Callout for support: the APOAM Australian Post Graduate Orientation in Anthroposophic Medicine
Dear Members,
John and Sarah from the initial working group of the Australian Orientation in Anthroposophic Medicine (AOAM) would like to invite you to a Zoom meeting to share our initiative for this course. The initial inspiration for the course as well as where we are up to and what the next steps are that need to be taken in order for this to come to fruition will all be addressed in the meeting.
We are looking for support in particular areas that will be discussed during the meeting.
Agenda
- An overview of the proposed course and current working group.
- Overview of the curriculum.
- Roles we are looking for help in and setting a date to formalise the uptake of roles.
- Q & A
How to join the meeting
Time: 9:30 AM – 11 AM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Date: Saturday August 20, 2022
Meeting ID: 837 3332 8848
Passcode: 520152
Background
Since the International Post Graduate Medical Training (IPMT) in Australia finished in 2017, there has been no further national trainings available. For naturopath Sarah Mann, this led her to seek out training overseas in Germany. Returning to Australia, it was clear to her that education, training, and opportunities to develop together are at the heart of healthy regeneration and growth for Anthroposophic Medicine in Australia. Without this, there is a widening gap between the founding generations, experienced practitioners, new practitioners, and young people.
With a training available, there will be a place for all generations of therapists to share the gifts of their generation and the voice of their generation to the health of Anthroposophic Medicine in Australia.
How it began
In October 2020 Sarah called together therapists from across modalities for a meeting to hear about the training situation for each modality, past challenges to training, and current needs to find a relevant way forward. Many people felt a need for some form of nationally held training to take the place of the IPMT, recognised possible limitations and gave suggestions for change. As a result of this meeting, an Initiative Group was formed with a willing representative of each modality present.
Throughout 2021, the Initiative Group met regularly to develop a training alternative to the IMPT.
As Australia has always had a higher number of therapists than doctors, it became clear to me that a course geared more toward the needs of the various therapeutic modalities practiced in Australia, and within the medical and therapeutic context here, would be of greater benefit than one geared more toward a doctor’s training. Thus, the idea of the Australian Postgraduate Orientation in Anthroposophic Medicine (APOAM) began to take shape.
From this view the result of our meetings so far has been to design a course that caters to existing Anthroposophic therapists, and to therapists who may be new to Anthroposophy and are interested in gaining a solid grounding in the Anthroposophic approach to healing.
Proposed structure of the course
The APOAM will run over four years with each year having a particular focus on one of the four major orientations in understanding the human being that is common to all Anthroposophic therapies. Thus, the focus of the first year is the Three-Fold Human Being, the second year the FourFold Human Being, the third year will explore the Seven-Fold view and the fourth year the TwelveFold view. A possible fifth year may be added for professional therapists wanting certification as an anthroposophic therapist in their specific modality from Dornach.
The APOAM will be delivered twice each year, the first module being a four-day face to face national conference and the second module being a two day live online event, enabling international speakers to participate more easily.
Support of the Medical Section in Dornach
A meeting took place in March 2021 with Matthias Girke, Stefan Langhammer and other training coordinators in Dornach, in which very positive feedback was expressed for the APOAM and suggestions for next steps.
The structure of the APOAM provides daily opportunities for the sharing of each modality’s clinical experiences and insights with other modalities. This will be achieved through a case history being presented each day on that day’s topic by a different modality. This also has the intention of keeping the focus of each day’s work firmly based in the realities of clinical practice. Through these approaches we hope to further strengthen the community of therapists around our country, and grow the reach of anthroposophic medicine here, to therapists and to people in need of care.
Skills required to implement this initiative
These areas include practical and networking skills, for example, finding and managing a venue, accommodation and catering, event management, general website administration, IT administrator for the online modules, marketing and publicity and financial/accounts management.
Like to find out more?
For further information please contact John Holmes or Sarah Mann
If you have particular experience in any of the above areas, or know of someone else who has, and you would like to participate in the setting up of the APOAM, please feel free to contact John Holmes or Sarah Mann.
John Holmes
Mittagong, NSW