Since I finished medical school in 2000, I had not wanted to endeavor on another course of learning until I learned about Fascial Counterstrain and the lymphatic system from Tim Hodges. It was fascinating to me that many of the tender points coincided with acupuncture points, and that like acupuncture, the treatment facilitated an immediate change in the patient.

Since learning about Counterstrain, I have taken many courses and completed the entire Counterstrain Academy’s Mastery program with Tim and have integrated it beautifully into my practice. I’m excited to learn more as this field of medicine continues to expand in its depth.

(Holly completed the Counterstrain Academy Mastery Program in August of 2013)

When I heard that Tim Hodges was moving to Portland I was saddened for Bainbridge Island.

Tim is a well known and beloved healer in Washington state. I have known Tim as a teacher, a co-worker, a friend and mentor. I have seen him change lives countless times with his effective, specific, and precisely executed technique. His knowledge of anatomy is second to none. He is a dedicated and thorough teacher. I have watched him take students from next to no experience to true mastery in 2 years as I participated in and completed the entire Counterstrain Academy’s Mastery Program.

The proof is also in his results. His practice is booked months out and has a waiting list a mile long. Virtually every health care practitioner in the region refers patients to Tim. His reputation is impeccable and widely known. He has educated hundreds of healthcare practitioners in the region.

And on a personal note, he has never once dropped the ball in all the years I have known him. Both honest and reliable he has been a pleasure to work with. Washington’s loss will be Oregon’s gain!

(James completed the Counterstrain Academy Mastery Program in August of 2013)

“If I had known more about what this class was all about, [I would have taken it sooner.] but, I had no idea of the profound difference. This is not a redo class, this is not just coming and getting a little better about your scans. This is really taking what Brian Tuckey has come up with ..and making the next level jump to -“How do I treat those complex patients we see day to day.”

Hey guys! My name is Scott Dreben. I’m a physical therapist and owner of Touch of Life Physical Therapy. As you can see by my hair, I just got out of a class and that’s why I’m making this little video (shown below). I’ve been a physical therapist for 17 years and I’ve been using counterstrain for about 15 years now. I’ve taken every classic counterstrain class and I’ve taken all the fascial counterstrain courses as well and I gotta tell you that I’ve just had my first experience with the counterstrain academy that Tim runs and it’s been absolutely amazing.

This is our first weekend, our first two days and I’m already blown away. It’s far exceeded my expectations. I thought I was doing everything correctly, I mean that I’ve learned so far and what I found out today is I had a decent understanding of what I was doing but I didn’t really ‘get it’. I didn’t really get the techniques, and I really didn’t understand this treatment paradigm conceptually as well as I do now. It has blown me away and I can’t say enough about it.

Having this experience is undeniably one of the best experiences you can have as a manual therapist. The student to teacher ratio is perfect. Tim gets to answer every question I have and everybody else’s questions. He makes sure we know the techniques. His enthusiasm for the work is incredible and his desire to teach this information, to really make sure you have a solid understanding of it is just unbelievable. Not only does he make sure that our treatment techniques are good on each other but he even let me practice one of my techniques on him so that he could give me direct feedback as to whether or not I was engaging the structure that I was trying to get.

This first weekend we worked primarily on dura and the changes we made on each other just doing this dural work were phenomenal. Way better than any result that I’ve gotten so far using the dural work that I’ve already learned taking the [Jones Institute] neural class on my patients. I can’t wait to use this new information and the fine tuning of these techniques to make the incredible changes that I know that I am going to be able to make and that others who have taken the class with us this weekend are going to be able to make for their patients. I’m super excited. I can’t wait to take all of the modules. I want Tim here for every one of them. And I am going to do my best to make sure that I get him down to my office for each and every one.

So if you’ve had any doubt at all of doing this Mastery Program, don’t! It is going to take your skills to a whole other level. And I’m excited. Thanks.

I have been using the Strain-Counterstrain technique since 2001, was certified in the technique in 2004, and had been keeping  up with my skills through using S/CS almost exclusively when performing manual therapy in the clinic, table training or assisting with Jones’ classes when needed, and taking each of the new fascial courses as soon as they have been taught nearby. I felt quite confident in my skills and ability to apply the technique successfully. I have known of Tim’s internship program almost since it’s beginning, and knew that I could still learn a lot from him, but there were always reasons to put it off. 

Last fall, life circumstances finally convinced me that I must not put this off any longer and I began my training through the Counterstrain Academy in January 2015. My expectations have been exceeded greatly! The small class size is wonderful, you get lots of one-on-one attention, instruction and coaching to make sure that you indeed can master this amazing technique. 

There is so much more that can be taught by having more time in class as well as time in between class sessions to go and practice the material. Treatments that were not included in the Jones’ classes either due to time constraints or because it is new material that was not taught when I took the course initially, are also part of this curriculum. Spending time really learning the cranial scan, and what can give you incorrect findings and what to do to avoid these pitfalls, has greatly improved the effectiveness of my treatments in the clinic. I think it would be safe to say that I am at least twice as effective in my treatments now compared to one year ago (before beginning the Mastery Program), and I have not yet completed the 3^rdmodule! It is truly amazing to think about how much more I still have the potential to affect once I have completed all the modules ( I think there will be 6 by next year)! 

This is truly exciting and has been an invaluable experience. Yes, it does seem quite pricey to study at the Counterstrain Academy, but I believe it is worth every cent that I’ve paid (and will continue to pay) for these courses. I could not have improved my skills to this level by any other method.

My goal has always been to produce as many expert Counterstrainers as possible.  This can certainly occur through the Jones Institute three-day seminar format, however, many therapists need or simply desire a smaller student to teacher ratio to accomplish this goal.

If you’ve ever wished you had a mentor, or even colleagues to help you assimilate the incredible amount of information that is presented at the Jones Institute Fascial Counterstrain seminars, than this program is for you. I can personally attest to the quality of the practitioner that graduates from the mastery program developed by Tim Hodges. Tim’s natural teaching prowess and mastery of Fascial counterstrain are infused into every graduate of this program.

Tim and I have hand-picked and individually tutored each individual who teaches for the CA-Mastery Program. Those who choose to participate in this advanced training, will leave with a mastery of the technique not just some level of proficiency. Thank you Tim for putting together this wonderful program and helping us to reach our goal of having a masters of Counterstrain available for everyone in the country who needs access to this life changing & life restoring technique.

I would like to take this opportunity to recommend Mr. Tim Hodges.

I have known Tim for several years and believe him to be a valuable asset in the world of manual medicine. As an instructor with the Jones Institute for Strain & Counterstrain, I met Tim as an aspiring student in 2002. I have followed his growth over the years as he became more competent and eventually certified with one of the highest scores ever recorded in our program.

We have encouraged Tim to begin teaching in our area of Osteopathic medicine. I believe he will be an excellent colleague in the years to come. His capabilities are more than adequate to become an outstanding osteopathic physician.

After taking a couple introductory courses, I knew Counterstrain was the path I wanted to pursue.  It changed how I viewed the body, and therefore, changed how I began to assess and evaluate my patients. Unfortunately, understanding the concept, and having the ability to implement the treatment are two separate things. At the end of a treatment session, I was not giving the patients the relief I was hoping for.  Then I took a Counterstrain Mastery Course.  The way the classes are set up allow for a more in-depth training of not only reviewing the tender points and the associated glide, but how to feel the dysfunction and feel the release. I learned how to incorporate the cranial scan into the treatment, and what it truly means to only treat the most significant tender points. The knowledge of the instructors is incredible, and they did an amazing job of meeting us where our abilities were, allowing us to understand the information so we could continue to build our skills. My patients are now benefitting from the treatment, and I am eager to continue my learning and fine tune my technique through the Counterstrain Academy.

I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing Tim Hodges for 17 years. During the years of our acquaintance, I have known him in several roles: colleague, massage therapist and instructor.

I first met Tim when he was a Rehabilitation Aide at the hospital where I worked. He and I worked closely together for several years providing therapy to orthopedic outpatients. His compassion for his patients, his excellent communication skills and his dedication to problem solving made him well liked by patients and staff.

Tim went on to attend and graduate from the Brenneke School of Massage. He pursued advanced training in the Counterstrain technique and soon became a certified practitioner. His vast knowledge of anatomy, his ability to identify specific structural issues in the body and his ability to devise techniques to correct complex issues quickly gained him the reputation as “the expert in the area”.

Tim became an instructor for the Jones Institute and created a Fascial Counterstrain Mastery Program after recognizing the need for the mentoring of their students. This unique training program has been attended by massage therapists, naturopaths, acupuncturists, osteopaths, nurses and physical therapists. Tim’s dedication to teaching anatomy and fine palpation skills has facilitated mastery for multiple practitioners. Tim’s insatiable quest for knowledge has helped create links between science and manual technique.

Tim is a highly intelligent, creative, personable, compassionate and dedicated health care professional. I would recommend him and the Counterstrain Academy’s Mastery Program without reservation.

(Kristi completed the Mastery Program in December of 2014)

I am so excited….after class yesterday I worked on an older woman that was in a severe diving accident as a young teenager, she has had severe effects from the accident which have exhibited over her entire body.  She had a bad flair up last week, so tried to do a cranial scan and her skull was so locked up everywhere.  Last night after class yesterday, I worked on her releasing the dura.  We did mostly anatomy in class yesterday but started a bit about the dura.  I was a little hesitant to try to release her dura as I wasn’t sure I knew enough to do it.  With Tim’s great explanation of the sphenoid bone and the dura points, and having Kim work on my dura in the past, I decided to give it a try.  I felt good about it, the manual was very helpful and easy to understand, the descriptions of how to approach the release were amazing.  So I was able to release her dura…..She just called me and let me know that her stuck neck was moving so much better and that her pain was dramatically reduced, she also commented that she felt lighter and alot less pressure in her head and upper body.   I was so excited I had to write a quick note to you.  I hope you can pass this onto Tim along with a big Thank you for his excellent training yesterday!!!!!!  My hands know what to do once I get where I need to be.  I am so grateful!   THANK YOU so much.  I am feeling so much better after the work Tim did on me last week.  I usually get 5-7 hours of sleep, I have been sleeping 9-12 hours since treatment.  I think it is because I am more relaxed and not waking up from pain and treating myself in my sleep like I have for many, many years!  I am so happy I have the opportunity to learn from the academy!!!!!  Have a great day!

Hey Tim!

Knowing you and participating in the Counterstrain Academy Mastery Program has taken my therapy skills and clinical application of Fascial Counterstrain to the next quantum level. Not a day goes by that I don’t reference you somehow in the clinic. You have touched so many more lives by training us therapists than you will ever know. I hope our collaborations can continue long distance. You can always come visit, we will still be here.

(Steve completed the Counterstrain Academy Mastery Program in December 2014)