About Consuelo Tenerilli, LMT, CST-D
How my journey began
Clients often ask me, “what brought you into this line of work?”
I honestly believe that this is what I was put on the planet to do. CranioSacral changed my life in 1999. I was 23 years old and already working as a licensed massage therapist. As a young woman, my life was quite seasoned and I had already experienced more than my fair share of traumatic events.
CranioSacral allowed my body the opportunity to express, process, and let go of these experiences. It was as if someone pulled the plug and let the excess air out. That first session was so profound that I immediately set out to do my first training in it. As they say, “the rest is history.”
Often a client comes to me for a specific reason. Then, they like the work so much that it becomes a regular part of their self-care routine. This leads to working on entire families. The people that I am supposed to help always find their way to me.
My sincerest hope is that everyone finds the help they need!
What does it mean to be certified?
The Upledger Institute also offers the most comprehensive knowledge, training and diverse curriculum out there. Providing numerous classes for therapists all over the world to continue to learn, grow, and hone their craft.
There are 2 levels of certification available, Techniques and Diplomate. A practitioner has to be Techniques certified before they can be Diplomate certified. Both include many essay questions focused on anatomy, clinical applications, and Dr. Upledger’s core paradigm. Then, the in person written and hands on exam. The Diplomate certification also requires an internship and case studies. After completion, a therapist has now earned the right to put CST-T or CST-D after their name.
You can see what classes someone has completed and see if they are certified at https://www.iahp.com/pages/search/
Dr. John Upledger was the founder, creator and developer of CranioSacral Therapy. His mission was to make this therapy more readily available by training all manual therapists other than just Osteopaths.
The Upledger Institute is the Gold Standard for CranioSacral Therapy education. The certification process is extensive and thorough. I decided to persue certification after nearly 20 years of practice. This took my knowledge and understanding to an entirely new level. Words cannot express how much I grew as a practitioner from this experience.
Professional Experience
State of Tennessee Massage Therapy license #1603
Graduated Arlington School of Massage in Jacksonville, FL 1998 at 21 years old.
In 1999 started my first private practice here in Nashville, Handle with Care.
In 2001 worked with Wendy Kanter at Mind Body Inc. located in the Baptist Hospital Wellness Center. She was an amazing woman. May she always be remembered for all of her contributions to our community.
In 2003 started working in physical therapy clinics that include opening Susan Underwood Physical Therapy. While working directly with Susan, I provided CranioSacral Therapy and various other modalities to patients with chronic pain, brain and spinal cord injuries, infantile disorders, and many other illnesses and injuries.
In 2007 I decided that private practice was the best place to provide care to those that I am supposed to help. This is when CranioSacral Nashville was born.
2-1-2019 became certified in CranioSacral Therapy with the Upledger Institute at the techniques level, CST-T.
4-26-2022 became certified in CranioSacral Therapy with the Upledger Institute at the Diplomate level, CST-D.
In total the 2 levels took me about 5 years to accomplish. This includes taking classes through Advanced 3, 28 essay questions, 5 case studies (published to the Upledger Institute website), an internship, and a teaching assistant through 5 levels of curriculum.
Currently a teaching assistant for CS1, CS2, SER1, SER2 and ADV1.
Studied numerous classes in CranioSacral Therapy (CST) with the Upledger Institute, Visceral Manipulation (VM) the Barral Insitute, Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT) the Chikly Institute, and over 300 hours in Thai Yoga massage for assisted stretching.