It has since been developed and furthered by many others and is now one of the nine therapies involved in the move towards voluntary self regulation in the UK.

It should be highlighted that the three other surviving students of Mr. Tom Bowen - Keith Davis, Kevin Ryan and Romney Smeeton - all have similar methodologies that vary significantly from the way Oswald Rentsch teaches the technique. Dr. Kevin Ryan teaches his interpretation of the Bowen Technique to Osteopathic students at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Methodology

The Bowen Technique addresses key points to stimulate energy flow, but Bowen Technique involves a gentle, rolling motion, with very light touches. The practitioner will stimulate sets of points, often with pauses between sets. The Bowen Technique is not a form of massage, though it does claim to release areas of built-up stress in the muscles, and clients usually experience profound relaxation after a session.

A view held by some Bowen Therapists is that the specific way that Bowen Technique addresses the muscles stimulates the stretch and golgi tendon reflexes as well as joint proprioceptors in a way that heightens the sensory awareness of the body in the area worked on. This can lead to strange sensations such as heat release, tingling and a general increased awareness of the areas being worked. These sensations are sometimes mistakenly associated with some form of "energy healing". Through increasing sensory awareness the move taps into the body’s ability to self regulate which, in turn, can stimulate the body to heal itself.

The Bowen Technique can be used as a stand-alone therapy or in combination with other treatments.

Since 1998 the technique has become widely used in primary care settings in the UK, with many chartered physiotherapists using the technique in hospitals, hospices and other funded health settings.