We have been receiving input and suggestions from practitioners in the international community, some expressing concern that IASI has little relevance to non-US practitioners. This input centers around issues of membership dues, grandfathering deadlines, and the understandable concern that IASI might be focused on US legislative, insurance, and licensing problems that the rest of the world does not share. While we do intend to use the IASI certification exam for the benefit of SI practitioners with regard to US licensing and regulatory issues, this is not the only, or even primary, problem that the certification exam is being developed to take care of.

Elsewhere in this newsletter is a list of the schools, known to us, that are direct heirs of Ida Rolf. As you can see there are quite a number, and there is no reason to assume that this number won’t grow. What you don’t see is the list of schools without direct connection to Dr. Rolf, teaching what they call Structural Integration. Or the schools teaching 50 or 100 hour SI programs mixed in with a multitude of other modalities. Dr. Rolf’s great idea has found its way out in the world, which is a good thing for all of us, the public most especially. But because it is an idea based on a different premise, when that premise is not understood all sorts of strange children emerge. When the different premise is not taught or understood, incoming students can only relate the work to what is already known to them most probably, massage. It takes considerable effort, understanding and skill to bring something entirely new to a student’s awareness, and the teachers must be clear themselves. This isn’t always happening now. We have to decide whether we want to let this continue. Those of us in the IASI community have decided that we don’t.

IASI’s mission is to address this concern that is common to us all. No matter where we practice, all of us can benefit from a strong professional identity. We need this to differentiate ourselves from other somatic professionals. No one school has been able to create this professional identity that can cross school boundaries. Instead, we have actually created more factions and fragmentations of Dr. Rolf’s work. This is only helping the work to disintegrate.

A universal certification exam will let us establish, over time and with everyones input, minimum standards for training and competence no matter what school a person attends. This is not the same as making all schools alike. The community as a whole benefits from the different perceptions and approaches of various schools, and each of us will still be proud to identify with our own schools. But we still need to develop a larger identity and public perception so that practitioners, potential students and the public can all see it as a discipline in its own right. To achieve this goal, IASI needs the participation and energy of Structural Integrators everywhere.

We know that Structural Integration is what it is today because of the insights and efforts of practitioners from every country. As the schools and practitioners become more numerous a global umbrella becomes more important. Every profession that has remained viable has developed an association through which they find quality continuing education trainings, share new developments and information, maintain the standards of their profession, handle ethics issues, keep track of legislation, and disseminate information to the public. Our profession has grown beyond the boundaries of its individual schools. To maintain the quality and standards that Dr. Rolf set for us requires a different organizational structure than the one she first set up. IASI was organized to fill that gap.

Current practitioners can be accepted into the organization through the end of June 2004, without taking the certification exam. Don’t miss your chance for hassle-free membership.

Application for IASI Continuing Education Providers

The goal of IASI’s Continuing Education (CE) program is to promote and foster high standards of professional practice and to assure the competency of practitioners of Structural Integration. IASI approved courses should provide members with opportunities to learn both methodology and technique of the Structural Integration process.The International Association of Structural Integrators (IASI) requires all of their members to renew their certification every two years. Recertification is based on a member’s accumulation of at least 36 hours of continuing education credits every two years.

Because IASI recognizes that there are many different methods of learning, two types of courses will be recognized for IASI CE credit:

• Type I courses are those that have been approved by the IASI CE committee.
• Type II courses include all other courses.

Members may take courses from either category, but a minimum of half of the credits must be from Type I courses, while a maximum of half of the credits may be from Type II courses.

To be approved as a Type I course, the CE Provider must submit the following information:

• Outline of the program—including dates, times, and location. Times should be as specific as possible and include all breaks. Credit hours are assigned on a per hour basis, and do not include any breaks.
• Summary of the information being presented—relevancy to Structural Integration and content, instructional, and evaluation methods.
• Background information—resumes/CVs of the presenters and contact information.
• Attendance Verification—course certificates and retention of course records.

IASI retains the right to request further information at any time. It takes at least two weeks to process all information. Please plan accordingly. Official notification will be mailed after the program has been reviewed. Programs are only valid for the dates and times listed, unless otherwise noted. Significant changes to a program must be submitted to the IASI for additional review.

For more information on how to become a CE provider or on IASI CE requirements, please call (877) 861-9068.

Current practitioners and students of Structural Integration, please note the above date. After June 30^th, all candidates for IASI will be required to pass through the credentialing process to become a member (see article below on the proposed format for the credentialing process). Current students of the schools listed below are invited to join as a student member, and will be allowed to grandfather into IASI upon graduation. After the grandfathering period ends we will be reviewing school training programs, eliminating those that have less than 400 hours of series-oriented Structural Integration training. Sufficient training will be part of the credentialing process, as detailed later in this newsletter. This process will evolve over time via the usual trial and error gamut, and we are encouraging input, opinions and feedback

Is Another Organization Necessary?

Why join IASI? Why send membership dues to ANOTHER organization with CE hoops to jump through?

Structural Integration is growing out into the world, and with ten or more training programs out there, variations on a theme begin to develop. Which of these variations are valid explorations, which represent dilutions, and which are total changes of direction? Change and evolution are important and unavoidable, but when the basic premises that Dr. Rolf delineated for us are lost then a really sad thing has happened. IASI has no intention of putting an end to the exploration of variations. We do want the theme to remain intact—basics such as the series process, gravity, connective tissue, the line. The credentialing process is not designed to select out applicants based on the variations they’ve learned, but is intended to provide a wake-up call to those who’ve missed out on the theme, and pull together the community of practitioners who have learned and apply the theme in their practice.

Many bodywork modalities are gaining in popularity in this rebirth of natural healing. We all know that Structural Integration is different from massage. Creating this distinction, however, has been made difficult by confusion in the public mind about SI,
[continued on page 2]

Your Questions, Answered!

What is IASI?

IASI is the professional membership organization for the entire profession of Structural Integration. It was formed in 2003 to unite and promote the interests of all those who practice the work pioneered by Dr. Ida Rolf. IASI currently has just under 400 members.

What are the benefits of being an IASI member?

IASI links you to the larger world of Structural Integration, an approach that is growing and developing rapidly. Becoming a member shows that you are dedicated to the highest standards of practice, professional accountability, and increased communication among the various schools and approaches to this complex and valuable craft. [continued on Page 5]

by inclusion of some ‘rolfing techniques’ in many massage school curricula, and certainly by the fact most legislative licensing in the US keeps lumping SI in with massage. As a group, we need organizational foresight to present ourselves to the world as a profession with our own separate identity. If we don’t want the public to think of Structural Integration as a deep massage then we’re going to have to communicate this effectively. No one school, no one organization, is doing this currently. IASI is formed for this purpose.

To be effective as a profession, we must set standards (or eventually others will set them for us) for basic skills and knowledge required for the profession, and find a way to separate out those who have not acquired these basics. This means having credentialing, ethics guidelines and procedures, continuing education requirements, and public relations channels in the near term, and advocating with insurance and legislation, research, and curriculum development in the longer term. Most importantly, long term and short term, IASI is a vehicle through which practitioners can interface with each other, mentor, communicate, explore, and share hard-won knowledge. When we can experience ourselves as a whole community with an identity that marks us as unique then we will be well on the road toward a profession that the world can take seriously. When we can self-regulate we will be more comfortable as a community, and the public, other professionals and law-makers will be much more comfortable with us. We will be able to put to rest, or at least put in context, the factions and fragmentation that have marred our history, and we can proceed into the 21^st Century as a whole—learning, debating, exploring, but supported by each other.

IASI is very much a work in progress. Membership benefits are coming on line as we can get them done and paid for. Currently, US members have liability insurance available to them through a membership affiliation IASI has developed with the ABMP. Until recently this was also available to Canadian members and we are looking for ways to reinstate this.

The first Structural Integration Yearbook 2004 is recently off the press and IASI members should have received their copies by now. This is a collection of about 20 articles from professionals in the field, representing most of the different schools of Structural Integration. If you did not get a copy or wish to purchase additional copies, contact IASI at 877-843-4274 or email Marilyn

IASI-certified Continuing Education courses are listed on the members-only page of the website, or by periodic mailings. Every two years we will be checking for CE compliance with our members. Also on-line, members can find listings of articles of interest to Structural Integrators. The IASI Ethics Standards and Guidelines is available on-line, as well as applications for membership, renewal of membership, and application information for becoming a CE provider.

IASI is very dependent on volunteer time, expertise and energies of many people. This is a grassroots organization developed by practitioners for practitioners with the intention of providing a service, not developing a self-absorbed bureaucracy. We are now close to 400 members strong, with fairly even representation from the “Big 3″—GSI, RI, Hellerwork®, and about a quarter of the membership from the smaller schools. This is a strong start and shows us that this is a welcome and needed next step for our profession. We look forward to welcoming the rest of the “tribe” from all the far-flung corners of the world. If you have already joined, or already have an application form, pass this one on to your fellow practitioners. Time is short for hassle-free application. Sometimes it’s a good time to act, sometimes it a good time to retreat. This is a good time to act.

The Nuts Behind the Bolts

The December IASI Board meeting was a very successful and stimulating meeting of minds. The Board met in the morning and charted a course for the next stage of IASI’s development, and in the afternoon met with a variety of practitioners and students from different schools. The main topic of discussion was the certification exam and the differing opinions on possibilities helped us get a general idea of where to go from here. The meeting was a microcosm of what we hope IASI will become—a melting pot of different opinions, different trainings, different emphases within the sturdy background of Dr. Rolf’s work and based on the shared goal of keeping that alive.

To cope with our increased registration and IASI’s mounting administrative tasks, the Board hired Marilyn Beech as CEO, and authorized her to hire part time secretarial help. This will result in increased efficiency of IASI’s membership services and general development.

The following is a current list of all the people behind IASI. They can be reached via email if you have comments, opinions, ideas and feedback that you would like IASI to know about. If you have time and energy to volunteer please call the IASI toll free number or email Marilyn.
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Name_________________________________________________________

Address_______________________________________________________

Phone
(business)________________(home)______________(fax)______________

Email____________________________Website________________________

Structural Integration Training Confirmation

1. Please attach a photocopy of your certification in Structural Integration.
2. Please include current contact information for your school, teacher, or program.
   All education will be independently confirmed.
3. Please additionally fill in the following:

School or program where you trained in SI___________________________________________

Location and dates of your training_________________________________________________

Date and year of certification______________________________________________________

Advanced training or continuing education___________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Category of Membership

• Professional (requires confirmation of SI training completion)
  $150/year (US, UK, Europe)
  $100/year (Austrialia, New Zealand, Canada, and Japan)
  $75/year (South and Central America)
• Student (provide name of current SI training program)
  $50/year
• Friend of IASI (interest in SI but not a practitioner)
  $50/year

____________Amount paid with first donation
(you may deduct this from you first year membership)

____________Extra donation (please help with whatever you can)

____________Total Enclosed

Method of Payment

On-Line Application Form   ____Check/Cheque (payable to IASI)   ____VISA/Mastercard

Please fill out the following information for credit card payments:

Name on card (please print):________________________________________________________

Address for card:_________________________________________________________________

Card #________________________________Expiration Date:______________________

Signature_________________________________________

Please note that this questionnaire is entirely voluntary and no answer will have any bearing whatsoever on your application. We are simply seeking honest and accurate information so we can assess the position of the profession as a whole. Feel free to expand on your answers on separate paper, and also feel free to answer only those items you wish or you can answer this entire questionnaire on-line.

YOUR PRACTICE

What “brand” of Structural Integration do you practice, or what is your school affiliation?

How many years have you practiced SI, and what was your profession before?

How many clients, approximately, have you taken through a ten-session series?

How many sessions constitute your basic series, if not 10?

Do you take photos or perform any other structural documentation?

How many SI sessions do you provide per average month, and what is your charge?

What percentage of your practice is 3rd party payment (reimbursed by insurance)?

Do you identify yourself to the public primarily as an SI practitioner, or through another modality?

Are you nationally certified through NCBTMB? Does your state/country require licensing?

Do you teach structural bodywork or SI? If so, where and in what capacity?

YOUR TRAINING

Primary teacher(s) and number of hours of training:

In what areas do you feel your training was strong? Lacking?

Does your school/program offer continuing professional support?

ETHICS/PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR

Have you ever had a formal complaint lodged against you for unethical behavior?

Has your license/certification ever been revoked?

Do you feel confident in handling ethical/professional issues that arise in an SI practice?

YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT SI WORK

What separates SI from other forms of bodywork/intervention?

Is SI primarily a medical / psychotherapeutic / spiritual healing / educational modality for you?

What future would you like to see for SI?

MEMBERSHIP INTERESTS

What types of services would you like to see IASI offer?

What are your concerns about IASI?

If IASI held a profession-wide symposium, meeting in late 2005, would you:

____Definitely attend ___Might attend ___Unlikely attend ___Definitely not be interested

Are you willing to help get IASI started by joining a working group?