Craniosacral therapy training: schools and offers at a glance

Training courses in craniosacral therapy are aimed at people who are interested in this complementary therapeutic treatment method and want to become therapists themselves.

Craniosacral therapy uses gentle touch to influence the cerebrospinal fluid that circulates rhythmically between the skull (lat. cranium) and the sacrum (lat. sacrum), thereby releasing tension and blockages and improving self-regulation.

In the training courses, participants acquire the theoretical and practical knowledge they need to work professionally as craniosacral therapists.

Recognition by health insurance companies, or more precisely the question of whether health insurance companies will later contribute to the costs of your treatments, is a complex matter and depends above all on whether you are well qualified as a craniosacral therapist or have the required level of training and experience.

Important registers:

Most health insurance companies use the registers as a guide to quality assurance for therapistsASCA(Swiss Foundation for Complementary Medicine) andEMR(register of empirical medicine): If you are registered there, your chances of receiving cost sharing from supplementary health insurance are good*.

What is required for a register entry with craniosacral therapy:

• For theEntry as with the ASCAyou must provide proof of at least 300 hours of craniosacral specialist training and 150 hours of instruction in basic medical principles or present the OdA KT industry certificate with the craniosacral therapy method.
• For theEntry with the EMRyou must be able to provide evidence of at least 300 hours of craniosacral specialist training and 340 hours of instruction in basic medical principles, as well as at least 250 treatments that you have carried out yourself. Alternatively, the OdA KT industry certificate with the craniosacral therapy method can also be used here.

You can find more information in ourGuide to training and continuing education, further training in naturopathy and complementary therapy.

* But beware: not all health insurance companies always follow the two registers. In practice, you must clarify cover with all clients on a case-by-case basis and obtain a cost approval.

The orientation of your basic education does not matter for craniosacral training, but schools are usually expected to require that you have a vocational training or upper-secondary level qualification, whatever form it takes.

Craniosacral training takes place alongside your job and usually extends over several years, so that a reduction or even termination of your employment is not necessary.

The Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) for complementary therapists for the method of craniosacral therapy is a federally recognized craniosacral training course.

Yes, for admission to the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) in Complementary Therapy, you need to hold the OdA KT (BZ) sector certificate in Complementary Therapy. You can either obtain this certificate as part of your training or - for example, if you completed your training before the introduction of the BZ - via the equivalence procedure (GWV) of the OdA KT.