Naturopathy aims to use the healing power of nature, combining diet, lifestyle, nutrients and herbs to identify and treat the underlying cause of disease in the body. It is an approach that is tailored to the individual needs of each patient. A large focus of naturopathy is disease prevention.

Naturopaths are governed by a set of guiding principles:

• Vis medicatrix naturae: The healing power of nature. This identifies that the human body, with the support of natural methods and nature itself is able to restore and maintain health. The role of the naturopath is to identify and remove those factors from the internal and external environment that are causing harm, and support those that are doing good.
• Primum non nocere: First do no harm. It is important that the treatment aims are supported by evidence and will support the patient in a positive way, removing factors that might cause harm.
• Tolle causam: Find the cause. The symptoms the patient exhibits are signs of the body wanting to heal. The underlying cause of the disease needs to be identified and treated to allow the body to properly heal.
• Docere: Doctor as teacher. Education of the patient to engage with and look after their own health is key to the success of naturopathic treatment. This enables the patient to identify when they need to make changes in their life, supported by their naturopath, to maintain optimal health.
• Treat the whole person. This underlies the practice of engaging with not only the nutrient or herbal treatments that will support the patient, but also identifying and engaging with the mental, emotional, environmental and other factors that interact in the patient’s life. By taking all these factors into account, diet and lifestyle changes will also be recommended.
• Preventative medicine. Through identifying risk factors, including inherited traits, the naturopath works to prevent disease, enabling health and wellness to be the key focus rather than always recovering from illness.

When would I see a naturopath?

Perhaps you suffered from an illness in the past and have not felt completely "well" ever since, or you might have a chronic disease or be looking for an alternative to conventional medicine. You might be experiencing side effects from common pharmaceutical medications, be looking for support to lose weight, reduce digestive symptoms such as bloating, reflux, constipation or diarrhoea, regulate your menstrual cycle, improve your immune system, reduce stress, improve sleep etc. A naturopath can help with all of these things and more.

What can I expect in a naturopathic consultation?

The first thing to know about seeing a naturopath is that the consultations are much longer and more detailed than you might be used to.

An initial consultation will identify current symptoms, how relevant body systems are currently working and previous medical history. It will also enable both you and your naturopath to come to an understanding about your health goals so these can form the basis of a treatment plan. This initial consultation is longer than other consultations, taking approximately 1 hour.

Subsequent consultations will take between 30 and 45 minutes to review goals, establish and agree on treatment plans and review how previous recommendations are working. Treatments are likely to be adjusted at each consultation.

It should be noted that disease takes time to manifest, and so it also takes time to restore health. It is likely that you will need to see a naturopath for a number of consultations to get the best from the experience, and restore and maintain your health.

References

Pizzorno, J.E., & Murray, M.T. (2013) Textbook of Natural Medicine (4th ed.). Missouri: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone

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