General info about "Heilpraktikers"

... and has anyone been to one?

It's an "alternative practinioner." Never been; they seem pretty en vogue around here.

Is it the one that can see your aura and stuff like that?

my local doctor is a Heilpraktiker, in his case it just means he tries to use natural medication (homeopathic stuff, like Umckaloabo and Echinacea for colds, etc.) and only reverts to real drugs if forced to.

A heilpraktiker is the profession which includes complementary and holistic health treatments ranging through homeopathy, acupuncture and chinese medicine, chiropractic, osteopathy, and herbal remedies (phytotherapy). There are more, but these are the most known and possibly quantifiably measureable, from a western perspective.

Heilpraktiker must pass the demanding state medical examination (for western med students also) which tests knowledge of conventional medicine, as a way of safeguarding the community. The therapies I listed above require further training of up to 6 years (in the case of osteopathy).

The point: HPs treat their patients as a whole and aim to hit the root cause of a dysfunction, rather than focussing treating the symptoms. But don't be surprised if you feel crap for a little while after the therapy - the treatment generally stimulates the body's self-healing function to tackle the malaise. This is the price to pay for finally getting rid of a chronic back problem, headache, digestion issue, etc.

Insurance: Unfortunately, gesetzliche Versicherung doesn't cover Heilpraktiker treatments (yet!). Private, there is some cover. But it's funny how we don't blink to shell out €60 to pay for the repair of a washing machine, but squirm at investing the same amount in our own body.

By the way, I'm not an HP, but will work as one someday. My calling.

Yes I noticed that in myself during my recent period off sick. I was squirming at a bill for €129 from the neurologist, but after I got better didn’t think twice about paying twice that for new tyres. Why is that? Are we so pampered by the welfare state that we expect perfect health as a right?

Talking of osteopaths, can someone tell me what osteopath is in German? Leo reckons it’s Osteopath, which seems a bit easy to me…

Leo, our friend, is right. Osteopath is Osteopath. To become one, you have to be one of three things first: Dr. med, Heilpraktiker, Physiotherapist.

Osteo's a very subtle and effective form of manual therapy that treats several body structures, i.e. skeletal structure as well as the fascias that surround the organs.

Torsten thanks.
I was wondering why, if the word "Osteopath" is correct, I had never seen any signs outside any doctors' practices. I suppose they all count officially as Heilpraktiker, so I'd have to go to one of them.

Hi Jeeves
There is a register of Osteopaths who have attained a certain level of quals, called the Verband der Osteopathen Deutschland (VOD).

Here is the listing of Osteos they have registered in Bayern:
http://www.osteopathie.de/indexmitglieder.html

T