Bowen therapy: an innovative modality that completes our holistic practice - Letters to the Editor

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  July, 2003  

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Editor:

Bodywork has traditionally been a cornerstone of any complete holistic practice in naturopathy, offering patients assistance with relaxation, immediate improvements in injury-induced pain and diminished mobility, and sometimes even restructuring of the body's energy dynamics. In our clinic, all patients receive bodywork treatments with every visit in addition to their homeopathic, herbal and nutritional prescriptions.

When we began assessing the myriad forms of bodywork and massage that are available in an effort to choose which would best serve our patients, we were truly astounded at the breadth of modalities that are offered. For a small clinic or sole practitioner, hiring well-seasoned massage therapists with many modalities in their repertoire may not be an option. Thus, it is quite a task to choose just one or two that will offer the practitioner the greatest scope of applications and the patient the greatest therapeutic benefits. When we discovered Bowen Therapy, we found the answer to this quandary.

The benefits of Bowen Therapy include its wide application to many specific injuries and medical conditions, its holistic design which causes it to act as a catalyst to the body's natural healing mechanisms, the relative ease of acquiring mastery of the technique, and that it can be administered through clothing. Also, the amount of time one touches the patient is very minimal allowing for less stress on the therapist and the ability to treat up to three patients at a time. Research has validated many of the claims that patients and practitioners have been extolling. There are virtually no situations where Bowen therapy would be contraindicated as it is safe for patients of all ages, including infants.

The technique was designed to be holistic in the sense that it does not focus on a single issue or specific presentation of pain or dysfunction. Rather, it is designed to treat the whole body by restoring balance primarily through the autonomic nervous system, and allowing the body to engage its own healing in optimal fashion. In this way it is a form of "homeopathic touch" where the body is given information and the practitioner waits for the body to respond. (Baker.) The practitioner does not rely on diagnoses, but instead facilitates the body to restore its own balance and health.

Milton Albrecht, director of Bowen Therapy International states that this basic principle of Bowen Therapy can be achieved as the body adjusts itself with a very minimal amount of manipulation. Also, experienced practitioners can adapt the treatment as they assess the degree and character of the body's response.

According to Peter Kassner, NMD of Alabama, who has trained in craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, NMT, and many other modalities, Bowen Therapy is his most valuable bodywork tool. He finds it most useful for conditions of chronic and severe pain. "Bowen gives the results of highly technical modalities that require years of training and practice."

The History of Bowen Therapy

Bowen is unique. It is not a derivative of other therapies, and bears little resemblance to other body work modalities. It is noninvasive, soft-touch therapy that was developed by an Australian named Tom Bowen. Bowen started his career in bodywork by volunteering at football clubs in the 1950's. In 1959 he began a full-time practice and called himself an "osteopath." He called his therapy "soft tissue manipulation." He drew on his self-education in shiatsu, acupuncture and massage, but it appears that the core of his work is an original method that is a product of his many years of personal experience and extraordinary personal talent. At the height of his practice in the mid-1970's, he testified before an investigative hearing of the Australian government that he was treating as many as 280 patients each week. It is believed that Tom Bowen continuously refined and adapted his methods right up to his death in 1984.

The first Bowen seminar in the US was sponsored by Milton Albrecht in 1989. In 1997, Albrecht founded Bowen Therapy International, an organization dedicated to the promotion, practice, and instruction of the method. Albrecht, who is a highly experienced massage therapist, has developed beginning and advanced seminars that are a synthesis of Tom Bowen's work and his own personal experience using Bowen Therapy with over 50,000 clients.

For a relatively new therapy, Bowen has seen rapid acceptance with 1200 practitioners worldwide. It is more widely accepted in Australia and in Europe, where in Great Britain it is now used in hospitals (Baker.) Milton Albrecht sponsored the first Bowen technique seminar in the United States in 1989, and he later became the first instructor of the technique in this country.

The Basic Bowen Treatment

A "basic Bowen Treatment" takes about 30-40 minutes to administer. Patients are usually treated by lying on a table, although they may be seated in a chair if that is necessary The treatment begins with a series of precise manipulations of the major muscle groups, usually in sets of two or three "moves" with wait periods after each set. The "classic Bowen move" begins when the therapist pulls skin slack backwards away from the muscle, then applies appropriate pressure laterally, "challenging" the muscle for a few seconds. Then the muscle is abruptly released, creating a vibration much as one would pluck the string of a guitar.