Naturopath

Of the Naturopath are people who are allowed to practice the medical profession without being a doctor. A non-medical practitioner has to prove his medical knowledge in an examination before a state medical association. Naturopaths mostly work independently in their own practices. The profession of alternative practitioner is one of the liberal professions within the meaning of the Income Tax Act.

What is a naturopath?

Naturopath are people who - although they do not have a medical license - are active in medicine. In order to be allowed to practice the profession of alternative practitioner, an examination by a state medical association is necessary.

This involves a written and an oral test in which the budding alternative practitioner has to answer a wide variety of questions on the subject of medicine, but also on various legal issues that encompass his job description. The written test consists of 60 multiple-choice questions, 45 of which the subject must answer correctly. In the oral exam, the mistakes made are often checked again.

Prior training is not compulsory, although various (distance) training institutes offer courses to prepare for the exam. The interested party has the opportunity to choose between the fields of "alternative practitioners with full license" and "alternative practitioners for psychotherapy".

Treatments & therapies

A Naturopath with full approval may make diagnoses and offer therapies. In principle, there is freedom of therapy, which means that a fully licensed alternative practitioner may use the therapy in which he specializes.

Most naturopaths use methods from alternative medicine, for example from the fields of phytotherapy, aromatherapy, physiotherapy, bioresonance therapy or homeopathy. Osteopaths are also mostly naturopaths. The range of treatments offered by a naturopath is limited; An alternative practitioner is not allowed to provide obstetrics, not be active in radiation therapy, not perform dental treatments and not treat any notifiable diseases.

Prescription drugs should not be prescribed and narcotics should not be used. Aside from these limitations, an alternative practitioner can be fully medically active. Typical areas of application are, for example, the treatment of sleep disorders or the restoration of pain-free movement options for various back problems.

Many alternative practitioners support women with menstrual cramps or couples with an unfulfilled desire to have children, for example as a result of endometriosis. Naturopaths with a focus on psychotherapy usually specialize in hypnosis (e.g. for smoking cessation), NLP and autogenic training, family constellations and systemic therapy.

Diagnosis & examination methods

The diagnostic and examination methods are available Naturopath all techniques and instruments available that a doctor also uses. As a rule, however, alternative practitioners work alternatively and specialize in gentle methods of healing.

An alternative practitioner is more likely than a doctor to diagnose illnesses by listening, feeling the body and then giving comprehensive advice or developing therapies. Medical devices such as a stethoscope or othoscope are only used for support. Naturally, a treatment couch is not lacking in an alternative practitioner's practice either. Many alternative practitioners use laboratory medicine techniques, for example to test a patient's blood.

In bioresonance therapy, electrodes are placed on the patient's skin to measure nerve tension. If an alternative practitioner offers this therapy, he uses appropriate electrodes and technical devices to be able to read out the results.

What should the patient pay attention to?

Around 20,000 resident workers work in Germany Naturopath with the different specialties. When choosing an alternative practitioner, a patient should first make sure that the form of therapy that the alternative practitioner uses suits him.

Just like with a doctor, the patient should be able to build a trusting relationship with the alternative practitioner, so a certain degree of sympathy is initially decisive for choosing the right alternative practitioner. The alternative practitioner should also have extensive professional experience or - if he is still a young professional - be able to rely on the experience of a colleague. Naturopaths cannot bill for their services through a health insurance company, which means that the patient has to pay for the treatment himself.

Many health insurers then assume part of the costs; a reputable naturopath clarifies a treatment contract about this before signing. Non-medical practitioners are not subject to confidentiality, but serious non-medical practitioners undertake to do so voluntarily.