Complementary medicine is increasingly under pressure to justify its safety and effectiveness both in terms of government-inspired independent regulation and criticisms from the medical establishment about the lack of peer-reviewed evidence.
In response to this, the CSTA is intending to apply to the Charity Commission for approval to set up a charity. Its purpose will be to raise funds to support research into the safety and effectiveness of craniosacral therapy (CST) in a wide range of conditions.
We have therefore decided to set up trials through randomly selected members into the safety of CST and also into its effectiveness in treating baby colic. Other trials will follow later. We believe the baby colic trials will produce conclusive evidence that CST is a safer, more effective and cheaper method of treating colic than is currently available elsewhere. It has no known medical cure other than palliative help during the 12 weeks or so for which colic typically lasts causing much stress and anguish for babies and parents.
We need one critical element to ensure that the results of our research, once published, are accepted by both the Government and medical establishment; and that is a partnership with a university who will provide statistical input into the design of the trials and interpret and report on the results. We need funding to obtain university support, one possibility being to fund a PhD student who would guide and assist the research group.
Before we can make an application to the Charity Commission we need to find written pledges totalling £5,000. The total amount of funding that we will eventually need is much greater than £5,000 but the first requirement is to satisfy the Commission that we can raise at least this amount!
We’re simply asking for written pledges at this stage rather than donations. Tax relief which arises from our having charitable status will only be available once our application has been approved. You will only be asked to donate the promised amount once we have received approval from the Commission.
The tax reliefs available to a registered charity mean that the amount you donate is grossed up at a modified standard rate eg a £10 donation from you means that the charity can claim an additional £2.80 from Inland Revenue, providing £12.80 in total to the charity. Higher rate taxpayers receive relief which can be claimed as part of the annual self-assessment.
Please email, with a subject name of "Pledge", the following information to Roger James, the CSTA Secretary, at secretary@craniosacral.co.uk
Any donation you decide to give (however small) will be much appreciated and put to good use!
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