The German Adventist Association for Health Care (Deutscher Verein für Gesundheitspflege e.V.—DVG) is starting a cooperation with the Baden-Wüerttemberg Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the School of Christian Naturopathy (SCN).
On January 17, 2024, the contracts were signed by Sara Salazar Winter, executive chair of the DVG, Thomas Knirr, vice president of the conference, and Oliver Späth, director of the SCN, as announced by the DVG.
Three new training courses in Christian naturopathy will be offered in the future. These courses will be organized by the SCN and can be attended individually. These are courses for phytotherapy, aromatherapy, and naturopathic training.
According to the DVG, all courses will be Christian-based, medically certified, and contain no esoteric content. In addition, no courses will be held on Saturdays.
The training courses are conducted as live online sessions with two attendance phases per year for practical training elements. For information and registration, please go here.
PHYTOTHERAPY COURSE
Plants and plant extracts have always been of great importance to people in curing illnesses and maintaining health. This course provides knowledge about the potential applications of traditional and scientific herbal medicine.
AROMATHERAPY COURSE
Aromatherapy is an independent, scientifically recognized discipline within phytotherapy. Essential oils are already being used with great success in hospitals, doctors' surgeries, and care facilities. They are considered to be highly effective natural substances that can cause serious health consequences if used incorrectly. For this reason, this course is based on strict scientific criteria, according to the DVG.
TRAINING AS A NON-MEDICAL PRACTITIONER
Anyone wishing to independently diagnose, cure, or alleviate illnesses in Germany requires a medical license or permit to practice medicine professionally in accordance with national laws. This license is granted if a comprehensive written and oral examination of the required conventional medical and legal knowledge is successfully passed at the public health department. According to the DVG, the training concept is customized according to previous medical knowledge, family and work commitments, and the time available for learning. The training program lasts between 13–24 months.
The DVG states that this training to become a naturopath requires prior medical training, either in a health profession or completed training as a DVG counselor for holistic health or prior attendance of the naturopathic courses, phytotherapy and aromatherapy, with a final medical examination at the SCN.
GERMAN ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTH CARE
Since 1899, the DVG has been promoting health on the basis of a holistic view of humanity in the areas of physical health, mental health, social relationships, and spiritual life. It is supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany and has its administrative headquarters in Ostfildern. Further information can be found here.
SCHOOL FOR CHRISTIAN NATUROPATHY (SCN)
The SCN (Vaihingen/Bad Liebenzell) offers naturopathic training at a professional level. It promotes holistic medicine based on a view of humanity and the world that is derived from the Bible and "refrains from esoteric and Far Eastern religious philosophies or ethically questionable methods." Further information can be found here.
The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-European Division website.