Archives: Practitioners

Ann Bulkin graduated Samuel Merritt College in Oakland with a Master’s degree in physical therapy in 1996. After obtaining her degree she went on to take a broad variety of continuing education classes every year. Her initial strongest interest was in the osteopathic approaches to manual therapy that had relieved her chronic back and neck pain. She also pursued the work of Shirley Sahrmann, targeting specific muscle recruitment. Her first class in Counterstrain was in 2004, an original Jones class covering treatment to the extremities. For a variety of reasons, her next class did not take place until the spring of 2014 when she took her first class in Fascial releases for the visceral system. While she had achieved success using her prior training, she immediately recognized this technique as something on a completely other level. Since that time she has dedicated herself to a continuous path of improvement as a Counterstrainer. She treats everyone who walks into her office with a combination of three approaches. While she spends the vast majority of her time on Counterstrain, she also enjoys educating her patients on exercises to support their healing, as well as ergonomics and body mechanics that are specific to their activities.

Dr. Dmitry Shestakovsky is the co-owner of Midtown East Physical Therapy. He attended the Physical Therapy program at Downstate University which he graduated in 1999. In 2007, he graduated from the University of St. Augustines with honors and a Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy. Dr. Shestakovsky has extensive training and experience in a gentle hands-on Osteopathic technique called Counterstrain and Fascial Counterstrain (FCS). FCS is essentially a multi-system approach to resolving pain and dysfunction in the entire body. He is active in taking courses from the Jones Institute and Counterstrain Academy the world’s top resources for all Counter-Strainers. His goal is to facilitate healing through manual medicine and education, with the objective of restoring and advancing the individual to his/her maximal ability level.

Andrea graduated with a Master of Science in Physical Therapy (MSPT) from Pacific University in Oregon in 1997. After two years as a travelling therapist, she returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1999, and worked primarily in the outpatient orthopedic setting. It was during this time that Andrea was introduced to Fascial Counterstrain by a co-worker. In 2004 she earned her board certification through the Jones Institute (JSCC) and began assisting with courses taught through their organization. Wanting to further her expertise in this field, Andrea began taking courses through the Counterstrain Academy in 2015.

Rob Rosenberry PT, DPT, CSC I, OCS, JSCC completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy at Loma Linda University and then earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Regis University in Denver Colorado. He is a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) through the The American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS). Additionally, he is an American Physical Therapy Association Credentialed Clinical Instructor (CCI).

Rob began learning and practicing Strain Counterstrain 1984. He became Jones Strain Counterstrain Certified (JSCC) in 2005.

Rob took his first Fascial Counterstrain course in 2008 and has since completed all of the Fascial Counterstrain courses with the Jones Institute up to and including: FCS N1 The Nervous System Part I: Autonomics & Cranial Nerves, FCS N2 The Nervous System Part II: Dura & Somatics, FCS MSK-SL The Musculoskeletal System: Spinal Ligaments & Myochains, FCS MSK-P The Musculoskeletal System: Periosteum, FCS MSK-C The Musculoskeletal System: Cartilage & Superficial Fascia, FCS CSS-P Central Sensitization: Periosteum, FCS CSS-AM Central Sensitization: Astrocytes & Advanced Mediastinum, FCS ADP The Adiopose System,

To date, he has completed the Counterstrain Academy (CSA) coursework for Modules 1-8: (CSA Module 1 Intro: Counterstrain and the Cranial Scan; CSA Module 2: Counterstrain for the Visceral System; CSA Module 3: Counterstrain for the Lymphatic/Venous System; CSA Module 4: Counterstrain for the Arterial System; CSA Module 5: Counterstrain for the Nervous System, Part 1; CSA Module 6: Counterstrain for the Nervous System, Part 2; CSA Module 7: Counterstrain for the Musculoskeletal System, Part 1 and CSA Module 8: Counterstrain for the Musculoskeletal System, Part 2).

He was selected to be in the Counterstrain Instructor Training Program in November 2018. He has served as a TA for the Counterstrain Conventions 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

He sat for and passed the Fascial Counterstrain Certification Level 1 (CSC I) exam in October 2022.

He continues to pursue completion of all the CSA course work towards mastery.

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Scott Dreben, MPT, the Founder of Touch of Life Physical Therapy, holds a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Chapman University. Scott opened his own practice, Touch of Life Physical Therapy, with his wife Deanna in 2005. Since earning his Master’s in 1999, Scott has dedicated himself to enhancing his skills through continuing education coursework that emphasizes a comprehensive, holistic approach to treatment. For the past 10 years, Scott has focused primarily on the use of Counterstrain because of gentleness and the power of this comprehensive assessment and treatment system. Once he was exposed to Fascial Counterstrain he realized that he wanted to master this approach and decided to do so through the Counsterstrain Academy. Scott is a firm believer in the ever expanding knowledge that Physical Therapy has to offer and is committed to keeping pace with the newest research and professional techniques in his field.

Deanna graduated with her B.A. in Elementary Education in 1995, taught middle school for 3 years and then returned to school, graduating with her DPT from the University of Puget Sound in 2003. While in PT School she had amazing mentors in manual therapy and women’s health. Their mentorship combined with a strong belief in the power of education, led her to average 100+ hours/year in continuing education and introduced her to Classic Jones Strain/Counterstrain. After achieving her Certified Lymphedema Therapist status and taking classes on myofascial release techniques for the Visceral system she learned of new Counterstrain classes for the Lymphatic and Visceral systems and decided to add to her skill set. Shortly after taking the Visceral and Lymphatic 3-day courses she fell in love with the technique and began to participate in as many of 3-day courses as she could, as well as beginning the journey with Counterstrain Academy Mastery Program. Currently, she works in an Outpatient Hospital Clinic and has a small, cash based private practice from her home.