As a lymphatic drainage therapist, you can work in various healthcare organizations or in an independent lymphology practice. Lymphatic drainage therapy training should be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the health insurance registration offices. Graduates then have the opportunity to register for lymphatic drainage with their health insurance company.

If you wish to train as an oedema therapist, which is recognized and certified by SGL, the Swiss Society for Lymphology, a qualification as a medical masseur/medical masseuse or qualified physiotherapist is required. With other training courses and institutes, a course in manual lymphatic drainage can also be started without such prior training. Depending on the type and scope of the training and existing previous training, an EMR registration can be applied for with such a course and the services can be billed directly via the supplementary health insurance. The individual schools will be happy to provide you with detailed information on this point.

Training courses in lymphatic drainage therapy are usually open to anyone over the age of eighteen who is interested in manual and physical decongestive therapy. Some schools require knowledge of anatomy, pathology and physiology, while others require practical experience. Further training courses generally require extensive experience in this field and are therefore aimed at people who are professionally involved in manual lymphatic drainage and oedema therapy or who have already gained sufficient experience and knowledge in previous courses. The requirements for the individual training courses therefore vary greatly and should be requested directly from the relevant providers.

The duration of lymphatic drainage training can vary greatly. You may choose a course that trains you in the techniques and methods of ML in one or two days. However, there are also courses that extend over a longer period of time and provide you with in-depth insights into the treatment and application in several modules in over 150 hours of classroom instruction with just as much supervised self-study in addition to an introduction to this topic.

You must not only have conventional medical knowledge, but also be able to prove this in the form of at least 150 hours of training. As a rule, you can also complete this basic medical training at the school where you would like to complete your training in manual lymphatic drainage. However, it is of course also possible to complete this training at another teaching institution. In order to be recognized by health insurance companies, you must provide evidence of a total of at least 300 training hours of 60 minutes each.

When looking for a course in manual lymphatic drainage, if you want to bill for services through supplementary health insurance, make sure that you meet the minimum hour requirements of ASCA and EMR. Schools usually offer both comprehensive courses and short courses, but these do not always meet the requirements of health insurance companies. Please clarify this point directly with the schools, which you can reach via our contact form.