The distinct historical development of physiotherapy in the German Democratic Republic to has been neglected. Because of her great interest in the history of physiotherapy in her home region of Saxony and in the GDR in general, she has built up what is probably the largest collection of materials relating to this history in Germany.
She was also the initiator of Physio-In e. It reported directly to the Ministry of Health. Under the direction of Brigitte Zeibig, a physiotherapist and qualified medical educator, the training to become a state-recognised specialist physiotherapist was developed. There were four specialisations:. In order to attend this training, physiotherapists had to be nominated by their workplace. I was nominated by the Dresden University Polyclinic via the district academies for health and social services.
The training included a total of about hours theoretical lectures by medical doctors or psychologists, and practical hours — mostly in university-affiliated institutions , with an examination and a final thesis.
As this was a state-recognised qualification, the certificate led to a higher salary. Through this specialist training, communicative movement therapy and a relaxation method concentrative relaxation , based on client-centred communication and therapeutic interaction, became part of physiotherapy practice. For physiotherapists working in inpatient settings, such specialist training held advantages. As a specialist physiotherapist, I was also qualified to work in the area of child and adolescent psychiatry.
There were no private physiotherapy practices for outpatients in the GDR. By , there were specialist physiotherapists throughout the GDR. This specialist training was protected in the Unification Treaty between the two German states. As this state law is not compatible with German federal law, the implementation of this specialist physiotherapist has not been possible to date for legal reasons, so services provided are not covered by the catalogue of remedies and thus not reimbursed by the statutory health insurance.
