Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient education, physical intervention, rehabilitation, disease prevention, and health promotion. Physical therapists are known as physiotherapists in many countries.
Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that arose in the mid-20th century in answer to two theories: Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner's behaviorism. Thus, Abraham Maslow established the need for a "third force" in psychology. The school of thought of humanistic psychology gained traction due to key figure Abraham Maslow in the 1950s during the time of the humanistic movement. It was made popular in the 1950s by the process of realizing and expressing one's own capabilities and creativity.
Dance/movement therapy (DMT) in USA and Australia or dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) in the UK is the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance to support intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body. As a modality of the creative arts therapies, DMT looks at the correlation between movement and emotion.
Bartenieff Fundamentals are a set of principles for "corrective body movement" developed by Irmgard Bartenieff, who studied with Rudolf Laban and colleagues in Germany (1925). After coming to the United States in the 1940s and becoming a physical therapist, Bartenieff developed the method in the form of a set of exercises, based on concepts and principles of kinesiological functioning, that can be extended into all types of movement possibilities. Bartenieff in developing this work fused her studies in both Laban movement analysis with Physiotherapeutic principles and the influence of both is a strong component of the Fundamentals.
In alternative medicine, bodywork is any therapeutic or personal development technique that involves working with the human body in a form involving manipulative therapy, breath work, or energy medicine. Bodywork techniques also aim to assess or improve posture, promote awareness of the "bodymind connection" which is an approach that sees the human body and mind as a single integrated unit, or to manipulate the electromagnetic field alleged to surround the human body and affect health.
The Bobath concept is an approach to neurological rehabilitation that is applied in patient assessment and treatment. The goal of applying the Bobath concept is to promote motor learning for efficient motor control in various environments, thereby improving participation and function. This is done through specific patient handling skills to guide patients through the initiation and completing of intended tasks. This approach to neurological rehabilitation is multidisciplinary, primarily involving physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists. In the United States, the Bobath concept is also known as 'neuro-developmental treatment' (NDT).
Existential psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the model of human nature and experience developed by the existential tradition of European philosophy. It focuses on concepts that are universally applicable to human existence including death, freedom, responsibility, and the meaning of life. Instead of regarding human experiences such as anxiety, alienation and depression as implying the presence of mental illness, existential psychotherapy sees these experiences as natural stages in a normal process of human development and maturation. In facilitating this process of development and maturation existential psychotherapy involves a philosophical exploration of an individual's experiences while stressing the individual's freedom and responsibility to facilitate a higher degree of meaning and well-being in his or her life.
In psychology and psychotherapy, existential crises are inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning or by confusion about one's personal identity. Existential crises are accompanied by anxiety and stress, often to such a degree that they disturb one's normal functioning in everyday life and lead to depression. This negative attitude towards life and meaning reflects various positions characteristic of the philosophical movement known as existentialism. Synonyms and closely related terms include existential dread, existential vacuum, existential neurosis, and alienation. The various aspects associated with existential crises are sometimes divided into emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. Emotional components refer to the feelings they provoke, such as emotional pain, despair, helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or loneliness. Cognitive components encompass the problem of meaninglessness, the loss of personal values or spiritual faith, and reflections about one's own mortality. Outwardly, existential crises often express themselves in addictions, anti-social and compulsive behavior.
Although modern, scientific psychology is often dated from the 1879 opening of the first psychological clinic by Wilhelm Wundt, attempts to create methods for assessing and treating mental distress existed long before. The earliest recorded approaches were a combination of religious, magical and/or medical perspectives. Early examples of such psychological thinkers included Patañjali, Padmasambhava, Rhazes, Avicenna and Rumi.
Neurorehabilitation is a complex medical process which aims to aid recovery from a nervous system injury, and to minimize and/or compensate for any functional alterations resulting from it.
Aquatic therapy refers to treatments and exercises performed in water for relaxation, fitness, physical rehabilitation, and other therapeutic benefit. Typically a qualified aquatic therapist gives constant attendance to a person receiving treatment in a heated therapy pool. Aquatic therapy techniques include Ai Chi, Aqua Running, Bad Ragaz Ring Method, Burdenko Method, Halliwick, Watsu, and other aquatic bodywork forms. Therapeutic applications include neurological disorders, spine pain, musculoskeletal pain, postoperative orthopedic rehabilitation, pediatric disabilities, and pressure ulcers.
Qigong, is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed by the Chinese and throughout Asia as a practice to cultivate and balance the mythical life-force qi.
Physical therapy education varies greatly from country to country. Worldwide, physical therapy training ranges from basic work site education in hospitals and outpatient clinics to professional doctoral degree and masters programs.
The McKenzie method is a technique primarily used in physical therapy. It was developed in the late 1950s by New Zealand physiotherapist Robin McKenzie. In 1981 he launched the concept which he called "Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT)" – a system encompassing assessment, diagnosis and treatment for the spine and extremities. MDT categorises patients' complaints not on an anatomical basis, but subgroups them by the clinical presentation of patients.
Janet Howard Carr was an Australian physiotherapist and academic whose research focused on stroke rehabilitation. She was a professor at the University of Sydney and published numerous textbooks.
Dispokinesis is a form of training and therapy specially developed for musicians and stage artists by Gerrit Onne van de Klashorst (Netherlands). First scientific evidence for the effect of Dispokinesis on musicians, both professional and musicians-in-training, has been published. Dispokinesis can be employed in a pedagogy and preventive medicine setting as well as in therapy and rehabilitation. By means of the Original Shapes of Movement and Posture, the human being's sensori- and psychomotor development is being worked through from lying down to crawling to the upright standing position. By doing so, possibly existing developmental gaps can be closed and especially the postural reflexes are being fostered. Specific exercises focussing on instrumental and vocal technique as well as ergonomic aids developed in connection with Dispokinesis also play an important role. Among them can be found sitting aids for instruments played in orchestra and for the keyboard family, chin rests and shoulder pads for the upper strings or belts, thumb or knee-supports for wind and plucked instruments. The competence in instrumental and vocal technique as well as body awareness and expressivity are consistently developed in view of the requirements to be met on stage.
The Mensendieck System is a therapeutic teaching methodology for female physical education claimed to be both corrective and preventive. It was developed by Bess Mensendieck, who was an American physician and gymnastics teacher of Dutch descent. She is one of the most important founders of early breathing and physical pedagogy in Europe and America.
Irmgard Bartenieff was a dance theorist, dancer, choreographer, physical therapist, and a leading pioneer of dance therapy. A student of Rudolf Laban, she pursued cross-cultural dance analysis, and generated a new vision of possibilities for human movement and movement training. From her experiences applying Laban’s concepts of dynamism, three-dimensional movement and mobilization to the rehabilitation of people affected by polio in the 1940s, she went on to develop her own set of movement methods and exercises, known as Bartenieff Fundamentals.
The Bad Ragaz Ring Method (BRRM) is a type of aquatic therapy used for physical rehabilitation based on proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). BRRM is a water-based technique in which therapist-assisted strengthening and mobilizing exercises are performed while the patient lies horizontally in the water, with support provided by rings or floats around the neck, arms, pelvis, and legs.
Marion Rosen was a German-American physiotherapist. She developed Rosen Method Bodywork and Rosen Method Movement. Under Rosen's guidance in 1980, the Rosen Institute (RI) was formed as the governing international organization that protects and sustains the quality and standards of Rosen Method. The Rosen Institute has affiliate training centers in 16 countries and has certified 1150 bodywork practitioners and 150 movement teachers.
