IABT Standards

IABT schools include a minimum of 700 hours of learning in their foundation trainings, over a period of 20 months or more. These 700 hours include at least 320 hours of supervised classroom learning, 150 home practice sessions and 10 hours of personal treatment experience of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. The remaining 220 hours can be taken up by home study and a written final project.

• How to manifest practitioner skills of stillness, resonance, presence and contact.

• How to palpate and recognize Primary Respiration, a subtle, multi-layered, polyrhythmic movement in the body and its surrounding field.

• How to recognize and work biodynamically with the effects of Primary Respiration and the effects of life experience in fluids and tissues, including adults and infants.

• How to facilitate and support biodynamic healing processes including

  • Dynamic Stillness

  • The Holistic Shift

  • The Inherent Treatment Plan

  • Ignition

  • Embryological Forces

  • Becker’s Three-Stage Process

• How to work with nervous system states including shock and trauma.

• Within these general topic areas, each IABT school has autonomy to develop its own

  • Areas of special focus

  • Educational philosophy

  • Methods for assessing progress

  • Additional topics

  • Adminstrative practices

The International Affiliation of Biodynamic Trainings supports quality. IABT uses a decentralized model to cultivate quality, relying on the member schools to create and maintain effective and safe learning environments.

This section describes the basic principles by which IABT programs are operated.

Principle 1: Administrative policies IABT schools have published management and financial policies including admission policies, summary of costs and payment terms, refund policies, complaint procedures, and policies for termination. A signed Enrollment Agreement is used before any class begins, to document the mutual understanding between student and school. Student records are kept in a secure and confidential location and in an orderly manner. IABT schools agree to operate each training within local legal requirements.

Principle 2: Course content The actual curriculum for any program is the responsibility of the school, not IABT. IABT schools are generally oriented to the IABT Course Guidelines and the literature in the field as the basis for course content. Some schools have placed descriptive materials in the Resources section of this web site; check back occasionally for additional materials or updates in the Resources section. Schools are expected to develop written or audio-visual course materials for their students. Schools are expected to develop methods for determining graduate competency, including feedback opportunities, tests and other methods.

Principle 3: Peer consultation IABT schools will have formal relationships with at least one other IABT school for the purpose of consulting on administrative practices and course content. Consultation between schools is a primary method for developing sound practices and advancing the nature of the work. The name of the consulting school is available to the students.

Principle 4: Code of Professional Conduct IABT schools are dedicated to high standards of Professional conduct. Each school has a formal written code, derived from its status within its regulatory framework (usually a state agency). IABT schools and their employees adhere to each school’s Code of Professional Ethics in all respects. Students are taught to be ethical and responsible with their clients and with each other. IABT also has a Code of Professional Conduct which member schools agree to be complaint with ( see Code for Professional Conduct ).

Principle 5: Emphasis on experiential learning IABT schools maximize contact between students and teachers and teaching assistants. Programs endeavor to have qualified teaching teams with a student/teacher ratio of 5:1 or less. Each training seminar on IABT affiliated trainings should be led by a primary teacher. Primary teachers have prior experience of assisting/tutoring on at least three full foundation trainings, as well as least five years’ clinical practice in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. Schools are responsible for qualifying, training and managing their own faculty and support staff.

IABT is not a practitioner organization, and it does not have standard practitioner regulations that are uniform for all schools and graduates. Each school exists within its own regulatory system, such as a state or national agency, and professional conduct is ultimately regulated by these offices. Each school also teaches about biodynamic craniosacral therapy in its own way, with variations in areas of emphasis including professional conduct.

To become BCST, a student must give 150 practice sessions, and this is often done incrementally during the course as a way to develop skills taught in each module. During this learning period, students may not yet be subject to a particular regulatory system.

IABT schools have adopted a Code of Professional Conduct and this document is readily available for their students, to guide conduct during the practice session period and subsequently. Member schools agree to be compliant with IABT's Code of Professional Conduct. In the case that a member school's conduct is not compatible with IABT Standards and Professional Code, and such matters present an existential threat to the group and its reputation, member schools reserve the right to organize a review and discuss the member school's compatibility with IABT and reach majority consensus ( 50% agreement ) towards necessary steps.

You can find IABT's Code for Professional Conduct here:

IABT schools are committed to teaching about a high standard of professionalism, as represented by the attached Code of Professional Conduct. The code adopted by a member school may vary with each school, reflecting local areas of emphasis.

IABT does not regulate practitioners. Complaints generally are handled locally, via the school or the relevant regulatory office. However, IABT member schools reserve the right to organize an internal peer review of another member school if there is documented evidence of misconduct that is not compatible with IABT Standards/ Professional Conduct/ Ethos, which presents an existential and reputational threat to the group.

School owners and their staff and faculty intend to provide support for students and practitioners in the resolution of complaints of any kind.

Student Complaints

If a student feels that he or she has been treated unfairly in any way, the school should be contacted and notified of the problem. IABT schools each have individual defined and published complaint procedures; these involve the possibility of the school acquiring a mediation service from the school’s peer associate as described in the Standards for Education. Mediation through the peer associate is non-binding and only consultative. Schools are also subject to the regulations of the relevant state or national authorities, such as Dept. of Education. The school can provide contact information for these agencies, if the mediation process is unsatisfactory.

Client Complaints

The IABT does not get involved in client complaints against practitioners. IABT does not register practitioners or supervise their activity.

Practitioners are generally subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which they operate. The office that regulates professional conduct varies in different locations, and the pathway for complaint processing also depends on the nature of the complaint. For further information about options, clients may consult an attorney, the local law enforcement office, or the office that supervises health care practices.