BCST or “Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist” is a designation that is now available to IABT school foundation training graduates.
BCST is based on an academic model in which a school confers a degree as a one-time event acknowledging completion of a specific level of education. Graduates can apply that degree however they want, without further regulation. The concept is similar to attainment of an undergraduate degree such as BA; the status applies permanently and can be used in a wide range of professional applications. This approach reflects a growing trend in education for manual therapy vocations.
Features of the new approach include:
- BCST indicates completion of the 700-hour curriculum originally developed by Franklyn Sills and currently employed at IABT member schools. Quality assurance measures such as classroom and curriculum details, competency assessment and post-graduate activities including continuing education and supervision are established and implemented by the schools individually and their collective IABT Council of Schools, rather than from a central practitioner membership organization.
- IABT and the BCST designation have the active support of Franklyn Sills.
- The BCST is not exclusive and will not be trademarked. BCST does not imply legal right to practice. Legal considerations for right to practice vary widely in different locations and deserve every practitioner’s thorough study.
- The IABT is not a regulatory group or a practitioner membership organization; graduates will not have an annual IABT fee or renewal process.
- Each IABT school will develop its own support systems. The BCST status will not have an annual renewal fee. Fees may be associated with particular one-time voluntary services and activities.
- IABT schools have common foundational documents including Code of Ethics, Standards for Practice and procedures for handling complaints.
- BCST status is recognized and supported by all IABT schools. BCST can serve as a gateway to IABT events such as advanced post-graduate seminars, with full reciprocity between schools.
- IABT schools may offer an advanced level of recognition, ABP (Advanced Biodynamic Practitioner). This status will reflect an additional 300 hours of study and clinical experience. For further information, BCST practitioners may contact individual schools to learn about post-graduate offerings.
