A Brief History of the CSS

Ann Whittle, former Chair of the CSS, shares a little about the history and the beginnings of the Cranio Sacral Society.

In 1998, while living in Perth Scotland, John and Carol Page had been working for some years offering Upledger CranioSacral Therapy training across the UK. We owe much to John’s insight and energy that he realised that with the advent of Voluntary Self Regulation in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, it was vital that although our therapy originated and was based in the US, that we formed an association that allowed us to illustrate competence, standards and structure that would stand professional scrutiny in this country.

John and Carol had bought a wonderful building in the centre of Perth at 2, Marshall Place. They invited all of us who had completed CST 1 to the housewarming in the autumn of 1998.

It was a memorable day, and in the afternoon John laid out some ideas for moving forward towards forming an association which would protect the alumni and ratify competence and skill towards qualification. That qualification would be robust enough to be accepted within the UK, even though at examination level competence and skill would in the first place be awarded by Upledger Inc. in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Ann Carter, who had just helped the Aromatherapists to achieve a similar structure, was immediately co-opted to assist. Much work ensued and John Page and Ann Carter set up the Cranio Sacral Society, fully registered at Companies House, with the first AGM taking place in Preston on 8th April 1999.

It was a triumph of dedication and the highest form of love and passion for our sacred work. It meant that we were now on a level playing field with other UK-based therapies and could move forward to both protect our members and honour their skills.