I am privileged, and I feel very proud, to have been allowed to teach Dr Vodder's MLD for close to 20 years. And for all that time it has been in an intensive, 4 week, full contact format delivered to the very exacting standards of the school. This has been great for maintaining the quality and integrity of the courses, but it's also been a barrier on two main fronts.
The time and the expense of being away from the clinic
Anyone who wanted to learn MLD for non-lymphoedema indications still had to take the whole course
And it's that second one that has bothered me the most. Not just because it may stop people from learning MLD, but also because the techniques that we teach in Therapy 1 sometimes get lost once the tsunami of lymphoedema information hits.
To address both issues the courses will be reformatted to replace some class time with online theory, and we will introduce a Certificate in Applied MLD.
This 'new' certificate is all the indications for MLD other than lymphoedema and I could take up the rest of the blog listing all the conditions I have treated successfully with these techniques (not to mention a file full of testimonials from therapists who have used them). But to summarise, think of the Certificate in Applied MLD as pain free treatment for
any acute injury where infection is not a factor (or risk)
any chronic injury, especially where other treatments have failed
almost all inflammatory conditions
post surgical swelling
read a case study on adhesive capsulitis after 3 MLD treatments. View it at Facebook
read my blog on how MLD resolves trigger points
Level 1: This course begins with an online theory module which is completed one to two months before the practical classes. Then there is a 4 day practical class teaching all the fundamental MLD techniques (as they are taught now in Basic).
Level 2: This is a 4 day practical class which teaches all the non-lymphoedema applications for the techniques learned in Level 1. These are the same techniques currently taught in Therapy 1 but with applications to more pathologies and assessment on techniques and clinical reasoning.
Level 3: This is a 9 day course, including the advanced theory which is delivered by Professor Neil Piller . The practical sessions cover all lymphatic disorders currently taught in the Therapy 2 & 3 classes. In Australia Level 3 will be taught by Koby Blanchfield.
In 2020, when you decide to train in Vodder's MLD, you will enroll in one or other of these certificates (or both).
Certificate in Applied MLD
Level 1 & 2, 1x online module + 8 days
Certificate in MLD & CDT
Level 1 & 3, 1x online module + 13 days
But what if you have already taken Basic or Therapy 1? How will this affect you?
To convert an existing Basic certificate to the new Level 1 will require taking the online theory module. To convert an existing Therapy 1 certificate to the Certificate in Applied MLD you may need to attend a Level 2 class. Please email me directly to discuss your individual situation jan@movinglymph.com