Lauren Yamaguchi , September, 2019
Amy graduated from Springfield College in Springfield, MA with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in 1994 and was introduced to Counterstrain early in her career to becoming a hand therapist in 1995. She has found great success with the use of Classic Counterstrain then began the journey into Fascial Counterstrain in 2016. This has been a game changer for a broader perspective and treatment for her patients. Specializing in hand and upper extremity injuries, she has followed the kinetic chain up to the shoulder and upper back, but now is able to broaden that treatment with counterstrain to find more lasting solutions for her patients. A recent move to LSU Shreveport has expanded her treatment areas to include concussion, persistent pain, post-COVID, sports medicine, and rehab for whole body recovery.
Valerie Stapel has been practicing as a manual therapist for over 37 years. She started her journey with classic counterstrain in 2002 and has advanced into utilizing fascial counterstrain almost exclusively since 2011. She has taken every JI fascial counterstrain course to date, as well as module 1 and 2 through Counterstrain Academy. In August 2023 she became a Certified Fascial Counterstrain Practitioner. Her passion is to get to the origin of the physical dysfunction with the gentle healing of fascial counterstrain. She specializes in pelvic health in addition to treating orthopedic conditions. In 2022 she added LMT to her credentials to be able to practice in Virginia by direct access.
I am a Physical Therapist at Gundersen Moundview Hospital and Clinics in Friendship, WI. I grew up in southwestern WI and moved to the Adams-Friendship area when I started high school. I attended Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA for my MSPT degree.
After starting my career in our small hospital where we see a range of ages from Birth to Three kiddos up to retired folks of 100+ years old, in multiple settings, including a nursing home, home health, school system, sports coverage, and inpatient/swingbed populations, I used a good amount of manual therapy. I initially started taking classes including muscle energy, PNF, myofascial release, McKenzie protocols, Butler nerve glides and pain production concepts, Mulligan mobilization with motion/SNAGS, and progressing with fascial work through kinesio/Rock taping and associated IASTM and learned about Barrall visceral manipulation and craniosacral treatments.
We started with Counterstrain in 2001, with my first class with Brian teaching SCS1 for the spine. This changed my outlook on dysfunction, tightness, and pain production. It has been a wild ride over the last 20+ years trying to learn the intricacies of anatomy and new concepts introduced that changed the way we treat and help all of our patients. Those folks that would be annual, returning patients with the same “bad” spot, that never got back to their prior level of function, were now meeting their goals and returning to full activities.
I can’t say enough about the teaching and learning that is taking place through the Counterstrain Academy and the Jones Institute. It is changing lives, not just symptoms!
Liz Bracken PT, MS, CIMT received a BS/MS degree in Physical Therapy in 2003 from The Sage Colleges in Troy, NY. After graduation, Liz joined a practice near Dayton, OH that heavily emphasized manual therapy techniques and developed a passion for manual therapy that has inspired her since. This focus led her to become a Certified Integrated Manual Therapist in 2006 through Great Lakes Seminars. Liz continues to seek innovative courses in manual therapy including Fascial Counterstrain, Integrated Manual Therapy and Myofascial Release. For over 20 years, Liz has led successful clinics in Ohio and Northern Virginia with a key premise: highly skilled manual therapy is a powerful tool in helping people achieve stronger, healthier and more pain-free lives. Liz loves the diversity of the outpatient setting because each patient brings new challenges, goals and energy. Speaking of challenges, Liz is especially passionate about treating the head, spine and hip. By effectively combating dysfunction in these areas, she has seen remarkable improvements in patients’ lives. Liz has been a part of the bicycle racing community in the Mid-Atlantic for several years and has helped many cyclists enjoy their sport even more. Liz is an avid runner and gets out on the bike with her family any chance she gets.
I have been an outpatient orthopaedic manual therapist since 2009. I have practiced in Washington, DC, Maui (Kihei), HI, Austin, TX and now the suburbs of Chicago, IL. I first discovered Fascial Counterstrain in 2016 upon moving to Illinois and meeting the people at ARC Physical Therapy. Once I saw and felt the power of this technique I knew it was what I had been missing. So many times I had seen someone who wasn’t improving or had plateaud no matter what other technique I tried. This was the missing piece.
Since then I have made Fascial Counterstrain my main practice and have devoted myself to learning as much as I can about it. This is a skill that requires a lot of practice and constant continuing education. Some of the conditions I have found this technique to be really instrumental in helping are:
Headaches
Cervicalgia (neck pain)
TMJ dysfunction
Thoracic spine pain
Scoliosis in adolescents/children
Lumbago (low back pain)
Sacroiliac (SI) dysfunction
Generalized “stiffness”
And many other conditions.
If you have tried to address a problem with other types of therapy and are not satisfied with the results maybe it’s time to try treating your fascia.
Education:
BS in Rehabilitation Psychology
University of Wisconsin, Madison 2005
Doctorate of Physical Therapy
George Washington University 2009
Emily has been studying, learning, and practicing Counterstrain since 2011. She was fortunate enough to be hired into a clinic of 4 other clinicians in 2010 on Whidbey Island, who were already on the path to discovering the amazing power of Counterstrain. She knew almost instantly that she had never encountered anything else in her career that was as powerful and holistic as this technique.
She believes in the power of the body to heal itself once given the right opportunities and knows from her own personal experiences as both a recipient and a provider of Counterstrain the ‘magic’ that can happen.
David Dalbey , August, 2019
I graduated from the University of South Australia in 1989 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy. I furthered my manual therapy education in North America before starting my own practice in Adelaide, South Australia in 1993 mostly treating musculoskeletal and sports injuries. By 1998, advanced manual therapy training in myofascial, visceral and cranial approaches allowed me to treat people with chronic dysfunctions of all systems within the body. Helping people with complex and chronic problems remains the primary focus of my practice today.
In 2000, I founded the teaching facility the Manual Therapy Institute to disseminate knowledge to other practitioners and I’ve been teaching these classes in Australia and Europe for over 15 years. In 2008, I began assisting teaching counterstrain technique with the Jones Institute and became a certified instructor in 2014. I currently teach the Jones Strain Counterstrain curriculum in Australia. Over the last decade Counterstrain has become the principle technique used in our practice and the journey of learning and applying Fascial Counterstrain is ongoing.
