I.P.S.B. - International Professional School of Bodywork, San Diego Ca., (858) 505-1100, Massage Therapy, Holistic Health Practitioner, Continuing Education, Asian Healing Arts, Holistic Bodywork.

Institutional History and Philosophy

Founded in 1977 as the Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing, the school quickly became known as IPSB. It has earned the reputation of being an innovative school devoted to the art and science of contemporary bodywork and massage. The school was created by three individuals, Carole Osborne-Sheets, Barry Green and Karen Flynn, who wanted to teach massage therapy and combine body mechanics and movement with consciousness-raising techniques to touch the mind, body, and spirit of an individual.

Carole Osborne-Sheets, who had been an English teacher, was instrumental in curriculum development. She understood the importance of curriculum, lesson plans, the educational process, and working with the adult learner. The first class, now called the Essentials of Massage and Bodywork, was developed to combine a solid massage curriculum with transformational awareness that was grounded in good curricular organization and planning.

In 1981, the business was sold to a group of people who incorporated under the acronym of I.P.S.B., Inc., which was changed in 1982 to Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing (IPSB). This continues to be our corporate name. In 1990, a fictitious name statement was filed in San Diego to do business as IPSB-International Professional School of Bodywork.

IPSB is noted for commitment to excellence, the quality of its faculty and staff, and the quality of our students and graduates. Since it was founded in 1977 with nine students and three instructors, IPSB has grown in both depth and breadth of program and continues to enhance its reputation for excellence.

The school’s multidimensional dedicated faculty are visionaries, scholars, and practitioners who offer the highest level of education and creative learning. The faculty maintains a high standard of professional competence based on developing and maintaining the practitioner’s own psychological and emotional well-being, as well as the practical application of bodywork and massage. The curriculum is designed to integrate and harmonize the student’s body/mind and to cultivate the attitudes, techniques, and skills necessary to support clients in their growth and change.

“At IPSB we teach many different methods of bodywork. No teacher on the staff is considered to be in sole possession of the truth. We are a circle of faculty and students invoking truth together. We know that the ultimate form of bodywork has not yet been invented. We hope we are preparing our students to develop the new methods of the future, to have that degree of creative freedom. The fact that the body is our subject matter means automatically that we are a wisdom school.

“If you really want to experience the highest understandings, you approach them by developing and nourishing the body’s possibilities.”

Edward Maupin, Ph.D., former President of IPSB

Author of Body Epiphany

Three Centers Approach

The integration of the physical, emotional, and intellectual aspects of being is a primary focus throughout all the classes at IPSB. In accordance with this ideal of balancing the three centers, courses are designed to deliver information for all three main learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

Tai Chi Focus

Expert bodywork requires strength, balance, focus, precision, and visualization. Because Tai Chi simultaneously embraces all these qualities, IPSB has selected this classic Asian exercise form as its fundamental body/mind/spirit conditioner.

Students of IPSB

The students attending the International Professional School of Bodywork are of all ages, walks of life, from across the country and around the world. They are young people studying a chosen field, adults who may be in a transition of life, professionals who want to change or enhance their career, women who have been homemakers searching for a rewarding opportunity, and nurses earning continuing education units and who wish to broaden their knowledge. They are sensitive individuals who like people and want to learn techniques and methods of life-long learning which allow them to touch others in such significant, meaningful ways as to change their own and others’ lives toward fulfillment and enrichment. Our goal is to produce psychologically sensitive bodyworkers who assist others in times of change.

Our Mission

IPSB is a community of educators, practitioners, and students who desire a richer understanding of themselves and others, who share a vision of personal and societal transformation, and who maintain therapeutic touch as their central, practical focus.

We acknowledge the spiritual dimension, and we support students as they seek a fuller integration into all aspects of their personal and professional lives.

Our mission is to educate students of diverse ages and backgrounds to understand, thrive in, and enhance our global community. Our programs and courses are designed to provide a balance between academic learning and experiential understanding that facilitates self-exploration and personal growth, as well as, practical skills. We honor all dimensions of consciousness and promote the integration of three centers of the body: physical, mental, and emotional.

Through touch, the student begins to understand how the psychophysical functioning develops and how the body reveals important psychological, developmental, and emotional information. Conditions of the body are no longer viewed as externally imposed but as an opportunity to learn about oneself, one’s relationships, and one’s environment.

Students use the structure of an academic setting to learn skills that will prepare them for new career paths and profoundly deepen their self-knowledge so that they become life-long learners. Our programs foster intellectual inquiry and theoretical knowledge while enabling students to gain a sense of personal power and acquire the skills to perform in their chosen field. Students go beyond the material and seek a deeper understanding of their own spiritual nature which manifests in practical ways. They emerge as well-grounded practitioners who help people.

Educational Purpose

IPSB programs groom students as true massage and bodywork professionals prepared for a wide variety of practice. They are competent in one or more specialty areas and can contribute in a variety of clinical settings and with other professionals.

Students are expected to demonstrate competence in a chosen body therapy and to possess a breadth of knowledge beyond this major area of study. Our educational philosophy utilizes traditional classroom learning, as well as experiential learning, dialogue methods and self-direction, within an interdisciplinary curriculum.

Our purpose is to create psychologically sensitive massage therapists and bodyworkers who are culturally literate and have an understanding of the context of their craft. They are skillful, life-long learners who are capable of helping people in times of change and who understand the importance of being a contributing member in the community to which they belong.

IPSB was originally founded to meet the emerging need for educated complementary health care providers. It has earned the reputation of being an innovative school devoted to the art and science of contemporary bodywork and massage. The curriculum is designed to integrate and harmonize the student’s body/mind, as well as to cultivate the attitudes, techniques, and skills necessary to create a financially successful career and to support clients in their growth and change. A strong emphasis is placed on developing and maintaining the practitioner’s own psychological and emotional well-being in addition to the practical application of bodywork and massage.

We provide a curriculum which blends course work of somatic or body-oriented approaches with psychology and academic understanding. Our programs foster intellectual inquiry and theoretical knowledge while enabling students to gain a sense of personal power and acquire the skills to perform in their chosen field. Students go beyond the material and seek a deeper understanding of their own spiritual nature to manifest in practical ways.

Our broad academic program utilizes classroom work, tutorials, library research, field studies, externships and specializations, dialogue studies, and self-directed learning. The latter two have proven most successful in producing empowered learners.

We provide a curriculum that combines the study of body-oriented therapies and psychological and academic studies. Students learn an integrated or holistic approach to the relationship between the individual, family systems, physical well being, and the community. We train students to be sensitive to the needs of an individual while integrating body oriented therapies, movement, body mechanics, and the study of human consciousness and spirit. They emerge as well-grounded people who help others.

Our Goals

To train qualified practitioners with professional integrity and competence in a major area of study in massage, bodywork, and somatic therapies; to inspire a deep and lasting respect for the integrity of the human body, mind, and spirit.

To promote: 1) integration of the practical and theoretical aspects of human experience, 2) integration of the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual aspects of the human personality, 3) sensitivity to and understanding of one’s own and other cultures, and 4) commitment to responsible participation in the community.

To create a community of scholars, faculty, and students who are life long learners inquiring after knowledge and skills, which utilize technological advances to increase the quality of educational resources.

To create an atmosphere that supports and encourages the recognition of the inherent human need for healing touch; to provide a supportive educational environment conducive to touch therapies, personal growth, and academic advancement.

To provide a humanities education that orients the individual to society in a historical, philosophical, and cultural way; to engender a respect for all life which inspires a deep and lasting respect for the integrity of the human body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

To further the recognition of the profession of somatic bodywork; to encourage and support students to achieve professional opportunities through dialogue and association with other members of the health care community and the public at large.

To train teachers of the future in somatic therapies and bodywork.

To participate in state and national organizations which convey the essence of professionalism to our students and to the public.

Our Core Values