Answering: What’s the Difference Between Quantum Photo Somatics and Behavioural Optometry?

Estimated reading time: 8 min read

Quantum Photo Somatics and behavioural optometry are different categories of practice, despite both involving the visual system, prisms, and a view of vision that goes beyond reading a chart. Behavioural optometry sits inside clinical optometry, regulated through AHPRA. Quantum Photo Somatics is a registered somatic modality, accredited through the IICT since 2019 and developed across 33 years of clinical practice and 43,680+ documented sessions by Dr Michael Christian, PhD (Optometrist).

If you have been comparing them, you are not alone. The overlap looks real from the outside. Both look at how vision affects the wider body. Both have practitioners who use prism. Both ask deeper questions than a standard eye test. The confusion is fair, and worth resolving before you book anything, because the two practices answer different questions and operate under different professional frameworks.

This guide draws on Michael’s clinical background in both worlds. He is a registered optometrist and the creator of Quantum Photo Somatics methodology, which means he sits at the intersection where the comparison actually lives.

By the end of this guide, you will be able to tell which practice fits the question you are trying to answer.

Key Insights

• Behavioural optometry is a clinical optometry sub-discipline, regulated by AHPRA and represented by ACBO (the Australasian College of Behavioural Optometrists).
• Quantum Photo Somatics is a registered somatic modality, accredited through the IICT since 2019, with one certified practitioner: Dr Michael Christian.
• The deciding factor is the question you are trying to answer: clinical visual function, or whole-system somatic coherence.

Keep reading for full details below.

Table of Contents

• Quick Comparison
• What Behavioural Optometry Is
• What Quantum Photo Somatics Is
• Where the Two Meet, and Where They Diverge
• The Decision Framework
• Where QPS Fits in Melbourne
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Want to Learn More?
• Citations

Quick Comparison

What Behavioural Optometry Is

Behavioural optometry is a clinical sub-discipline of optometry. Its practitioners are fully qualified, AHPRA-registered optometrists who have completed additional postgraduate training in functional and developmental vision care. In Australia and New Zealand, the peak body is the Australasian College of Behavioural Optometrists (ACBO), founded in 1987, with close to 400 members across Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia-Pacific region.

The focus of behavioural optometry is the relationship between vision and visual function. Where a standard eye test asks whether you can see clearly at distance and near, a behavioural assessment looks at how your two eyes work together, how well they track and focus, and how visual processing supports learning, sport, and reading. ACBO members have a special interest in children’s vision, learning difficulties, traumatic brain injury, and binocular vision dysfunction.

Behavioural optometry is regulated within the same framework as all Australian optometry. Practitioners must be registered with the Optometry Board of Australia, hold the required university qualification, and meet ongoing continuing professional development requirements. ACBO members complete additional behavioural-optometry CPD on top of the standard registration requirement.

The tools of behavioural optometry are clinical: prescription lenses, prism, vision therapy exercises, syntonics, and developmental optometry assessment tools. The questions a behavioural optometrist is qualified to answer concern visual function, eye coordination, and the way the visual system supports specific tasks.

What Quantum Photo Somatics Is

Quantum Photo Somatics is a registered somatic modality. The category matters: a somatic modality is a body-based therapeutic approach that works with the nervous system through the body itself rather than through cognitive processing. QPS works through the visual system as the entry point, using calibrated light and prism to bring the visual, neurological, and somatic systems into coherence.

QPS is registered with the International Institute of Complementary Therapists, the global professional body for complementary therapies, with an approved-modalities list covering more than 1,400 modalities. Registration with the IICT means QPS meets the institute’s training and practice standards and that practitioners are eligible for BMS-backed professional indemnity insurance. QPS was registered in 2019.

The methodology was developed by Dr Michael Christian, PhD (Optometrist) across 33 years of clinical practice and 43,680+ documented sessions. Michael is a registered optometrist with AHPRA, Board Certified with the Board of Integrated Medicine (North America), and an Executive Member of the IICT. He is the only certified QPS practitioner.

Where behavioural optometry asks how the visual system supports specific visual tasks, QPS asks how the visual system organises the rest of the body. The SEE Framework (Sense, Enable, Enact) structures every session, and the work is observational rather than corrective. QPS does not prescribe; it activates. Touch is optional and always consent-based, which makes it accessible to people for whom touch-based somatic therapies are not suitable.

Where the Two Meet, and Where They Diverge

The two practices share a common assumption that vision is more than acuity. Both take prism seriously as a clinical tool. Both come from a tradition that questions whether reading a chart at 6/6 is the full story of how someone’s visual system is working. The shared territory is real, and it is worth respecting.

The divergence sits at the level of category. Behavioural optometry stays within the clinical optometry frame, working with the eyes and their support systems to address visual function. QPS works at the level of phase coherence between the visual, neurological, and somatic systems, using the eyes as the gateway. The first is clinical; the second is somatic. The first answers questions about vision; the second uses vision to ask questions about the whole body.

This means the two practices can sit alongside each other. A behavioural optometrist may identify and address a binocular vision dysfunction. QPS may work with the somatic compensation patterns that have built up around that dysfunction over years. The questions are different, and so are the answers. There is no rivalry between the two frames, just different professional scopes.

The Decision Framework

Choose behavioural optometry if you are looking for a clinical assessment of visual function. If a child is struggling with reading, if you have had a concussion and your eyes feel different, if you suspect a binocular vision issue, if you want to address visual-skills development for sport, or if you need a clinical diagnosis covered by Medicare and private health, a behavioural optometrist is qualified to do that work. ACBO maintains a directory of members across Australasia.

Consider Quantum Photo Somatics if you are looking for a somatic process. If you have unexplained dizziness, chronic headaches, or balance issues that have not resolved with conventional care, if you carry compensation patterns that span posture and breathing as well as vision, if you are exploring whole-system regulation rather than a specific clinical diagnosis, or if touch-based somatic therapies are not suitable for you, QPS may be a fit.

Sometimes the answer is both, in sequence. A clinical optometric workup first, then somatic work that addresses what the clinical layer cannot reach. Michael’s dual standing in both frames means he can flag when the clinical question belongs in another room, and when somatic work is the more useful next step.

Where QPS Fits in Melbourne

Michael practises in Melbourne, working with clients from across Australia and from eight or more countries. The practice operates from the Microprism Vision clinic, where QPS sessions are delivered in person, one-on-one. As an AHPRA-registered optometrist, Michael holds the clinical credential. As an IICT Executive Member and the creator of QPS, he holds the modality credential. The two registrations cover different legs of the same stool.

For Melbourne residents weighing up where to start, the practical entry point is a Quansultation: a standalone QPS session, no referral needed, no commitment beyond the hour. International clients typically book a Quantum Activation Pack of three sessions, which gives the nervous system time to integrate between sessions. Whichever path you take, the Understanding Quantum Photo Somatics page maps the journey from first contact to deeper engagement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Quantum Photo Somatics the same as vision therapy?

A: No. Vision therapy is a clinical optometric service delivered by AHPRA-registered optometrists, often within a behavioural optometry framework. Quantum Photo Somatics is a registered somatic modality (IICT, 2019) that uses calibrated light and prism to support coherence between the visual, neurological, and somatic systems. Vision therapy addresses visual function. QPS works at the level of whole-system regulation through the visual system as an entry point.

Q: Is QPS recognised by AHPRA?

A: QPS is a complementary somatic modality, registered with the IICT rather than AHPRA. AHPRA regulates the Australian optometry profession and Dr Michael Christian holds his AHPRA optometry registration in his clinical role. QPS sits within the complementary-therapy framework regulated by the IICT, with BMS-backed professional indemnity insurance. The two registrations are distinct and cover different scopes of practice.

Q: Do I need a referral to book a QPS session?

A: No referral is needed. You can book a Quansultation directly through the Quantum Photo Somatics services page. QPS is a complementary modality and works alongside conventional optometric, medical, psychological, and allied-health care. Many clients arrive after working with optometrists, behavioural optometrists, or other practitioners.

Q: Can QPS work alongside conventional optometry care?

A: Yes. QPS is designed as a complementary modality and does not replace optometric, medical, or psychological care. Many clients continue to see their regular optometrist for prescriptions and clinical eye-health monitoring while engaging with QPS for the somatic process. The two registrations sit beside each other rather than in competition.

Want to Learn More?

This guide reflects 33 years of clinical practice across both clinical optometry and complementary therapy, and the patterns we have seen across 43,680+ documented sessions. The fastest way to understand the distinction is to experience QPS directly.

Citations

• “Optometry Board of Australia” — The Optometry Board, supported by AHPRA, is the regulator confirming registration requirements and scope of practice for all Australian optometrists, including those practising behavioural optometry. https://www.optometryboard.gov.au/
• “IICT Approved Modalities” — The International Institute of Complementary Therapists confirms the registration framework for somatic modalities, including BMS-backed professional indemnity insurance and the approved-modalities list. https://www.myiict.com/approved-modalities/
• “Australasian College of Behavioural Optometrists” — ACBO is the peak body for behavioural optometry in Australasia, founded in 1987, with close to 400 members holding AHPRA registration plus additional behavioural-optometry training. https://www.acbo.org.au/

QPS operates within IICT’s code of practice for complementary therapists and Michael’s clinical optometry work operates under the Optometry Board of Australia’s code of conduct. Both frameworks require practitioners to recognise the limits of their scope and refer where appropriate.

Quantum Photo Somatics has been refined across 33 years and 43,680+ sessions by the only certified practitioner of the modality. If you have been weighing up clinical vision care against somatic work, the next step is to experience QPS for yourself: book a Quansultation, one hour with Michael in Melbourne, no referral needed. From there, the Understanding Quantum Photo Somatics page maps what comes next.