Still’s Concepts and Philosophy – a Diploma in Systemic, Visceral and Traditional Osteopathy

The full programme is below.

Read on for an opportunity to enhance your osteopathy training, and fill in all the missing gaps! The first practical is available as a standa lone course / taster – Kick start your learning and then top up to the Diploma in Module 2!

Module one / stand alone course to kick start your interest and learning: 5 DAY PRACTICAL IN PERSON EVENT, IN COLNE, TO EXPLORE OSTOEPATHIC ASSESSMENT FROM A STILLEAN PERSPECTIVE – learn how it is still relevant – even more so today as healthcare options shrink, and people misunderstand what is holistic – osteopathy is WHOLE-ISTIC and somatophysiological – come and restart your learning journey! 26-30 October, 2026 – Colne, Lancashire, £750 – counts towards your osteopathy diploma – so you can top up this stand alone to come on the Diploma and join the programme in module 2 (November).

Want come mini taster lectures?

Check out the sample lecture page!

The full Diploma – designed as a postgraduate programme

What the course covers

Physiological, biological and embodied osteopathic care – looking at the whole person, and an integrated complex systems approach for any musculoskeletal, sports, metabolic, respiratory, inflammatory or complex presentation (including multiple co-morbidities).  Whether you are interested in sports rehab, children, adults, back pain, or complex health problems this is the course for you where you learn what was originally intended as an soteopathic approach, reconceptualised in a modern evidence informed framework that supports a 21st century interpretation of Still’s original paradigm and vision.

Taking to 5 day intro?

If you take the 5 day event above, in October, you pick up you diploma in Module 2 / November – and your February practical is covered by the October event. The diploma price is adjusted to respect the fee already paid.

What is the timetable?

September to the following December.

Enrolment – in detail:

The programme starts in September, and monthly tutorials start in October, ending in the following December.  Modules are released monthly which contains your lectures, resources, quizzes and learning guides.  Allow around 2 evenings a week, or one weekend a month to cover the material for each module.

• there are 16 modules (including introductory and assessment modules) – starting in September – allow 1 evening a week for this overview and introductory module.
• October (module one)- to December (module 15) the following year – content is released covering the lifespan, in 12 modules.
• One hour tutorials (Q and A sessions) run in modules one through 15 – this is from the second month of the programme.  These are for your questions, and discussions of cases and technique approaches.
• Module 1 (October), 5 (February), Module 7 (April) and module 12 (September) contain intensive practical blocks and clinic / patient experience where available – currently run as an add-on (see below for details).
• Module 13 includes further evidence recap and critical appraisal of the osteopathic approach and programme content,
• Modules 14 and 15 include clinical summaries and assessment components.
• Assessment is the preparation and presentation of cases, a reflective learning outcomes portfolio, and a mini evidence review in a topic of your choosing.  These are due in module 15 / December at the end of the programme.  There are formative (unassessed mini quizzes each module, to help your learning progression).

Modular content

1. Introductory module – September – osteopathic philosophy and principles – reviewing tradition and systemic concepts for  assessing physiology and creating clinical osteopathic interpretation for modern clinical practice.
   • many programmes do not include a physiological and biological analysis through movement and structure, and this overview module gives you insight to Still’s traditional concepts, which are then explore through evidence throughout the programme.
2. Module One – October – 3D body organisation, body cavities, the hydrostatic skeleton.
   • THIS MODULE CONTAINS A COMPULSORY PRACTICAL BLOCK – its 5 days, reviewing osteopathic concepts and Stillean philosophy, plus 3D organisation and assessment, perception, and integrated osteopathic ‘seeing’.
3. Module Two – November -Organ deformation, organ pressures, transmural and solid / fluidic dynamics,  viscero-somatic interactions and function
4. Module Three December – Metabolism – visceral and MSK / fascial integration.  The autonomic and immune neural signalling relationships
5. Module Four – January – endocrine, fluidic, tissue perfusion dynamics – global feedback, homeostasis, entropy and thermoregulation
6. Module Five – February – visceral and vascular organisation, interstitial fluid / drainage’ venous, lymph and enclosed fluid systems.  Integration of microcirculation and cellular respiration.
   1. THIS MODULE INCLUDES A COMPULSORY PRACTICAL BLOCK, IN MARCH! – covering the preceding material as well and focuses on visceral and body cavity approaches
7. Module Six – March – pelvic function, gait / limn / pelvic integration, special case for the pelvic autonomics, pelvic floor dynamics overview.
8. Module Seven – April – stomatognathic function, special senses, communication and emotions, endocrine and immune dynamics of head, how heads work.
   1. THIS MODULE CONTAINS A COMPULSORY PRACTICAL BLOCK. This covers and introduction to the pelvic and stomatognathic / mediastinal hands on.
9. Module Eight – May – in-depth analysis of foregut physiology, problems and presentations
10. Module Nine – June – in-depth analysis of midgut physiology, problems and presentations
11. Module Ten – July – in-depth analysis of hind physiology, problems and presentations, and overview of male and female pelvic function
12. Module Eleven – August – cardiorespiratory, renal and global fluid control systems, review of respiratory and circulatory presentations and problems.
13. Module Twelve September – complex systems review in osteopathy
    1. THIS MODULE CONTAINS A COMPULSORY PRACTICAL BLOCK. This covers contextualised assessment and treatment techniques for a variety of systemic, digestive endocrine immune, CVS-respiratory and global / complex presentations.
14. Module Thirteen – October – in-depth neural reflexes, neurophysiology, homeostasis control and feedback, somatic integration, cerebellar function forebrain, social and emotional implications.
15. Module Fourteen – November – considerations for paediatric presentations.
16. Module Fifteen December – review of management aims, developing care plans in complex conditions, assessment, case reviews, critical reflection.

Clinics

These are separate to the main Diploma programme and must be organised  paid for separately  Please see below, and on the Lecture Venue / Clinic page.

 

Practical components – included.

The practical / technique blocks will be intensive / focused sessions where assessment and management approaches are considered.  Please note, there is no such thing as teaching technique as in ‘deliver this technique for this condition, according to this protocol’.  The concepts for hands on work in this programme follow Still’s original paradigm – which is emergence, ‘seeing’ from a phenomenological and Goethean perspective, understanding intuitive and interpretive clinical appraisal and developing an approach personal to you as well as your patient, so that the person’s biological and embodied self and re-organise and restructure itself towards more healthy function with enhanced agency and personal freedom.

So, you will explore many hands on approaches, and you will have been given many preparatory videos and explanations in your module resources to watch in advance.  This means maximum time is then devoted to guiding contacts, and listening to tissues etc.

This course does not focus on the involuntary mechanism approach, but includes many ways of working with the brain, skull, dura, fluids, autonomics, organs, etc and the physiology and emergent structure of the body.  It deals with all aspects of osteopathic hands on, and giving you many clinical insights and hands-on approaches whatever your own personal style.

September enrolment: October 26-27-28-29-30 October, March 15-16-17-18, 2027; April 26-27-28, 2027; September 2-3-4, 2027. (September dates TBC in the new year)

Tutorials – monthly on Tuesday evenings, 8pm UK time, dates TBC. Q and A sessions lasting approx 1 hour.

COSTS – FOR THE TAUGHT DIPLOMA

The full programme is £3000, with an early bird price (ending 31 May, 2026), of 25% discount – fee is £2815.  This is slightly less that the other diplomas, as at the moment, visceral clinical days are extra, not included.

THIS COURSE IS ON SALE AND IS CURRENTLY £2500

From 1 Sept, the full fee of £3000 applies.  Enrolments by instalments are £3000 regardless of date and include a £250 admin fee on top of the full course fee – this full amount being due even if you withdraw – payable in 3 equal instalments one when you enrol to secure your place and then end December then end April.  By paying you accept the policy on refunds, and are agreeing to the Student Agreement.  See forms pay for all policies.  This course / programme does not offer refunds after 1 September, or withdrawal thereafter – the full fee due at the time of first payment is still due.  Electronic resources are available for the lifetime of the CNMO. carolinestonecourses@gmail.com