In the jungle of therapy concepts - finding clarity and maintaining your stance
Sometimes it's not so easy to keep an overview: Osteopathic or active? Conventional medicine or experience-based? Movement-oriented or rather still? Between myofascia, tapes, manual techniques and energetic methods, the training market for therapists often seems like a wild jungle. I know this well - I too have been through this jungle for many years.
Over the past 25 years, I have tried out countless methods, passed them on, questioned them - and constantly developed myself in the process. Many of the methods that I used to use with conviction are now viewed with more distance. Some have proven themselves in my work, others have not. And that is precisely why my training courses are structured differently today than they were a few years ago.
What you can expect from us:
We clearly prefer active forms of therapy to passive measures, are guided by the latest scientific evidence and at the same time share our practical experience from our daily work. This also means that there will occasionally be critical comments in our courses - on methods, concepts or therapy promises that should be questioned professionally. It is not about condemning others, but about reflecting with humor and attitude on what works - and why.
If you're looking for a well-founded, modern and humanly grounded pain and movement therapy, then you've come to the right place - or have you? Better take the quiz first and see where you stand ;).
Between tape, touch and totem
A self-test: What type of alternative therapist are you?
The therapeutic world is colorful. Very colorful. Sometimes even taped in rainbow colors. Between energetic healing breathing, diagnostic chicken bone throwing and gentle skull stroking, therapists can sometimes lose track of what's going on: What works, what just feels good - and where does the placebo effect with wellness flair actually begin?
To help you know where you stand - or where you're stuck - we've developed this evidence-based self-test for you. Don't worry: no matter where you end up, you'll stay upright, grounded and probably much more relaxed when dealing with therapy trends.
The questions of life (or at least of practice):
1. a patient asks you if you also work with aura. You say...
A) "Of course, I even have a WLAN morphogenetic field."
B) "Only when the aura is tense."
C) "I prefer to stick to the visible and tangible."
D) "Aura? Sounds like shower gel."
2. you see someone with twelve kinesio tapes on their body. You think...
A) "Full color coverage! I'll tape right away."
B) "A case for tape detox."
C) "Placebo at premium level."
D) "If it helps - or at least doesn't itch."
3. you are offered further training in "diagnostic Balinese chicken bone throwing". You say...
A) "Where can I book? Is it also vegan?"
B) "Only with a CE certificate."
C) "I'd better call the Chamber of Therapists - oh yes, it doesn't exist."
D) "Only if there's voodoo flossing afterwards."
4) What do you think of craniosacral therapy?
A) "I can feel the rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid flow. It's magical!"
B) "It feels good. Must be enough."
C) "I once heard someone snoring - it must have been successful."
D) "I prefer to mobilize what I can move."
5 Your patient talks enthusiastically about vibration therapy, healing codes and pendulums. You...
A) make a note with interest - further training potential for the coming weekend!
B) politely change the subject to the pelvic floor.
C) clarify - without destroying the placebo.
D) recommend: a glass of water and a podcast on evidence-based practice.
And now for the solution - which type are you?
Mostly A - The Open Channel
You are open to everything that vibrates, flows or works through spiritual intuition. You probably have more certificates than treatment benches, and you believe that if the patient feels better, that's enough. Scientifically? Not always. Effective? Somehow.
Your motto: "I feel what you don't see."
Mostly B - The pragmatic balance artist
You walk through the jungle of methods with a mixture of professional clarity and therapeutic openness. You don't have to believe in everything, but you can let it stand without judgment. You give the body space - and people dignity.
Your motto: "Effect is more than statistics - but also more than wishful thinking."
Mostly C - The evidence-loving explainer
You love studies, structured treatment plans and everything with a systematic review. You recognize placebo effects - and explain them objectively. You stick to what is proven - and still take people who think differently seriously.
Your motto: "I believe in data. And in my experience. In that order."
Mostly D - The charming and skeptical border crosser
You've seen them all - the tapes, the totems and the tears during aura clearing. And you've made up your mind: with attitude, humor and a light smile, you stay with yourself. You don't lose your patience - at most your composure when someone seriously stretches your fascia with chakra candles.
Your motto: "My treatment room is somewhere between hocus-pocus and craft. "
Conclusion:
If you are at B or even better at C or D, my training courses will suit you well. If you're at A, we'll both just make a lot of effort during the training to understand the other person or at least show understanding for the other perspective and then it will work :).
In a world in which placebo, patient wishes and TikTok healing methods are increasingly merging, therapists need tohave Clarity, humor and attitude. Whether you are taping, mobilizing, de-tapping or simply breathing:
'Be honest - with yourself and with your patients. The rest is colorful context.
📚 Fancy more depth, differentiation and a bit of demystification?
👉 Take a look at our training courses at www.hockenholz.com/weiterbildungen - with brains, heart and attitude. Without any chicken bones.