EM142: CRAFTA® The Foundation - Basic Course

What is CRAFTA®

Physio and  manualtherapists and manual therapists but also speech therapists and dentists have shown an increasing clinical and practical interest over the past few years in the temporomandibular craniomandibular and the craniofacial regions..

The professions also show a positive development towards enhanced interdisciplinary cooperation. On this background, CRAFTA® (Cranial Facial Therapy Academy) was founded by Harry von Piekartz and other initiators of various disciplines.

Target Groups
The courses were developed to meet the interests of physiotherapists and manual therapists but also of other disciplines who are included in the treatment of this patient group. These professions are mainly general practitioners, dentists, orthodontists and speech therapists.

The aims of CRAFTA®

• Structuring of the international education and continuing professional education of the treatment and management of patients with temoporomandibular, craniofacial dysfunctions and pain, as much as possible based on the best available evidence;
• Offering international courses, in which representatives of different health professions (e.g. doctors, dentists, orthodontists, orthopedic specialists, speech therapists) have the opportunity to contribute their knowledge;
• Quality management and assurance in education and application of craniofacial therapy;
• Promote interdisciplinary work and cooperation with e.g. dentists, orthopedic specialist, ENT specialists, neurosurgeons, and other specialists, who work with this specific patient group    
• Defining a quality standard mainly for physical therapists, manual therapists and other interested health professions;
• To stimulate research projects in the field of TMJ-/Head- and cervical pain and supervision of these projects;
• Supervision of current and future research projects with the focus on physical and manual therapy organized and supported by CRAFTA®;
• Public relations and communication with other professional associations. The currently most important goal is the continuing education of physical and manual therapists with the following contents:
  • Specialized assessment of patients with head-/neck and face pain
  • Independent analyses of the assessments and the interpretation of these results on the basis of known clinical reasoning strategies
  • Developing long-term treatment and management plans, which are evidence-based
  • Specialized communication skills, which are relevant in therapy sessions as well as in the communication with other disciplines, in order to find consensus in discussions