Foundation Course

Pathway to Fellowship: Module 1

Our Foundation course is perfect for anyone who is curious about the anatomy and function of these areas and
would like to discover more about the five principles of osteopathy as developed by William G Sutherland.
Enjoy the high quality tutoring for which the SCCO is renowned in a student to tutor ratio of 4:1. This enables
individual tuition and guidance as you learn to palpate and interpret what you feel. Each day includes a balance
of theory and practical sessions, with regular breaks, to facilitate learning and minimise fatigue. There will be
time for discussion about how you might apply this new perspective to patients you see everyday in practice.
A pre-course home-study package is provided in order to maximise time for practicals and learning.
Course Content
Each topic is followed by a practical session, to gradually develop your confidence in centering and monitoring
throughout the course.
 Introduction to Sutherland’s five principles
 Basic overview of embryology and why it is relevant to this work.
 Anatomy and function of the reciprocal tension membrane
 Bony anatomy of cranial base and vault, and review of landmarks of the cranium
 Sacrum and pelvis
 The fluid body
 Basic anatomy of the face, landmarks.
Further Study
For further study, join our flagship 5-day course, 

Take a look!
Plan Your Own Course
The 2 day foundation course can be arranged on dates and at a location to suit you. There is a minimum
requirement of four students. So if you can gather a minimum of 4 osteopathic colleagues or friends, we will
provide you with a tutor to teach you the introductory course at your own practice or a mutually convenient
location .
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.
Eligibility: Open to any qualified osteopath
Location: Various
Price: £275 (non-residential)
Duration: 2 days
CPD: 16 hours
Frequency: Throughout the year
Leader: Various

Osteopathy In The Cranial Field

Pathway to Fellowship: Module 2

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.
Eligibility: Module 1 or prior cranial training
Location: Columbia Hotel, LONDON
Price: from £990
Duration: 5 days
CPD: 40 hours
Frequency: Spring & Autumn
Leader: Taj Deoora / Dianna Harvey

3. Osteopathic Medicine
My object is to make the Osteopath a philosopher and place him on the rock of reason. Then I will not
have to worry of writing details of how to treat any organ of the human body, because he is qualified
to the degree of knowing what has produced variations of all kinds in form and motion
A. T.  Still – Osteopathy, Research and Practice
Dr Still’s vision of osteopathy was as a complete system of medicine and he treated everything from acute
infections to chronic illness. This included musculoskeletal problems as well as internal conditions affecting
organs.
Over the last 140 years osteopathy has gradually lost much of this holistic approach to treatment and now
focuses mainly on musculoskeletal disorders.
This course takes us back to our osteopathic roots as taught by A T Still, and reviews the osteopathic legacy of
Still, Sutherland, Littlejohn and others.
This course does not cover extensive pathologies but helps us to discover how we can effectively apply the
philosophy and principles of osteopathic treatment in conditions affecting our internal health.
A variety of treatment approaches for each organ system are explored as well as how our internal landscape is
part of and relates to our musculoskeletal system. This course will extend both your knowledge base as well as
your palpation. As we already know, a good knowledge of anatomy linked with accurate palpation is the key to
diagnosis and treatment.
This course is truly holistic and will broaden and inspire your approach to clinical practice.
Course Content
 Osteopathic philosophy and principles.
 The organ systems of the body
 The circulatory (vascular and lymphatic) system
 Communication networks in the body
 Nutritional
 Role of Spinal Mechanics
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.
COURSE BASICS
 Eligibility: Completion of Module 2
Location: Hawkwood, STROUD
Price: £1100 (non-res) £1350 (res)
Duration: 4 days
CPD: 32 hours
Frequency: Every 2 years
Leader: Jeremy Gilbey

Balanced Ligamentous Tension

Pathway to Fellowship: Module 4

This course is the perfect bridge between so-called ‘structural’ and ‘cranial’ osteopathy and offers a unique
opportunity to fine-tune your palpatory and therapeutic skills in a supportive environment.
The diagnostic and treatment principle explored here was learned by William Sutherland under the hands of AT
Still when he was a student. In his words “Dr Still has taken my hand into his and allowed me to feel the lesion
as it exaggerated and then as the ligaments pulled the bones back into place”. WG Sutherland, in turn, taught
Anne Wales DO who passed it on to members of our faculty.
We will explore, often with astonishment, what WG Sutherland meant by “Using the powers within the patient’s
body”, applying the therapeutic principle of balanced tension in every part of the body.  We will explore how we
may use the skeleton as a ‘handle’ to enhance the spatial and circulatory environment of the vital organs, and
how the lymphatics may be enlivened through moving the fascia.
Many osteopaths have found that their cranial palpation improves after taking this course as does their
confidence, effectiveness and enjoyment in practice. It was working in this way with the joints of the body that
led WG Sutherland develop and apply the same principle on a much finer scale working with the membranous
articular mechanism of the cranium.
This approach is rooted in the origins of osteopathy, and may provide a foundation for the participant to extend
the boundaries of what he or she believed was possible through osteopathy.
Eligibility: Open to any qualified osteopath
Location: Hawkwood, STROUD
Price: £1165 (non-res) £1400 (res)
Duration: 4¼ days
CPD: 36 hours
Frequency: Yearly
Leader: Susan Turner

In Reciprocal Tension
In Reciprocal Tension
Pathway to Fellowship: Module 5

This course will help you to develop your palpatory awareness of the connective tissue throughout the whole
body, discover the secrets of the body’s structural tensegrity and explore how this can influence the treatment of
your patients.
William Garner Sutherland advised us to “treat the spaces not the structures.” This course explores how to shift
perspective to the spaces he described and how they are contained and connected via reciprocal tension
throughout the body.
We will explore how to access awareness of these spaces through practical, palpation and sensory exercises
throughout the course.
Lectures on the course present the latest research in the function of fascia, embryological development of the
meninges and the extracellular matrix as an intelligent organ and relate these findings to insights prophesied by
AT Still and WG Sutherland.
By the end of the course you will have a greater understanding of how the body organizes itself in response to
the different forces, stresses and strains it encounters. This will help you gain insight how osteopathic treatment
can engage with the intelligent connective tissue matrix in your patients.
Course Content
 Introduction to the concept of Reciprocal Tension
 Reciprocal tension systems in the body as a whole
 Anatomy and clinical importance of the meninges
 The venous sinuses
 Embryology of the dura
 Physiology of fascia
 Reciprocal tension in the endocrine system
 Tensegrity
 Reciprocal tension and the 5 phenomena
Eligibility: Completion of Module 2
Location: Hawkwood, STROUD
Price: £895 (non-res) £995 (res)
Duration: 3 days
CPD: 24 hours
Frequency: Every 2 years
Leader: Pamela Vaill Carter

Living, Breathing Bone

Living, Breathing Bone
Pathway to Fellowship: Module 6

Everyday in practice we encounter patients who have suffered physical trauma in many forms and at different
stages of their life and development. With highly developed palpatory skills, osteopaths have a unique insight
into the effects of trauma.
In this module, we explore the effects of trauma with respect to the wonders of bone, sutures and joints
throughout the body from their morphogenetic origins to their crystalline nature, from the macro-scale of
biotensegrity in the pelvis to the quantum coherence of the specialised connective tissue itself.
Current research into the physiology of bone is examined and we discuss how this knowledge informs
traditional osteopathic concepts laid down by the pioneers of our profession. The way bones function as
‘springs’ and how they dissipate forces within the connective tissue system is explored, enabling us to palpate
clearly when trauma has disrupted this function. The role of the femur within the pelvis is considered to give an
even more effective way of approaching low back and pelvic problems in clinic.
The biodynamics of the embryological metabolic fields in which the different types of bone are formed will be
considered. There will be detailed study of each of the bones of the basicranium, their applied anatomy,
relationships and clinical relevance. The different journey of each bone to their fully ossified form reveals and
aids our understanding of the different qualities we feel in the structures under our hands. A study of growth and
development of the cranium in the first ten years of life is essential knowledge for the treatment of children and
also to understand the effects of past childhood trauma in adults.
Using these fluid models we study a range of techniques, including some intraoral releases, which have been
handed down through osteopathic generations. When considered as specialized connective tissues with the
similar dynamic, fluid, metabolic and communication properties as fascia, bones come alive under our hands.
Patterns of the cranial base, how they are reflected throughout the body via the connective tissue network and
how we can use this understanding of patterns in clinical practice will be discussed.
As W.G.Sutherland said:
“What are bones but a different form of fluid?”
This course is full of applied principles and clinical relevance.
Eligibility: Completion of Module 2
 Location: Hawkwood, STROUD
Price: £895 (non-res) £995 (res)
Duration: 3 days
CPD: 24 hours
Frequency: Every 2 years
Leader: Jane Easty

Recorded during lockdown.

Living, Breathing Bone [M6] Course Director, Jane Easty, discusses with Pamela Vaill Carter what you can
expect when you come to a Module 6 course.
Jane Easty, Course Director of Module 6: Living, Breathing Bone…
Module 6 is about “the wonder of bone and how its formation explains its structure.” It is full of clinically
relevant material, backed by current research. Jane is particularly interested in the energetics of bone and its
metabolic as well as its structural role, as part of the wider connective tissue system of the body.

Spark In The Motor

Spark In The Motor
Pathway to Fellowship: Module 7

We shall study Sutherland’s fluid management approaches in detail and increase our knowledge and
understanding of two of his five phenomena: the motility of the CNS and the fluctuation of the CSF.
The focus will be on refining our understanding of the integrated role of the CNS and CSF with the bodywide
fluid function of the IVM and its relationship to health. We shall improve our factual knowledge, develop
enhanced ‘centreing’ skills, and clarify our understanding of ‘stillness’ and ‘potency’ both in relation to the
practitioner and the living processes within our patients. This will improve our palpatory, diagnostic and
treatment skills, not only relating to these areas but to whole body function.
What can you do for your patient when the expression of involuntary motion is poor, or the tissue vitality so low
that general health issues, systemic, traumatic and neurological problems, as well as ordinary musculo-skeletal
dysfunctions do not respond easily?
Rollin Becker said that ‘sick tissues don’t make good corrections’. For these patients the use of cooperative fluid
management approaches such as ‘fluid drives’, CV4, EV4, or lateral fluctuation to improve tissue vitality can be
a very effective treatment approach.
What did Sutherland mean when he used descriptive language to describe his palpatory experiences, such as
‘directing the tide’, ‘spark in the motor’, ‘liquid light’, or ‘the fluid within the fluid’? This course will balance
the study of Sutherland’s teachings on CNS and CSF with exciting modern research that develops our
understanding of the structure and physiology in these areas, and informs clinical osteopathic practice.

Eligibility: Completion of Module 2

Location: Hawkwood, STROUD
Price: £895 (non-res) £995 (res)
Duration: 3 days
CPD: 24 hours
Frequency: Every 2 years
Leader: Tajinder Deoora

The Functional Face

The Functional Face
Pathway to Fellowship: Module 8

On this 3-day course we will explore the exquisite workings and development of the facial mechanism,
becoming wholly familiar with it by handling the ‘jigsaw’ of the facial bones and palpation of the living
anatomy.
We will consider the relevance of healthy function of the facial mechanism to some frequently encountered
problems in the physiology of the eyes, sinuses, speech, facial pain, dental occlusion and TMJ dysfunction.
With individual tutorial support, this course offers a logical osteopathic approach and effective practical
procedures which have proved to many to be indispensible in practice.
Course Content
 Embryology of the face
 Bony anatomy of the face
 The eye, orbit and relation to the sphenoid and face, including clinical relevance.
 How does the face adapt to patterns of motion in the neurocranium, and how this influences occlusion.
 Anatomy and physiology of the nasal sinuses.
 The anatomy and function of the mandible and TMJ and how to treat it.
 The ear and the relationship of the eustachian tube to temporal and sphenoid bones.
 The mouth, anatomy and function including sucking, swallowing, speech.
 Common mal-occlusion problems will be discussed in an osteopathic context
Eligibility: Completion of Module 2
Location: Hawkwood, STROUD
Price: £895 (non-res) £995 (res)
Duration: 3 days
CPD: 24 hours
Frequency: Every 2 years
Leader: Susan Turner

The First Year Of Life

The First Year Of Life
Pathway to Fellowship: Module 9 (formerly: Introduction to Paediatrics)

We all started life in utero, have been born and had a childhood. This experience along with our genetic
programming makes us who we are. The events of this crucial period prime our body for adulthood and also
shape our anatomy and functional body on many levels.
To understand the journey of childhood allows us as osteopaths to understand how the adult body has
developed. It is hugely exciting to be able to use this knowledge to help a baby and child to grow in such a way
that their own unique body can function to its full potential and minimise problems in later life.
For example when you know that the occiput is in 4 parts at birth and that the condyles on the occiput each are
in two parts you can begin to understand how a long and difficult labour can lead to strains within the occipital
condyle joints that lead the baby to be very uncomfortable. If this area does not re-mould successfully the
repercussions may be felt even into adulthood. This course allows you to identify with the child’s unique
anatomy and teaches the techniques that work to improve the function to allow healthy development. Childhood
is a time of mighty dynamic change that we need to understand and harness within our work as osteopaths.
Sutherland said: “as the twig is bent so the tree doth incline“. We need the knowledge to change the twigs so the
body grows in a good functional form. You can only do this when you understand the development process and
how it can be knocked off course.
Paediatrics is a huge subject but three days gives us the chance to study embryology, the effects of birth on the
infant form and the changes and development in the first year of life. It is a spring board for the more detailed
study on our Diploma course in paediatrics.
Please note that you will be required to have a current DBS certificate (or equivalent from the country in
which you reside and practice) a copy of which must be supplied to the SCCO office prior to the start date of
your course.

Eligibility: Completion of Module 2

Location: Hawkwood, STROUD
Price: £1100 (non-res) £1350 (res)
Duration: 4 days
 CPD: 32 hours
Frequency: Yearly
Leader: Hilary Percival

Integrating Cranial Into Practice

Integrating Cranial Into Practice
Pathway to Fellowship: Module 10

Have you been excited by Cranial Osteopathy? Maybe you’ve been on a course and then returned to your
practice and wondered how to use your new skills? Perhaps you’ve been asked to explain the different approach
you’re using by a patient or questioned how to write up the treatment you’ve given in the case notes?
If you’re answering yes to any of the above this one-day course could be just what you’re looking for.
Integrating and Communicating is designed for Osteopaths just like you.
Over the course of the day, in a relaxed, collegiate atmosphere we aim to help address the questions above and
others that you might like to bring.
This day will help you to develop the language skills and approach to clinical cases that will directly help you to
write your assignments.Practical work will be included.
‘Integrating Cranial into Practice’ will be a Pathway requirement for anyone joining the Pathway from
September 2013, but will not be compulsory for anyone already registered on the old SCC Pathway before
September 2013.
Topics covered include:
 Diagnostic skills
o How can I practice becoming more confident in the information I’m picking up?
o How might I use my new diagnostic skills clinically?
o How might they inform my treatment and prognosis?
o How might I need to modify my case history taking?
o Do I need to change my examination routine?
 Communication
o How do I explain what I’m doing to patients?
o How do I write up my case notes?
o How do I write letters to other professionals?
o How do I communicate with other Osteopaths?
o How do I translate information for myself?
 Integration
o How do I start to use Involuntary Motion in my practice?
o When do I use IVM as opposed to other treatment approaches?
o My practice principle is uncertain of my new approach. How do I reassure them?
o Do I have to use IVM exclusively?
o What happens on those days when I can’t feel anything?
Eligibility: Completion of Module 2
Location: Crista Galli or UCO, LONDON
Price: £165 (non-res)
Duration: 1 day
CPD: 8 hours
Frequency: Yearly
Leader: Jeremy Gilbey

Module 9
If you have completed the Osteopathic Centre for Children Diploma or MSc training, then
you are exempt from Module 9 Introduction to Paediatrics.