Assessment Led Bodywork Training
A BTPA-accredited diploma for qualified therapists who want to find what’s really driving their clients’ problems, and treat it first.
Stop chasing symptoms. Start identifying what’s really driving the problem.
Assessment Led Bodywork Training (ALBT, previously Assessment Led Bowen Training) is a 10-day, hands-on diploma taught by Phil Steward, a therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience. You learn a structured system for assessing the body, identifying the primary driver behind your client’s symptoms, and confirming when it has been corrected. Graduates qualify as Bowen therapists. It is designed for Bowen therapists, massage and sports therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and other qualified therapists (Level 3 and above) who want clearer, more consistent results.
10 days · 3 modules · maximum 10 per group · £1,750 · accredited by the BTPA
-
“See dates and book the Diploma”
Course Introduction
Why good therapists still get inconsistent results
Why do good therapists still get inconsistent results?
Often it isn’t a lack of skill. It’s a lack of clarity about what to treat first. If you already have good hands-on skills and have trained in several techniques, you may still notice that:
-
results don’t always hold
-
clients come back with the same problem
-
some cases feel unclear or hard to resolve
It’s not what you treat. It’s what you treat first.
The body is constantly adapting and compensating, so the area of pain is often not where the problem starts. Without a clear way to assess, it’s easy to focus on symptoms, miss the underlying issue and get short-term results. The technique may be fine. The priority is what’s off.
What is a “primary driver”?
The primary driver is the underlying dysfunction that the rest of the body is compensating for, and it is often not where the client feels pain. When you can find it and treat it first, treatment becomes more precise, more consistent and easier to confirm.
See how the assessment system works → [Assessment demonstration]
It’s not what you treat. It’s what you treat first.
The body is constantly adapting and compensating.
Which means the area of pain is often not the source of the problem.
Without a clear system of assessment, it’s easy to:
-
Focus on symptoms
-
Miss the underlying issue
-
Get short-term results
This is why treatments don’t always hold. Not because the technique is wrong, but because the priority is.
When you can identify the primary driver
—what’s really causing the problem—
Treatments become more precise, more effective, and more consistent.
The Assessment-Led System
What you learn on the ALBT Diploma
The Diploma gives you a clinical framework for working out what to treat, in what order, and how to tell when it has worked. It is accredited by the BTPA and is taught hands-on in small groups.
You will learn:
What graduates report:
-
A structured assessment system: how to find the primary driver, including when it is not causing pain
-
Practical correction skills: precise, targeted tissue work guided by what the assessment shows
-
Clear confirmation tests: real-time checks that change as the body responds, so you know when a correction has worked
More precise, targeted treatment
Zoë Cook, Bowen therapist: “By assessing the body throughout, it is easier to pinpoint where the issue is coming from.”
Shorter treatment times
Tommaso Giannini, Bowen therapist: time to symmetry reduced to about 30 minutes (translated from the Italian review)
Confidence you’ve actually helped
Rebecca O’Kane, chiropractor: “new tools and ways to check that my work has been effective for the client”
Results from the start
Chantal Groom: “amazing results with clients, straight from the first module”
The system sits alongside the modalities you already use. Graduates include Bowen therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, sports therapists and massage therapists.
Osteopath (30+ years experience)
“Having worked as an Osteopath for over 30 years, I’ve found the missing link to my work.
The assessment and techniques allow me to be far more specific and effective, integrating seamlessly with what I already do.
It’s blown me away.”
Rebecca Poppelwell
Bowen Therapist
“From the moment I started using the work in my clinic, it has been life changing for both me and my patients. Treatment times are quicker but the work is so much more effective.”
Zoë Cook
(qualified 20+ years), Diploma graduate. February 2026, three years after starting
Sports Therapist
“As a sports therapist I completed the assessment led Bowen training and even after completing my degree this is the most useful and in-depth form of training.”
Rico
Reviews
These results are consistent across therapists from different backgrounds, levels of experience, and modalities.
Full reviews can be read on the reviews page or the google widget at the bottom of your screen.
Massage Therapist
“I had been looking for something that massage wasn’t able to help with, the missing ingredient that could help more of my clients with their long term issues.”
Rachel With
Chiropractor
“I have come away from the course with so much knowledge, new tools and ways to check that my work has been effective for the client.”
Rebecca O’Kane
Small Groups and Hands On Teaching
“I highly recommend this course for any physical therapist (not just Bowen therapists, there were chiropractors and sports and massage therapist on my course) looking to deepen their skills and get better results for their clients.”
Sally
“There was 6 of us training and Phil won’t go above 10.”
Linda Hammond
What is Assessment Led Bodywork ?
The Method Behind the Training
Assessment Led Bodywork is a method where every treatment is guided by assessment findings and tissue palpation, not by a fixed sequence of moves. Phil Steward developed it over 30+ years of clinical practice with a wide range of complex musculoskeletal presentations. It is taught as a BTPA-accredited Bowen diploma.
How it works: assess, correct, confirm
Assess: a structured assessment finds the true dysfunction, even when it isn’t causing symptoms.
Correct: neuromuscular release and precise tissue adjustments change tension patterns and support structural correction, following principles pioneered by Tom Bowen.
Confirm: you repeat the assessment tests after each correction. They change as the body responds, so you know when the problem has resolved and when to move on.
Why the pain isn’t always where the problem is
Pain often appears in areas that are compensating for dysfunction elsewhere in the body. This isn’t simple referral. It comes from mechanical and neurological adaptation. Treating the painful area can bring short-term relief while the driver remains. Finding and correcting the driver means you no longer have to chase pain around the body.Where the ideas come from
The method draws on Bowen principles and on assessment ideas from Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT) and cranial work. SOT is a system developed by Dr Bertrand DeJarnette that looks at the relationship between the sacrum and the skull. ALBT is not a course in SOT or cranial work. It uses some of their assessment principles within a Bowen framework, and it has been refined in busy clinical practice. Heavily influenced by the teaching of Graham Pennington, Alastair McLoughlin & John Wilkes
The ALBT Diploma
A structured, hands-on training designed for qualified therapists who want to develop real clinical clarity and achieve more consistent, lasting results.
Course Structure
The ALBT Diploma is delivered across 3 modules over 10 days in total.
Module 1:
4 days — foundations of assessment and treatment
Module 2:
3 days — developing precision, integration, and clinical reasoning
Module 3:
3 days — refinement, complexity, and final assessment
What makes this training different
-
Small group sizes (maximum 10 participants)
-
Highly practical, hands-on learning
-
Ongoing feedback throughout the training
-
Focus on real clinical application—not theory alone
Entry Requirements
This training is designed for qualified therapists (Level 3 and above), including:
-
Massage therapists
-
Sports therapists
-
Bowen therapists
-
Chiropractors
-
Osteopaths
If you are already working with the body and want to improve your results, this training is designed for you.
Training Locations & Availability
Courses are delivered across the UK and Europe.
For upcoming dates and availability, please get in touch or view current course listings.
Ready to develop real clinical clarity in your work?”
Identify what’s really driving your client’s problems—and treat with precision and confidence.
→ View upcoming courses
→ Get in touch
Next Courses
Bretford Village Hall, Brandon Rd, Bretford, Rugby CV23 0JZ
Now Full!
Autumn 2026
Sept 17 -20
Oct 23 -25
Nov 20-22
Next dates
Spring 2027 - Bristol
March 18 - 21
April 16 - 18
May 14 - 16
Sarah shares her thoughts 12 months after training.
About Us
Assessment Led Bodywork Training was inspired by the need to create a high quality Bodywork practitioner training programme.
Phil has been a therapist for 30+ years, starting as a massage/sports massage therapist. He then studied Ayurvedic massage in India and an Advanced Diploma in Manipulative therapy and then Bowen therapy . He ran a busy, full time practice, in Oxford and before moving to Devon where he and his wife run Hands On Clinic that they opened in 2010
Contact Us
01271812998
5/6 Cedar House
Braunton
Devon
UK
