By: Bill Scholl
The new education program for the Swiss Trager School has begun! Our first four day Level 1 class is complete! It has taken a number of years to build the new program, which meets the requirements of the Swiss federal government to become a “Complementary Therapist.” (We await final approval from the certifying body.) The Trager program includes 500 class hours of Trager education and 342 hours of professional studies, leading to the title of “Trager Therapist”. Those completing the program will be able to work as Trager Therapists in hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, doctor’s offices and in private practice. Trager Therapists will be included as providers in the health insurance system. The process of creating the program to meet the federal requirements has taken time, patience and a great deal of work! Many of our members have participated in this project.
The Trager program is structured as a total of 20 classes of 25 hours, each class occurring over 4 days. The classes are scheduled every 2-3 months. Three to four classes of different levels occur at the same time, in the same location, at Kientalerhof in the Swiss Alps. The balance of hours can be completed as the student wishes. One wonderful benefit of having 3-4 classes occurring at the same time in such a special residential setting is that we have 20-40 students, along with instructors and assistants meeting for meals and evening events and having some planned class hours together.
After the first ten classes (250 hours), the student becomes a Trager Practitioner, with the same education as is taught worldwide. The extra hours (above the 208 currently required) provide more time to feel, to sink in, to explore what the work is. The second 250 hours mostly includes our existing Levels 4 & 5, Reflex Response and Anatomy classes and as well as electives.
Trager Practitioners from around the world are welcome to participate in our classes, Levels 11-19. The details on these classes will be posted on the Trager International website as well as Trager.ch and Kientalherhof.ch .
We have had great support from Trager International throughout the development of the program. Our discussions have been a model of how we can work together around the world. Special thanks to Chris Bruels and Joan Mueller, our Administrative and Education Secretaries, Jenny Hare, Gwen Crowell and Roger Tolle, who have listened, encouraged and made suggestions along the way.