Why did you decide to study osteopathy?
As a practising physiotherapist, I have always been drawn to the manual part of the consultation, the part where I could relieve a patient’s pain immediately and not just give exercises to do at home. To increase my manual skills, I first sought courses for manipulation and that’s where I came across osteopathy; there were a number of courses in Denmark and they provided the cheapest option for manipulating / performing HVT.
Thus, I started studying osteopathy simply with the purpose of learning techniques, without knowing a lot about osteopathy itself. I quickly found out osteopathy was so much more, which is why I started all over again, with the mindset of becoming an osteopath. I also chose to study at the ESO because it had a reputation for training skilled osteopaths, not just teaching and building the entire educational structure around techniques.
What has the course brought to your practice?
After my first year at the ESO, my knowledge became more developed, my palpation skills and tissue understanding better. My clients could already feel the difference in my treatments and commented on it to me. I now work more and more manually and as an osteopath, although it is a bit of a fluid transition that cannot always be completely separated out if you ask me.
As a self-employed person, being an osteopathic student has also had a positive effect financially. I rarely have appointments free in my diary as I enjoy good publicity. As an independent, with a sometimes busy calendar, the flexibility of being able to take some courses in Fredericia rather than just Copenhagen has also been an advantage.
What would you say to someone thinking of studying osteopathy?
It is expensive to study to become an osteopath, you have to pay for it yourself and you have to invest time in your education. Personally, I spend on average 1 day a week in addition to using what we have learned, theoretically and manually, at work every day. I see it as an investment in my future. I believe that osteopathy has come to Denmark to stay. More and more people are familiar with the subject and more and more people seek out osteopaths. If you see yourself as a manual therapist, this may also be the way forward for you.
To find out what other students think about studying osteopathy in Denmark visit our Testimonials page.