Damian has been a practising osteopath for 20 years. He was born in Yorkshire, England. He started his initial training in osteopathy at The John Wernham College of Classical Osteopathy, before completing his training at the British School of Osteopathy in London.

Soon after qualifying as an osteopath in 2002, Damian moved to New Zealand, and has practiced in Hamilton for many years. He took his first course in Visceral Manipulation in 2011 and was hooked from the start, when he discovered that Jean-Pierre Barral’s work reminded him of his early classical osteopathic training. Over the years, he attended numerous VM, NM and Vascular courses, with a belief that Visceral Manipulation was the catalyst to becoming a true holistic practitioner. Damian believes that with an understanding of how the musculoskeletal system, viscera, and psychology are intertwined and interdependent, practitioners have a much greater ability to evaluate, understand and help their patients.

Damian became a Teaching Assistant with the Barral Institute in 2013 assisting in classes across the breadth of the curriculum before qualifying as a Teacher. He says it is a great privilege to be a teacher with the Barral Institute, and that he gets a “massive buzz” when helping others to understand the principles and techniques of Jean Pierre’s work.

Before Covid Damian was teaching in Australasia and the USA. He continues to study the Barral curriculum, also as a result of travel restrictions, he’s had a little extra time. During which, he has been exploring the application of Jean Pierre’s principles to the Equus, a project much to the appreciation of both rider and horse.

Damian Kitcheman Course List