BCST Training Details and Syllabus

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy - Class Overview

Our foundation training begins with three introductory 4-day modules approximately every other month. These classes can be taken a la carte and are designed to provide an opportunity for the students and staff to determine if the training is a good fit for each student. You must attend each of these classes. These days will include detailed information about how the content can be put into use. They will be held 9:30 am - 4:30 pm with a one-hour lunch break.

Once we complete module 3 we will determine who has been admitted into the full training program. At this point no new students will be accepted to the full foundation training.

Beginning in Module 4, through till Module 11 we will have classes online on intermittent Mondays, slowly teaching the didactic content for each subsequent module. We provide a very high teacher-to-student ratio to ensure all students get the attention they need as they progress through the training.

Finally, the Saturday and Sunday preceding modules 4-10, we will host a supervised student clinic session from 3:00pm - 7:00pm. This student clinic is held to model and reinforce the practicum. Clinics will be led by instructors during 2023 and in 2024 the clinics are student lead.

TRAINING STRUCTURE

270 hours in-person class - This is a carefully layered presentation of material and supervised practice of BCST skills given over 11 seminars of 4 days each (5days for graduation week).

32 hours in supervised clinic - 4 hours of clinical practice prior to each class after module 3.

75 hours online class - Working online allows both for greater schedule flexibility for students as well as allowing the information to be slowly offered so that it is more digestible. The practice of this work from a distance is also very helpful in supporting the students to cultivate their skills of perception.

150 hours home practicum – Between seminars students, practice skills learned with people other than classmates. These are unpaid sessions and the clients are informed that the practitioner is in training. These sessions are written up and turned in to the teaching team for review.

150 hours home study – Reading of texts in the fields of BCST, cranial osteopathy, trauma resolution, anatomy and pre- and perinatal development. Drawing and modeling of anatomical structures will be practiced.

20 hours independent projects– Cranial Nerve project : for the project students work to understand the 12 cranial nerves, their location in the body, the symptoms caused when they are impinged upon and how to identify when they are involved. This independant project is presented at graduation.

20 hours - Case Study- A Case Study is begun approximately half way through the training. Each student records the progress of their case study client and writes a written report on the study as well as doing a verbal presentation in module 11.

Additionally, each student will keep a case study on one of their practice clients over the course of the training.

10 hours – Sessions received – Receive 10 sessions from an RCST practitioner, one before each module.

Final exam – This is an open book exam given between seminar 9-10 which will be graded and returned by module 11.

PREREQUISITES

Prospective students must attend the Biodynamic Principles for Professionals Program to assess if the staff, teaching style and daily pace are a good fit. This also allows the staff to get a sense of the prospective students.

Pre-training session: Before the training, students must receive at least 1 session from an RCST® (certified practitioner of BCST.) Our teaching staff are all RCST®’s and offer discounted rates to prospective students.

Minimal Anatomy Understanding: Most applicants have a basic understanding of anatomical reference points that health practitioners already have a familiarity with from health care practices and other courses in their curriculum. All other cases may be approved upon discussion and equivalences. Review classes will be offered prior to the first module to cover this material.

Interview: An interview with Mimi Iklé-Khalsa will be necessary either in person or on Zoom for those that are not local, prior to registration

PAYMENT

You have the option to pay $400 a month over 24 months with 2 skipped payments. The diploma will be given after payments are finished.
Otherwise, plan to bring a check made out to Heartwaves Healing Institute for $800 to each module. Please write the module number in the memo line.

HHI 2023/2024 BCST Full Foundation Course Dates

In person classes are 9:30am to 4:30pm

Online classes are Monday and Friday, 10:00am to 1:00pm

Modules 4-11 have clinic hours between 3:00 - 7:00 pm the Saturday or Sunday prior to class

2023 Class Calendar

Module 1: Safety, Sensing & Sentience

In person: March 6-9

Module 2: Presence, Pacing & Patterns

In person: April 24-27

Module 3: Fulcrums, Fields & Fluids

In person: June 5-8

Online in between class: Mon. July 17

Module 4: Stillness, Strains & States of Balance

In person: August 28-31

Module 5: Vault Bones, Base Bones & Pelvic Bones

Online Prep Mondays 10am-1pm

Sept 11, Sept 25 & Oct 9

In person: October 16-19

Module 6: Architecture, Assessment & Ancillary Patterns