“I like to treat problems no one else can help,” says Dr. Eric Dolgin, an osteopathic physician whose expertise in a largely unknown specialty—cranial osteopathy—is attracting patients from all over the country.
According to The New York Times, osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest-growing medical professions in the United States. More than 50,000 osteopathic physicians practice in recognized specialties such as obstetrics, neurosurgery, cardiology, and internal medicine. Only about 150 are certified proficient to practice cranial osteopathy. This drugless, non-invasive medical treatment may be provided only by licensed physicians who have completed an additional five years of training in this specialty.
Eric Dolgin, D.O., F.C.A., is recognized as one of the leaders in this field in the United States. During his 25 years in practice, Dr. Dolgin has proved that cranial osteopathy can achieve profound healing in many cases where other approaches have failed. He has had profound results in the treatment of children with mild to moderate autism, learning disabilities, and other difficult to treat conditions. In The Autism Perspective, a national magazine in which Dr. Dolgin was featured, one mother described her autistic son after six weeks of treatment with Dr. Dolgin: “There always seemed to be a wall that prevented him from easily taking in information, but now he loves to learn.” Another mother said that her son, as a result of his treatment with Dr. Dolgin, “wants to play with other children for the first time in his life, and even likes hugging them.”
Dr. Dolgin completed his clinical training in cranial osteopathy under the legendary Robert Fulford, D.O. In the best-selling book Spontaneous Healing, Andrew Weil, a Harvard-trained M.D., devoted a chapter to the contributions of Dr. Fulford and brought the field of cranial osteopathy to the world’s attention.
Dr. Fulford instilled in the young Dr. Dolgin a “common sense” approach to medicine, meaning the body is one anatomical unit and illness in one area can adversely impact all other parts. Following in the footsteps of his famous mentor, Dr. Dolgin himself has become a “physician’s physician” treating other doctors who choose him for their own healthcare needs. Like Dr. Fulford, Dr. Dolgin utilizes gentle, painless hands-on treatment of the cranium along with other approaches of osteopathic manual medicine (OMM) to enable the body to heal itself. His treatment regimens also incorporate diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes.
Whether a patient suffers from back pain, migraine, a digestive disorder, asthma, muscle injury, trauma, or fatigue, Dr. Dolgin is frequently able to resolve the condition through cranial osteopathy.
“No other system of manual medicine requires practitioners to apply such detailed clinical knowledge with such a unique perspective,” says Dr. Dolgin. “The study is rigorous, but the rewards are in the results. I don’t know any other way to achieve such profound changes.”
Dr. Dolgin is dedicated to helping transform the overall health of children. He has had great success in treating colic, failure to thrive, recurrent ear infections, autism, plagiocephaly, torticollis, birth trauma, head injuries, learning difficulties, and a host of other conditions. Frustrated mothers come to him hoping to avoid medication and surgery for children with chronic ear infections, and in most cases the condition is eliminated. He also works with dentists to resolve issues surrounding facial development and conditions that arise from the use of braces—problems many people are not aware of.
Dr. Dolgin’s long list of dramatic recoveries includes his own. Suffering from asthma as a boy, he was administered inhalers, injections, antihistamines, bronchodilators, steroids and potent antibiotics. Through osteopathic treatment, homeopathic treatment, and dietary changes, he resolved his health problems and has not taken conventional medicine in more than 25 years.
Dr. Dolgin received his doctorate in osteopathy from the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and received the Osteopathic Heritage Award, an honor given to one newly graduated physician who demonstrates outstanding skills in osteopathic manual medicine. He refined his skills in cranial osteopathy as assistant director of the prestigious Osteopathic Center for Children in San Diego, California. For the past 25 years he has served as clinical assistant professor of family medicine at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific.
President emeritus of the Cranial Academy—the professional organization for U.S. doctors of osteopathy—Dr. Dolgin was named a fellow of the Academy, an honor accorded only 33 physicians before him. He chaired the Academy’s education committee and has been an officer and board member for more than 25 years. Dr. Dolgin also served on the faculty of the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation. He has served in different positions in a number of non-profit organizations.
To impart the advanced teachings of his profession to the next generation of osteopaths, Dr. Dolgin lectures to physicians around the world. He is also working to make academic articles and case studies available to the public on the Internet, and is involved in the creation of pilot studies that further demonstrate the efficacy of OMM. To expand his efforts in treatment and research of neurodevelopmental disorders, chiefly autism, Dr. Dolgin has launched The Kids’ Brain Trust, a nonprofit organization and funded clinic for parents who cannot afford treatment.
Osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) have completed conventional medical training and are licensed to practice as physicians or surgeons. D.O.s who wish to specialize may become "board-certified" by completing a 2- to 6-year residency in the specialty and passing the board exams. Physicians who wish to enter the field of cranial osteopathy must train an additional five years to be certified. This course of study is open only to doctors of osteopathy, medical doctors, and dentists.
In 2001 Dr. Dolgin established the Santa Monica Osteopathic Physicians Building (SMOPB), a medical facility that houses physicians specializing in OMM with a subspecialty in osteopathy in the cranial field. The clinic is located at 2128 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405 (310-664-8818).

Curriculum Vitae
Academic Credentials 

• 1976, BS degree in Zoology Summa Cum Laude, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

• 1976-1978, Graduate Program in Exercise Physiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

• 1982, DO degree, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, Ohio. Recipient of Osteopathic Heritage Award.

• 1982-1983, Internship, Brentwood Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.

• 1983-1984, Fellowship in Pediatric Osteopathy, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Osteopathic Center for Children, La Jolla, California.

• 1985, Graduate IFH Professional Course.

• 2003, Inducted as a Fellow of The Cranial Academy.

• 1983-Present, Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine in Osteopathic Principles and Practice, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Pomona, California.

• 1984-1985, Practicing Physician and Assistant Director, Osteopathic Center for Children, La Jolla, California.

• 1984-Present, Faculty member of the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation.

• 1985-Present, Private Practice in Santa Monica, California (General Practice).

• 1988-Present, Instructor for The Cranial Academy.

• 1988-1992, Cochairman of the Publications Committee of the American Academy of Osteopathy.

• 1990, Guest lecturer William Garner Sutherland School of Osteopathic Medicine in Belgium as a member of SCTF Faculty

• 1990-1992, Editor of the The Cranial Academy Basic Instruction Manual for Osteopathy in the Cranial Field.

• 1990-1995, 1999-2011, Member of the Board of Directors of the Cranial Academy.

• 1991, 2007, Co-Director of The Osteopathic Cranial Academy Introductory Course in Osteopathy in The Cranial Field.

• 1992-1993, 2012,Course director of The Osteopathic Cranial Academy Introductory Course in Osteopathy in The Cranial Field.

• 1991, Guest lecturer in the USSR (through a group invitation by the Soviet Minister of Health)

• 1992-1993, Vice President of Board of Directors of Osteopathic Promise to Children

• 1993-1995, Vice President of The Cranial Academy

• 1999-2002, Chairman of the Educational Committee of the Cranial Academy.

• 2004-2005, Chairman of the Critical Issues Task Force of the Cranial Academy.

• 2001-2007, 2010-12, Chairman of the IT Committee of the American Academy of Osteopathy.

• 2007, Chairman of the International Membership Subcommittee of the Cranial Academy.

• 2003, Guest lecturer for the ÒInstituto Superiore De Osteopatia,Ó Milan, Italy

• 2003-2005, Secretary-Treasurer Osteopathic Center for Children

• 2004-2007, Member of Board of Governors of the American Academy of Osteopathy.

• 2001-2007, 2011-12, Chairman of the IT Committee of the Cranial Academy.

• 2005-2007, President of The Cranial Academy

• 2002-Present, Medical Director Santa Monica Osteopathic Physicians Building

• 2007-2009, Chairman of the Nominating Committee of the Cranial Academy.

• 2011-2012, Chairman of the Annual Conference Committee of the Cranial Academy.

• 2007, 2008, Annual Conference Director for the Cranial Academy.

• 2008-Present, President and Founder of Kids Brain Trust

• 2011, 2012, Speaker for the American Academy of Osteopathy.

• 2012, Author/Illustrator/Editor of Introductory Course Manual for Osteopathy in the Cranial Field.

• 1991, Co-author Ripe For Plucking office management manual.

• 1993, Author MacOsteopath office management software.