Bowen therapy

Bowen therapy is a gentle, non-invasive form of bodywork that works mainly on the myofascia, the muscles and the connective tissue around them. It was developed in Australia by Thomas Bowen in the 1950s and is now used in more than 30 countries. The Victorian Government's Better Health Channel calls it a holistic remedial body technique that works on the body's mechanoreceptors (nerve endings that sense pressure and movement) and on soft connective tissue (fascia), without forceful manipulation.

Description

A session

The therapist uses thumbs and fingers to make gentle rolling movements over muscles, ligaments, tendons and other connective tissue, choosing them to suit what the client has come with. After each set of movements comes a rest of a few minutes, intended to let the muscles, fascia and nervous system respond. The moves are small and light, made across the fibres at varying pressures and at particular places on the body, and the therapist may leave the room for two to five minutes at a time.

Treatment can be given through light clothing, although the client may be asked to take off heavy or thick garments. Sessions usually last from 30 minutes to an hour. Drinking enough water before, during and after treatment is treated as an important part of Bowen therapy. In a 2012 survey by Bowen Association Australia, therapists reported that 60% of their clients had one to three treatments for each problem they came with.

How practitioners explain it

So far, explanations of how Bowen therapy works have rested on clinical observation, not on tested theory. An Australian Bowen association suggests that it promotes healing by stimulating the body's nervous, endocrine and connective tissue (fascial) systems. One theory is that the movements shift the balance of the autonomic nervous system away from the "fight or flight" response and towards "rest and digest", which proponents say releases physical and emotional tension. A learner should read these as practitioners' explanations, not as established findings.

What the evidence says

The evidence for Bowen therapy's effects is limited. The Australian Government's 2015 review found too little scientific evidence that Bowen therapy was effective. A 2024 systematic review for the government's Natural Therapies Review found six studies, all of people with pain conditions. One small trial, of 84 people with neck pain, found low-certainty evidence that Bowen therapy may slightly improve mental health and may improve health-related quality of life. The evidence was very uncertain for pain and physical function. There were no studies of the other conditions Australian Bowen therapists report treating most often, such as stress, anxiety, insomnia, sciatica and low back pain.

Scope

What it includes

• Gentle rolling movements of the thumbs and fingers over soft tissue, in sets separated by rests
• Treatment through light clothing
• Advice on drinking water and on activity after treatment

What it is not

• Bowen therapy doesn't use forceful manipulation.
• It is not a regulated health profession, and its practitioners don't have to be registered (see Regulation below).

Traditions and lineage

Thomas Ambrose Bowen (1916–1982) began developing his manual therapy in Geelong, Victoria, in the 1950s. He had no formal training in any therapy, and described his work as a gift from God. A bronze sculpture in his memory, Healing Hands, stands in West Park, Pakington Street, Geelong West; it was unveiled on 27 October 2002, the twentieth anniversary of his death.

The technique is now taught and practised under several names, including the Bowen Technique, Bowenwork® and Bowtech®.

Context

Within Spiritualism

Spiritfold has found no published source linking Bowen therapy with Spiritualism.

In Australian Spiritualism

Spiritfold has found no published source linking Bowen therapy with Spiritualism in Australia.

A Spiritualist perspective

Bowen therapy has no place in Spiritualist teaching, and a Spiritualist would see it as a separate form of bodywork with its own training and associations. Bowen's own description of his work as a gift from God may strike a chord with some Spiritualists, but that was a personal view of its founder, not a link between the two practices. Its long pauses, when the therapist may leave the room, make an interesting comparison. Spiritualist healers also value quiet and stillness, though for a different reason: for them it is a time of attunement to the spirit world.

A Spiritualist who enjoys Bowen therapy, or trains in it, need not feel any conflict, so long as the two are kept distinct. If you offer Bowen, offer it as Bowen, and don't present it as spirit healing or mediumship. Because the evidence for its effects is limited, speak plainly about what you do, make no claims about health, and encourage clients to stay in the care of their doctor.

Bowen therapy in Australia

Training and associations

Bowen Training Australia, a registered training organisation licensed by the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia, offers nationally recognised Bowtech® training at Certificate IV and Diploma level, as well as continuing education.

Practitioners can join professional bodies:

• Bowen Association Australia (BAA) accepts Certificate IV graduates as full members and Diploma graduates as accredited members. It has a code of conduct and code of ethics, requires members to hold professional indemnity insurance and a current advanced first aid certificate, and runs continuing education. It registers only members with a nationally accredited qualification.
• Bowen Therapists Federation of Australia (BTFA), described as the peak industry body, sets training and professional development standards: Diploma-level qualifications and at least 500 hours of clinical practice for Bowen therapists, and Certificate-level qualifications and at least 100 hours for Bowen practitioners.
• The Australian Traditional-Medicine Society (ATMS) also accepts Bowen practitioners with at least a Certificate IV qualification who follow its codes and meet its yearly professional development requirements.

Better Health recommends choosing a registered therapist, and notes that the BAA and the BTFA both require current first aid and professional indemnity and public liability insurance. This advice matters because the law itself does not require registration (see below).

Regulation

Bowen therapy is not regulated under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, so practitioners don't have to be registered.

Private health insurance

Since 1 April 2019, Bowen therapy has been one of 16 natural therapies that private health insurers can't cover. The Natural Therapies Review 2024 looked at the evidence again. Its Chair, Professor Michael Kidd, recommended that seven therapies become eligible again, but did not recommend Bowen therapy.

Safety and good practice

Better Health, in its page produced with Bowen Association Australia, describes Bowen therapy as safe to use on anyone, from newborns to older people. It says therapists may advise clients:

• not to have other physical therapies, such as massage, chiropractic, physiotherapy, acupuncture or kinesiology, for a week after treatment
• to drink enough water
• to keep moving gently and avoid sitting for long periods
• to see their doctor if symptoms don't resolve.

The 2024 systematic review didn't assess safety, so the safety description above comes from the profession itself, not from independent research. The advice to see a doctor when symptoms persist matters most: Bowen should never delay a medical diagnosis.

Related modalities

• Massage
• Kinesiology
• Reflexology
• Shiatsu
• Rolfing

Further reading

• Better Health Channel. "Bowen therapy". Department of Health, State Government of Victoria, 2022.
• Cochrane Australia. Systematic review of evidence on the clinical effectiveness of Bowen therapy. Australian Government Department of Health, 2024.
• Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. "Natural Therapies Review 2024". Australian Government.