naturopathy
Naturopathic medicine
is a natural approach to health and healing that recognizes and respects
the integrity of the whole person. Naturopathic Medicine approaches the
treatment of disease by stimulating and supporting the individual's innate
healing capacity. Treatments work with the patient's vital force, honoring
the intelligence and integrity of the natural healing process.
The practice of Naturopathic Medicine emerges from six underlying principles
of healing which distinguish it from other medical professions:
- The healing power of nature - vis medicatrix naturae: The body has the inherent ability to create, maintain, and restore health. The healing process of nature is ordered and intelligent. The physician's role is to facilitate and support this process, to act to identify and remove obstacles to health and recovery, and to support the journey towards achieving optimal wellness for the body, mind and spirit.
- Identify and treat the cause - tolle causam: Illness is the body's response to some causative agent.Recovery from illness follows the removal of underlying causes of disease. Symptoms are the body's expressions of its internal physiological processes and its attempt to heal itself; they are indicators but not the cause of disease. Symptoms, therefore, should not be suppressed by treatment. The physician must seek out the cause of disease, whether it be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual in origin. Treatment is then focussed at the root cause of disease rather than at symptomatic expression.
- First do no harm - primum no nocere: Therapeutic actions should be gentle, noninvasive and synergistic with the healing process. The naturopathic physician's approach must support the actions of the body's natural healing power.
- Treat the whole
person - the multifactorial nature of health and disease:
Health and disease are states which reflect a multitude of factors at work, including physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and other factors. The naturopathic physician must consider all of these factors in formulating an individualized and comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for each person. - The physician as teacher - docere: "Docere" is Latin for the verb to teach. A doctor's primary role is to educate and encourage the patient to accept his/her responsibility for his/her own health. The establishment of a healthy interpersonal relationship between doctor and patient is essential for optimal results. The physician acts as a catalyst for healthful change, empowering and motivating the patient to assume responsibility. It is the patient, not the doctor, who ultimately creates/accomplishes healing. The physician must strive to inspire hope as well as understanding.
- Prevention -
prevention is the best "cure"
Encouraging and reinforcing health-promoting behaviours should be the ultimate goal of any health care system. Assessing risk factors and taking appropriate interventions to prevent the onset of disease is an important aspect of wellness care. Naturopathic medicine's emphasis is on building health rather than on fighting disease. Increasing personal awareness of the body's signals allows a person to receive respond to any imbalance long before his/her body has had the time to develop any chronic degenerative health conditions.
Treatment consists
of a very wide variety of methods including acupuncture, hydrotherapy,
naturopathic spinal manipulation, homeopathics, herbal therapy, vitamins,
and dietary advice.
Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine have completed 4 years of full-time post-graduate
training including a 1 year internship from an accredited College or University.
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