Anthroposophic psychotherapy

The psychotherapy coordinators have taken on their task until such time as the aim of an international, financially self-sufficient community comprising the members of this professional group with its own representation in the Medical Section has been achieved. Their main task at present is to acquire an overview of and describe the international field of work as a whole in order to be able to represent psychotherapy in the coordination group of the Medical Section.

This includes:

1. Becoming acquainted with the international field of work comprising anthroposophically-oriented psychotherapy, to describe it and, where possible, create a network.
2. Joint support for fully formulated, international guiding principles, including guidelines, for anthroposophic psychotherapy and the path of schooling as a psychotherapist; the latter in connection with the group for psychotherapy of the School of Spiritual Science.
3. Support for a qualitatively assured, international post-doc advanced training for diagnosis based on an anthroposophical understanding of the human being, psychotherapy and psychiatry.
4. On request: assistance in designing such advanced training. The coordinators are themselves internationally active in several professional groups and training initiatives. Ad Dekkers was a pupil of Bernard Lievegoed from 1974 onwards.

International situation:

There are national and international working and research groups, associations, initiatives on anthroposophically-oriented diagnosis based on an anthroposophical understanding of the human being, psychotherapy and psychiatry. An international umbrella organisation of national societies is in development.

International structure of the psychotherapy associations in 2009:

An international umbrella organisation of national societies is in development. The following regional societies already exist: in Holland the NVAP society since 1984, whose 25th anniversary was celebrated on 17 October; in Italy the PERSEO association, established in 2004. In Germany, since 2008, the DtGAP society, the Institute for Anthroposophically-oriented Psychotherapy in a new form, which has also been in existence for about 25 years; in Britain, the Society for Anthroposophic Psychotherapy and Counseling, in existence since 2008; and in Brazil, the SOFIA society is being developed, which will be officially established in 2010.

Further training courses worldwide in accordance with guidelines agreed within IKAM:

From September 2009, the NVAP in Holland is running its seventh post-graduate training course. In Italy, the PERSEO association is independently to set up its second post-graduate course in 2010. The German DtGAP society envisages a first post-graduate training course from the beginning of June 2010. At a university in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the ‘SOFIA’ association will run a post-graduate training course for anthroposophic psychotherapy while in Minas Gerais, Brazil, far-reaching plans are being forged for a foundation/further training course in psychology, psychotherapy, psychosomatic medicien and psychiatry. In Bangalore, India, a first training course has been in development since 2008; likewise since 2009 in Harduf, Israel and at El Abedul in Madrid, Spain.

Research

As a result of Anglo-German collaboration (John Lees/Siegwart von Laue), strongly supported by the Medical Section, a research proposal was submitted to the EU FP7 Framework Programme. Although the proposal was rejected, it nevertheless achieved the second highest place among the many submissions from the academic world in Europe!

Publications

Probably in the autumn of 2010, the Vrij Geestesleven publishing house in Holland will publish a book by Ad Dekkers on methods used in anthroposophic psychotherapy. Translations into German, English and Italian are being prepared.

Psychotherapy, psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine

In June 2009, the three-year post-graduate training in Stuttgart came to an end. A total of about 95 participating general practitioners, doctors of psychotherapy, specialist physicians and psychotherapists came together under the auspices of the GAÄD, the DtGAP and IKAM. The GAÄD is preparing for a second course. A slimmed-down version of a course in psychiatry – in terms of lecturers – is being held in St. Petersburg, Russia.

25 years of NVAP