Frequently asked questions

Barral Institute courses are designed for licensed healthcare professionals — physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, physicians, nurses and related disciplines — or for students in the final stages of their healthcare studies. Prior palpation skills and anatomical knowledge are required for most courses.

Our Madrid centre offers courses in both English and Spanish. You can follow the instructor in either language, and course materials are provided in your preferred language.

Yes. VM1 — Visceral Manipulation Abdomen 1 — is the entry point to the entire Barral curriculum and is a prerequisite for most advanced courses in the visceral program. If you come from another manual therapy tradition, VM1 will reframe your understanding of the body.

Most students take three to five years to complete the core curriculum (VM1–VM5 and NM1–NM4). Advanced programs and certification typically add another two to four years of continuing education. Mastery is ongoing.

Yes. The Barral Institute offers formal certification programs in Visceral Manipulation and Neural Manipulation. Certification — the BI Diplomate credential — requires completion of the core curriculum, documented clinical case work, and successful written and practical examinations.

Barral Institute International maintains a global directory of independent affiliates. You can consult the full list at barralinstitute.com. If you are considering training with us in Madrid — in English or Spanish — you can see our course calendar on the courses page.

Yes. Credits are reciprocally recognised across the Barral Institute international network. You can take VM1 at one centre, VM2 at another, a Listening Techniques module at a third — and they all count toward the same curriculum and the same Diplomate pathway. Each practitioner chooses the centres that best fit their logistics and calendar.

Comfortable clothing (scrubs or similar), a large towel, a notebook and your curiosity. Course materials are provided on the first day. Most courses run 3 to 4 days and combine theory, demonstration and hands-on practice.

Yes. We work with local hotels near the training centre and can help you find accommodation that suits your budget. Madrid has excellent public transport, so staying anywhere in the centre works well.

At our Madrid centre, individual Visceral Manipulation courses (VM1–VM5) are 590 EUR per 4-day course. Neural Manipulation modules are approximately 600 EUR. Advanced modules and the MAB3 module with Jean-Pierre Barral are priced higher. A 150 EUR enrolment fee reserves your place; the remaining course fee is paid on arrival.

Enrolment requires a 150 EUR non-refundable deposit that reserves your place. The remainder of the course fee is paid on the first day of training. Bank transfer, card and in some cases instalment options are accepted. Cancellation and refund policies are communicated with the booking confirmation.

If unforeseen circumstances prevent you from attending, contact us as early as possible. Depending on the timing, you may be able to transfer your place to a later edition of the same course. Specific cancellation terms are set out in the booking confirmation and apply fairly to every student.

Instalment options are available in some cases. We do not currently offer formal scholarships, but the modular structure of the curriculum means practitioners can spread the financial investment across several years at their own pace. Group bookings of clinical teams from the same centre may be eligible for adjusted terms — contact us for details.

Attendance itself does not require professional liability insurance, but practising the techniques you learn with your own patients does. We strongly recommend that every practitioner holds appropriate professional liability insurance for the scope of their practice. Most national professional associations include this as part of their membership.

Every practitioner feels this way in early courses — the palpation required by the Barral Method is more refined than what most foundational manual therapy training develops. This is exactly what the Listening Techniques modules (LT1 and LT2) are designed for. Most practitioners report a clear leap in palpation confidence after LT1, and we encourage taking it early.

Observation of a full course is generally not possible because it disrupts the paired practice structure. We can offer a brief visit to the training centre for prospective students who want to see the space, meet the team and ask questions. Contact us to arrange a visit.

Courses are taught by Nabil Lahlouh González (PT, DO, BI Diplomate), Director of Barral Institute España, and by visiting international faculty including Mark Bloemberg (PT, DO, BI Diplomate, CST-D), Rene Assink (Neural Manipulation specialist), and Jean-Pierre Barral himself for selected advanced modules — most notably the MATB3 module of the Manual Approach to the Brain. See our faculty page for full details.