Mr Barral developed the modality of Visceral Manipulation based on his innovative theory that each internal organ rotates on a physiological axis.
Visceral Manipulation
Early in his career as a practitioner Jean-Pierre Barral started to manipulate the organs, In 1972 he and Pierre Mercier started using ultrasounds and X-rays to observe the movements of the organs.
Thanks to Radiologist Doctor Serge Cohen they were able to show and confirm that the organs of the abdominopelvic cavity were in perpetual movements with very precise axes and directions.
Jean-Pierre came to Ireland to teach in 2008.
He taught a group of 25 Osteopaths his seminar Visceral Manipulation : The Abdomen. It was the success of this class that led Deborah Conway to sponsor the Irish Satellite of the Barral Institute.
Jean-Pierre returns to Ireland in 2017 to teach the SCB1 seminar.
Jean-Pierre in Ireland
I met Jean-Pierre when I attended a course he was teaching in London in 2002. I immediately knew I had encountered a great teacher. I found him knowledgeable, without ego and envied his depth of anatomical knowledge. He is an inspiring man and humorous which makes learning from him a pleasure.
I immediately put in practice what I learnt most notably his ‘listening’ diagnosis. I found his approach to diagnosis expanded my clinical knowledge and understanding, his teaching my technical skill set, and his classes have inspired me and many others to keep revisiting our anatomy text books.
One of the aspects I most appreciated about his approach is that it added to what I knew without detracting from it and it facilitated an ability to communicate directly and clearly with both my colleagues and patients the anatomy I was treating.
There are many theories on why manual therapies get the results they do, some interesting and in truth some outdated but they are just that theories, I was never comfortable explaining my treatments using them but identifying the anatomy I am supporting to move and function by ‘listening to the tissues’ of the body satisfied both my instinct to listen to a patient and my academic training.
I continued to take many of his courses and started to ask him to come teach a course in Ireland eventually after a little persuasion he accepted my offer and came to teach in Dublin in February 2008. Twenty four of my colleagues attended his course on ‘The Abdomen’ and after positive feedback on how intrigued they were with his approach I decided to sponser the Barral Institute in Ireland to support the dissemination of his work.
– Deborah Conway, 2014
Jean-Pierre Barral performs a VM session
Jean-Pierre Barral, DO, Developer of Visceral Manipulation performs a short Visceral Manipulation evaluation and treatment session (2008).
Interview with Jean-Pierre Barral, D.O.
In this clip, from 2009 Steven Sanet D.O. interviews Jean-Pierre Barral. Learn more about Jean-Pierre’s experience of manual therapy, life and Osteopathy.