Altentherapeut/Altentherapeutin

Training courses are held at various educational institutions. Learning locations include training rooms. During internships, these may also include patient rooms, treatment rooms, and wards in geriatric clinics and elderly residential or nursing homes.

This is a Weiterbildungsberuf (further training profession). The training type follows the internal regulations of educational institutions. The duration varies between 3 and 24 months, depending on the educational offer, class schedule (full-time/part-time), and learning format. Altentherapeuten (elderly therapists) provide social care for older people. They apply therapeutic concepts for activation, for example, to stimulate their patients' creativity or memory, or to improve physical fitness. They intervene in crisis situations, initiate further measures if necessary, and also assist with end-of-life and grief support. They help older people when moving into a senior or nursing home, as well as with necessary orientation aids. Altentherapeuten advise older people and their relatives, for example, on living in old age, and provide information on regulations in the Pflegeversicherung (nursing insurance).

Varies depending on the educational offer and learning format: Full-time approximately 3-4 months, part-time 12-24 months.

Course fees are incurred for further training courses, and potentially examination fees for the exam. Additional costs may arise, for example, for work materials, travel to the training institution, or external accommodation. Funding opportunities include support for particularly talented young professionals through the Stiftung Begabtenförderung berufliche Bildung (SBB) - Weiterbildungsstipendium (further training scholarship).

Gerontology, Geriatric Psychiatry, Biographical Work, Care and nursing concepts in inpatient, partial inpatient, and outpatient settings, Care concepts for people with dementia, Nursing and care process, Care, occupation, and activation in group and individual work, Legal foundations, Teamwork, Guidance and counseling, Employee management, Roster planning.

In-depth knowledge in the following areas are good prerequisites for successfully passing the further training exam: Psychology: for example, to communicate empathetically with mentally impaired seniors. Law: for example, to inform seniors about their legal situation.

The further training consists of theoretical and practical instruction. Depending on the educational provider, one should expect the following conditions: Class time: for full-time instruction, full-day classes on at least four weekdays; for part-time instruction, usually career-accompanying further training on weekends or evenings. Learning format: typically in-person events, classroom instruction at the educational institution (possibly not at the place of residence).

For further training abroad, there is, for example, the following option: Switzerland further training offers: wab - The further training database of Switzerland (e.g., with the search term "Gerontology"). Documentation of professional experience abroad: The Europass offers the possibility to document learning stays completed abroad. Further information on Europass.

Participation in further training is not compensated.

The following further training alternatives are available for the Altentherapeut (elderly therapist) profession: Area: Older People: Fachaltenpfleger/in (Specialized Elderly Nurse) for Clinical Geriatrics and Rehabilitation, Fachaltenpfleger/in (Specialized Elderly Nurse) for Psychiatry, Fachkrankenpfleger/in (Specialized Nurse) for Clinical Geriatrics. Commonality: caring for and nursing older people or patients. Area: Health and Social Management: Geprüfter Fachwirt/in (Certified Business Administrator) in Health and Social Services. Commonality: taking on administrative tasks in health and social services. Area: Nursing: Pflegeexperte/in (Nursing Expert) for Stoma, Continence, and Wound, Pflegeberater/in (Nursing Advisor). Commonality: advising patients and their relatives.

Depending on the educational program, titles such as Altentherapeut/Altentherapeutin (Elderly Therapist) or Gerontotherapeut/Gerontotherapeutin (Gerontological Therapist) may be obtained.

Becoming an Altentherapeut (Elderly Therapist) is a professional further training (Weiterbildung). This training is regulated by the internal regulations of the respective educational institutions. It lasts 3-4 months full-time, or 12-24 months part-time.

After this further training, Altentherapeuten (Elderly Therapists) can work in elderly care facilities, gerontopsychiatric or geriatric clinics, hospital departments, or hospices. To keep their expertise current and expand it, they can undertake adaptive further training (Anpassungsweiterbildung). The topics covered range from elderly care to hygiene in the healthcare sector. With their further training qualification, Altentherapeuten can gain access to a university degree program (Studium) even without a school-based higher education entrance qualification, and for example, obtain a Bachelor's degree in Gerontology. It is also possible to become self-employed (Selbstständigkeit), for instance, by offering senior and care consulting or a senior care service.

The prerequisites for admission to this further training are usually: a completed vocational training (Ausbildung) in the social, care, or pedagogical sector, for example, as a nurse (Pflegefachmann/-frau), elderly caregiver (Altenpfleger/in), or educator (Erzieher/in); or several years of relevant professional experience.