Berta Bobath

She had an early success in restoring the abilities of Simon Elwes, who was a successful portrait painter who had suffered a large stroke. With Bobath's help he was able to recover sufficiently to continue painting. The Bobath technique was first described in 1948. Bobath then took formal qualifications in physiotherapy in 1950. She opened her clinic in 1951 with Karel as an honorary consultant. She continued to work with stroke parents and with children with cerebral palsy at what was called the Western Cerebral Palsy Centre. At the clinic, they ran courses for doctors and qualified therapists who want to learn about their particular approach to regaining capabilities. She developed techniques that assisted patients to gain or regain facilities. She was helped by her husband who was able to theorise why her treatments were successful. In 1965 she published Abnormal Postural Reflex Activity Caused by Brain Lesions. In 1975 the clinic became the "Bobath Clinic" and it moved to Hampstead. Berta was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1976 and she was given an MBE in 1978. Boston University gave her a doctorate in 1981 and she and Karel were the first couple to be given the Harding award for their work in helping people with disabilities.

Berta Ottilie Busse was born in Berlin where she first worked with gymnasts. Her first husband was Kurt Roehl. After the birth of a son and a divorce she left Germany in 1938. She re-met a Czech psychiatrist called Karel Bobath whom she had known in Berlin. They were both Jewish refugees and they married in 1941 and her son was adopted by her second husband.

Berta Bobath, MBE (December 5, 1907 – January 20, 1991) was a German physiotherapist who created a method of rehabilitation and therapy known as the Bobath concept in 1948. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy believe "it is the most popular approach for treating neurologically-impaired patients in the western world."