Faculty & Staff
Etienne Peirsman, Founder of PCA
Etienne Peirsman is one of the most respected CranioSacral Therapy teachers worldwide, and has been teaching for nearly 30 years. He is the founder and director of PCSA (Peirsman CranioSacral Academy) in the Netherlands, and originated the CranioSacral Professional Organization in Holland, and is an honorary member of The Dutch CranioSacral Practitioner Association (NCSV). Additionally, he taught CS at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts and Bastyr University for nearly a decade. He now teaches at his new school, Peirsman Craniosacral Academy, in Tijeras, New Mexico. Etienne is also the author of the wonderful book, Craniosacral Therapy for Babies and Small Children.
As a meditator of over 40 years, Etienne Peirsman developed a unique teaching style over the past two decades that adds an extraordinarily compassionate and meditative depth to the methods used by the Upledger Institute and combines a practical, no-nonsense approach with the biodynamic style.
His specialty is the expression of the Heart, the long tide, and their connection to meditation and enlightenment. He has said “Drop the word therapy. It is not part of who and what we are. Face it, you are perfect and your heart is perfect”.
Lorna Sigourney, LMT
Faculty
Lorna became a Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Usui Reiki Master in 2007. In 2013, she received Certification in Craniosacral Therapy from Etienne Peirsman at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts in Santa Fe. A Level I CST teacher certification was granted following an in-depth four-year internship, making her the only student of Etienne's in North America to achieve this level of certification. Her compassionate teaching style and invaluable expertise add incredible depth to PCA's courses.
Lorna offers her integrative healing work to all those who wish to return to themselves to at once depart and arrive in no-mind. In other words, she assists the body in healing itself. This work at times is combined with intuitive song & sound and each session is unique. Lorna works with a wide range of clients and among other things specializes in hospice work.
Tina Vervaeke
Faculty, Family Constellations
The essence of Tina’s work is to guide people towards greater awareness of their emotions, relationships and patterns. From that insight there can be healing. She guides them, as it were, to do conscious fitness.
The way is in all simplicity with respect for what is. Less is more is the attitude from which it works.
Through the systemic 'perception' during her sessions, the broader picture is shown and what lies in the unconscious is brought to light. And this without any fuss, straight to the core of the problem , with respect for the resistance.
Tina graduated from the Peirsman Academy in 2004. Until 2013 she was a teacher at this academy in the Netherlands and Belgium. She now teaches at the Peirsman Cranio Sacral School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, US where she teaches cranio-sacral therapy combined with systemic work .
In 2008 she also graduated from the Hellinger Institute as a supervisor for systemic work and family constellations . There she also followed the training to become an organization compiler for companies.
Wilco Ledema
Faculty, Psoas Release
Wilko Ledema works as Rebalancer and Counselor. He has been one of the main teachers at the Dutch Rebalancing School for Bodywork & Meditation since 1995. Since 2017 he has the role of senior guest- teacher. Wilko is active as a guest- teacher as well at the Peirsman CranioSacral Academy in Holland since 2011 where he presents the Psoas Release 1 & 2 modules.
One of his specialties is working with anger and fear, in which he offers yearly short and effective intensives for over 15 years.
With great passion and motivation he also shares his love and over 30 years of experience for working with awareness through the body in his private practice SAMO in Amstelveen, Holland.
Wilko has been trained in Rebalancing, Osho Counseling, Rebirthing, Primal Therapy, Arun Conscious Touch, Arun Thai Healing Bodywork, The School for the Work of Byron Katie.
Lena Armstrong, LMT, CST-C
Faculty
Lena Armstrong has been consciously working with her kundalini energy daily since 2008, and has been practicing cranio since 2011. Her personal experience with the profound healing and transformative power of kundalini has led her deeply into her cranio practice, and has allowed her to be a witness to that same healing potential in her clients. Lena lives and enjoys a thriving practice in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
“I began my training in bodywork at Brenneke School of Massage in Seattle, WA in 2006. While still in massage school, I felt myself drawn to Craniosacral Therapy (CST). Over the years that pull became stronger, until finally, in 2011, I began my study of this incredibly gentle, yet powerful technique. After becoming certified as a Craniosacral Therapist through Bastyr University, I began my advanced studies with Etienne Peirsman, one of the most esteemed craniosacral teachers in the world. To this day I continue to deepen my knowledge and understanding of this beautiful work under his guidance.”
Ellen Santistevan (she/her)
BA, MS, NM LMT 6535, NCBTMB CE AP 1348
Faculty
Ellen Santistevan, a licensed massage and craniosacral therapist in the Albuquerque, NM, area.
She is a graduate of Wesleyan University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Crystal Mountain School of Therapeutic Massage, Earthwise Polarity Training Program, and the Herbalist College of the International Integrative Institute. Besides being a therapist, I am also an independent massage therapy instructor specializing in ethics and energy-based bodywork. I offer continuing education classes through the Inward Bound program at Blue Desert Hale and Peirsman Craniosacral as well as private groups in Albuquerque.
I happily accommodate all those with specific needs due to age, disability, injury, body image, gender variance, body-modifications, scarring, and trauma.
Holly Chapman, LMT
Faculty
Holly is a Craniosacral Therapist practicing and teaching in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work began in the field of social services, specializing in early childhood development and maternal mental health and evolved into studying massage therapy and various modalities of bodywork and holistic health in a desire to find ways to unwind the emotional and physical trauma that so many of her clients were experiencing. She found Craniosacral to be the most profound and gentle way to approach the body and release the pain and trauma that was hindering her clients’ ability to live a fully expressed life.
Holly strives to create a safe space where her clients can feel connected, seen, and supported in their process while allowing their own body’s healing wisdom to emerge. Empowering her clients to reconnect to their individual rhythms and create their own path to healing is the most rewarding part of it all.
Staff
Executive Director: Leila von Stein, LMT, C. Ay., CYT
Marketing & Development: Vela H. Vaughan, C. Ay., CYT
Operations Consultant: Theresa Branham, LMT
Communications Consultant: Amanda Mork