Schwelmer model

The Schwelmer model is an outpatient form of therapy for the treatment of patients of all ages with neurodermatitis , food intolerance and other diseases with an allergic background (such as allergic gastrointestinal problems or asthma ). It is operated and advertised by "Schwelmer Modell GmbH". It is considered a concept outside of conventional medicine .

The model was founded in 1987 by the educator Mechthild Hellermann in Schwelm (near Wuppertal ) as the mother of an affected child. The Schwelm model originally emerged as an alleged further development of the Gelsenkirchen treatment method developed by Ernst August Stemmann , as offered in 1984/85.

The therapy consists of three essential components: allergy, nutritional and psychological / educational advice. After introductory training for the patient or the parents of an affected child, an attempt is made with the patient and his doctor to banish the individually identified triggers and disease intensifiers as much as possible from the patient's everyday life. Individual advice is given on the interpretation of symptoms , disease progression, laboratory findings and strategies for avoiding allergens. This often includes individual nutritional therapy.

Psychological and educational advice is the second mainstay of therapy. Suspected disease intensifiers and triggers from this area (e.g. stress of all kinds, tension, conflict management) are processed. In addition, the psychological consequences of the chronic illness for the person concerned or the parents should be reduced, since certain vicious circles occur time and again , which alone can be recognized and broken with difficulty. Through relaxation offers, the patient gains better access to coping resources and, through inner serenity, can achieve positive effects on the irritated immune system .

The therapy is divided into an initial and training phase (two months) and a therapy phase (ten months). Counseling and treatment take place in age- homogeneous therapy groups, with new patients being continuously integrated into the groups, so that an exchange between experienced and new patients occurs. A special feature is the consistently interdisciplinary approach, whereby the groups are led in parallel by a nutrition and allergy advisor and a psychological or educational group leader.

A nine-year follow-up study remains without a statement due to the lack of a control group. The results have not been confirmed by an independent research group since then. The very one-sided mono diet used can also lead to sensitization to additional allergens.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ T. Schäfer et al .: Treatment concept Schwelmer model: Results of a follow-up over 9 years . In: Allergology . 3/2003, pp. 87-94.

Web links

• schwelmer-modell.de - Schwelmer model

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