practice | See above mapping exercise | √ | |||
Objective activities have contributed to practice | Peer review/Observation | √ | |||
Case-based discussion activity | √ | ||||
Seek to ensure that CPD activities benefit patients | Communication/Consent activity | √ | |||
Maintain CPD documentation | Certificate of attendance/Overview document provided to student | √ |