CRANIAL FORUM

NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS

Listing of Units and Elements

UNIT	TITLE	ELEMENTS OF COMPETENCE		Page
CT1	Assess the needs of the client	Information about the Unit		2
		CT1.1	Evaluate and process requests for cranial therapy	4
		CT1.2	Prepare to assess the client	5
		CT1.3	Assess the client	7
		CT1.4	Agree action with the client	9
CT2	Treat the client	Information about the Unit		10
		CT2.1	Plan the treatment	11
		CT2.2	Provide treatment	12
		CT2.3	Evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment	14
CT3	Educate the client to adopt self-care procedure(s)	Information about the Unit		15
		CT3.1	Prepare to educate the client	16
		CT3.2	Enable the client to practice and use the self-care procedure(s)	17
		CT3.3	Evaluate the effectiveness and use of the self-care procedure(s) procedure(s)	19
CT4	Treat the client and give guidance on self-care	Information about the Unit		20
		CT4.1	Plan the treatment with the client	21
		CT4.2	Provide treatment	22
		CT4.3	Advise the client on self-care	24
		CT4.4	Evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment and self-care	26
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO SUPPORT STANDARDS INDEX ON PAGE 28				29-39

UNIT

CT1 Assess the needs of the client

Elements of competence

CT1.1 Evaluate and process requests for cranial therapy

CT1.2 Prepare to assess the client

CT1.3 Assess the client

CT1.4 Agree action with the client

Information about this unit

Summary

This unit describes the role of the practitioner in assessing clients’ needs that affect their health, effective functioning and well-being. This involves evaluating requests for cranial therapy and the initial information received on the client, whether it is provided by the client him/herself or comes from another source, such as a referral. In doing this the practitioner needs to consider whether it is appropriate to work with the client or not. The evaluation will include determining the urgency of the client’s needs and the overall caseload of the practitioner, together with making the necessary arrangements for the assessment to take place. If the decision is made to see the client, the nature and purpose of the assessment is agreed with them and their needs identified. Some clients may be accompanied by a companion(s). Where this occurs the practitioner is expected to interact with the companion(s) in ways that are appropriate to the needs of the client and the needs of the practitioner. The subsequent assessment aims to determine the nature and extent of the client’s needs and to agree a course of action with them. This may be to develop a cranial therapy programme for the client, refer the client to another healthcare practitioner or to decide that cranial therapy is not appropriate for the client.

Who this unit is aimed at

This unit applies to any practitioner whose work aims to enable clients to improve and maintain their health, effective functioning and well-being through complementary and alternative healthcare wherever they practise.

The clients may be seeking to improve and maintain their health, effective functioning and well-being. Equally, they may have no particular health needs or may have acute or chronic conditions, or be terminally ill. They may be new to the complementary healthcare discipline, new to the practitioner, established in that the practitioner has been working with them for some while or returning to the practitioner after a period of absence.

Principles of good practice

This unit is based on the premise that for effective assessment to take place, the practitioner needs to understand the clients’ personal, cultural and social situation and the holistic nature of health, effective functioning and well-being. The practitioner must be able to communicate effectively with clients and any companion(s) and balance the information obtained initially with information gained during the assessment. As the assessment process often acts as a gateway to services, there is also a particular requirement for practitioners to monitor clients and evaluate the extent to which services are meeting the needs of the broad community. Where particular issues or incidents cause concern the practitioner is expected to alert their professional body, their employing organisation or other relevant organisation.

Relationship to other units

This unit focuses on the assessment of clients’ needs that affect their health, effective functioning and well-being and the evaluation of how cranial therapy might meet those needs. It is similar in content to unit 11.1 in the National Occupational Standards for Professional Activity in Health Promotion and Care but has been put into the specific context of cranial therapy. It links with Units CT2, CT3 and CT4 in terms of implementing a complementary healthcare programme, educating the client on self-care procedures or a combination of both approaches.

Note: where “client” is referred to, read also “patient”, “customer”, “pupil” and “learner”.

where “companion” is referred to, read also “representative”, “partner”, “relative”, “friend of client”, “another healthcare practitioner” and “appointed chaperone”.