Many of your patients may present with a zero-second brain cycle. Their brain is not expanding or contracting well, or “breathing” like the lungs. This essay can help you explain this phenomenon to your patients.
I found out pretty quickly on what NOT to say. In 2003 I joined the staff at The Family Hope Center, a clinic for brain-injured children. My first family was from Germany, and sure enough, their child had a zero-second brain cycle.
I am not sure how I explained a zero-second brain cycle, but they heard that their child would soon be brain-dead and become a vegetable. I was very quickly called into my bosses’ office—on the carpet. Instead of firing me on my first day of work, he told me that I had to figure out what to tell parents without alarming them. I did.
A good first word to use is “pressure.” "There is a lot of pressure in your child’s head." This does not alarm parents, but tells them something is not right.
The second word I like to use is “tension.” "There is a lot of tension in your child's neck." They are still not alarmed, but now understand what can possibly be the problem.
The third word I use is “tight.” "Your child’s body is tight." Parents may agree and say that no healthcare professional has said their child was tight.
The tightness concept leads into discussing the child’s corrective therapy: looseness. "I am going to do massage techniques to help loosen your child’s body. A calmer and more relaxed body can function better.” Massage connotes relaxation—a good word to use.
Notice that I have not talked about the craniosacral or fascial concepts. For some people this may be a little over the top on the first visit.
They may also say, “Can you fix my child?” I reply, “No, but I will help loosen his body so that he can heal himself. Hopefully, his issues will then begin to fade away."
This approach is just my way. You need to discover what works for you.
