International Training Center in Aquatic Osteopathy

Training courses organized and led by Ségolène Vilpert since 2006

Since my move to Aix les Bains in 2006, I have trained more than 1000 osteopaths in Aquatic Osteopathy. These many hours of transmissions taught me a lot and changed my way of teaching as well as the content of the training.

In 2006, most of the osteopaths who were training came out of "curiosity" and very few of them settled into aquatic osteopathy. Since aquatic osteopathy has developed, the context has changed and today I support numerous creations of aquatic osteopathy practices across the four corners of France. It was therefore time for me to really evolve my training as well as the training location.

So first of all I created a new place: the Espace Méditrine

The Meditrine Space is a multidisciplinary center dedicated to Health and Well-Being and designed for training in Aquatic Osteopathy. Located 10 minutes from the city center of Aix les Bains, in the heart of the small village of Trévignin, at an altitude of 650m and in the middle of meadows, it is the ideal place to reconnect with yourself before connect to others...

It is in this spirit of creating a new educational tool that the CIFOA, International Training Center in Aquatic Osteopathy, was born. The CIFOA website allows you to easily find all the information on aquatic osteopathy training and organize your stay as best as possible.

The training courses are reserved for exclusive osteopaths or osteopathy students from the 5th year.

For better learning, the number of participants is limited to a maximum of 8 trainees per training.

My background:

6 years of full-time training at the Ecole Supérieure d’Osteopathy in Paris and training in Canada in 2003 to learn aquatic osteopathy from Michel Dufresne.

I completed my final thesis on aquatic osteopathy and I obtained a European doctorate in Geneva also on this subject.

European Major in Geneva in 2006.

Given the results obtained, I decided to open the first aquatic osteopathy practice in Europe.

Since 2006, I have organized training in aquatic osteopathy in Aix les Bains for osteopaths and since 2022 in Trévignin at the Espace Méditrine.

More than 95% of trained osteopaths say they are completely satisfied with the training.

Twenty years ago, I wrote my dissertation and then my thesis in Aquatic Osteopathy…

Since then, there have been:

Creation of the first aquatic osteopathy pool in Aix-les-Bains in 2006

Training of more than 1,200 osteopaths in aquatic osteopathy

Writing of the first book on aquatic osteopathy, "When the Osteopath Throws Himself into the Water"

Creation of the CIFOA (International Training Center in Aquatic Osteopathy)

Creation of international training courses in aquatic osteopathy…

And of course, Aquatic Osteopathy, like any developing technique, has been transformed, modified, sometimes even overused, sometimes making it a "trendy treatment," far removed from the fundamental principles that govern it and the osteopathic philosophy…

Faced with this proliferation of unscrupulous osteopaths, I decided to offer, for its For 20 years, the "original" Aquatic Osteopathy has been a name, a protectable quality label, and a guarantee of a practice that respects the fundamental principles of aquatic osteopathy as well as osteopathic philosophy.

I am therefore pleased to announce the birth of AQUASTEO.

This name, a guarantee of quality practice, will be used by all practitioners who respect the fundamental principles of aquatic osteopathy.

All osteopaths who have trained with me and who still respect these principles will be able to request a new AQUASTEO Aquatic Osteopathy diploma by email and use this name.

Last edited: 17/03/2026