About Me
Prior to his medical training, Dr. Cohen completed a 1000-hour certification course in massage therapy at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts. Here he also completed a 150 hour certification course in cranial-sacral therapy and subsequently served as a cranial sacral table trainer at the school through multiple training cycles.
In 2001, Dr. Cohen discovered he had a talent for providing hands-on-healing to others, serving as an agent of change to provide relief and help friends and co-workers feel better. This discovery came after 17 years working in New York City as an assistant director and location manager on 14 feature films, six seasons of network primetime dramatic television series and hundreds of commercials and other special projects.
Feeling the need to honor his new-found ability, two years later Dr. Cohen left film production and NYC for Santa Fe, NM. Here he received his training and subsequently practiced as a licensed massage and cranial sacral therapist for six years, specializing in giving his clients pain relief and improved functionality.
Dr. Cohen learned Cranial Sacral Therapy, and many other beneficial therapeutic techniques he was utilizing, originated in a medical science he had previously never heard of called Osteopathic Medicine. Intrigued, he began going to a Doctor of Osteopathy for regular treatment of his own musculoskeletal condition.
Even though he had received numerous treatments from medical doctors in a variety of specializations including sports medicine, chronic pain management, PMR and orthopedic surgery, nothing resolved his own pain. Physical therapy and massage also provided no relief. After eight treatments over a few months by an osteopath, four years of suffering was completely alleviated and has never reoccurred.
This was so intriguing, even miraculous, Dr. Cohen returned to school in his mid 40’s to complete all the medical school science pre-requisites and now has the credentials and resources as a Doctor of Osteopathy to help others in their healing journey.
Dr. Walter Cohen is a graduate of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internship year in general medicine at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA followed by two years of medical residency specializing in Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at Northeast Regional Medical Center in Kirksville, MO. Here he was appointed an adjunct faculty member at A.T. Still University, the founding school of osteopathy, where he regularly lectured and taught osteopathic manipulative medicine to first and second year medical students. Dr. Cohen holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in theater film and television.
Dr. Cohen had the privilege of studying for 550 hours over three years with Steven Weiss, DO who views treatment of the body as a structural engineering problem. Dr. Weiss trained Dr. Cohen in a specific algorithm he called Altar of Creation to resolve physical, emotional and spiritual shock and trauma that goes in to the physical tissues of the body. This was created by Dr. Weiss in an effort to help patients in New York City post 9/11 who were not getting better with conventional osteopathic treatment and other therapies.
Education:
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
Class of 2014
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Lewisburg, WV
Residency:
Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine - Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (NMM-OMM)
Northeast Regional Medical Center, 2015-2017
Kirksville, MO
Internship:
General Medicine with a focus on in-patient internal medicine
Berkshire Medical Center 2014-2015
Pittsfield, MA
Faculty:
A.T. Still University
Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine - Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (NMM-OMM)
2015-2017
Kirksville, MO
Dr. Cohen completed Cranial Osteopathy courses with the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation and the Cranial Academy and is now a full member of the latter, considering Cranial Osteopathy one of his specializations. He continues to study Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine including multiyear studies and courses in Biodynamic Cranial Osteopathy with the founder of that school, Dr. James Jealous, visceral (organ) manipulation with renown French osteopath Jean Pierre Baral and pediatric osteopathy at Viola Fryman’s center here in San Diego.