What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is more than a field of healthcare, it is a philosophy of life. Emphasis is placed on disease prevention and treating the whole person: mental, emotional and physical. Naturopathic doctors encourage and educate individuals to take an active role in their health.  In Washington State, Naturopathic doctors are licensed as primary health care physicians and provide specialized care focusing on both conventional diagnostics and standards of care, as well as, traditional methods of healing. The principles of naturopathic medicine guide practitioners in our philosophy of person-centered care and finding the root cause of illness. This is part of what distinguishes the naturopathic approach from conventional medicine. The following principles are the foundation of Naturopathic Medicine:  

The Healing Power of Nature   
Vis Medicatrix Naturae

Naturopathic physicians act to identify and remove obstacles keeping people sick, in order to facilitate the bodies inherent self-healing process. In order to bring someone to health, each individual's vital force, the Vis, also known as Chi/Qi ior prana in other healing practices, must be nourished and supported for a person to heal. 

First Do No Harm   
Primum Non Nocere

This principle instructs a physician to start with the least invasive treatments, progressing to more invasive treatments such as pharmaceuticals or surgeries as needed to return the body back to health. The initial steps  starts with prevention of disease, supporting the Vis and correcting structural issues. 

Treat the Cause   
Tolle Causam

Underlying causes of illness must be identified and removed before complete recovery can occur.  Naturopathic physicians seek to identify and remove the underlying causes of illness, rather than suppress the presenting symptoms. Symptom control is an essential part of maintaining quality of life but cannot return a person to a healthy state.

Treat the Whole Person  
Tolle Totum

Naturopathic physicians treat individuals by taking into account each physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social and other factors specific to each patient and their chief concerns. 

In my opinion, optimal health also includes spiritual health. Naturopathic physicians encourage individuals to pursue their personal spiritual development in an effort to establish a solid foundation for healing to take place however they feel called.

Doctor as Teacher   
Docere

The original meaning of the word “doctor” is teacher. For naturopathic physicians, this means providing information based on clinical training to promote self-responsibility for ones own health. Naturopathic physicians acknowledge and value the therapeutic relationship between patient and doctor and work to meet people where they are in their healing journey.

Prevention

Prevention is key. Far easier than cure after contracting an illness is prevention of the illness in the first place. Family history, genetic and environmental risk factors as well as lifestyle are taken into account to help patients prevent illnesses they are at most risk for developing. 

All of the above principles lead patients to a place of Wellness...

Wellness follows the establishment and maintenance of optimum health and balance. Wellness is characterized by positive emotion, thought and action.  Wellness is inherent in everyone, no matter what diseases are part of an individuals history. 

Resources

1.  Bastyr University catalog

2.  AANP Naturopathic Principles 
Disclaimer: Information is for health education only and is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease or medical condition. Always see your health care provider for proper diagnosis and treatment. Information on herbs and supplements has not been evaluated by the FDA. All photographs were taken by and are property of Alicia Spalding 

Why would I come and pay you cash when I have health insurance?

If you are happy with your current health care then this talk is likely not applicable to you, but for those who do not feel like they are receiving adequate health care here is an analogy as to why I think it's important to have adjunct Naturopathic care even if you have to pay cash.  

Think of your body/health as your car and your health insurance as car insurance.  Most of us who own our own car pay not only pay for car insurance but in addition also pay for the maintenance needed to keep the car running. An oil change every 3 months or 6,000 miles, a tune-up every so many miles, check the fluids every once in awhile, new breaks, new tires, general car up-keep. If we are willing to do this for our car, why do we not think it's a good idea to do it for our bodies. You pay car insurance every month even if you don't get into a car accident. Honestly you may never get into a car accident and never use your car insurance, but you have it because you would be out of luck if something happened to your car. In this analogy, your body is the car and the doctor is the mechanic. You may be the one driving the car, even changing the oil, but when the transmission starts running rough you go to the mechanic to get a second opinion. 

 

One of the principles of Naturopathic Medicine is prevention. By implementing good foundations of health, such as nutritious food, hydration, sleep, adequate social support, body movement and others (more on the Foundations of Health here) we are working towards the goal of long term health. Relating your personal health maintenance back to the car analogy, a transmission service costs approximately $60.00, a new transmission can cost thousands not to mention the aggravation of a broken down car, missed work or activities, trying to come up with money on the spot for a tow or many other obstacles. These could be preventable with regular maintenance. A tow off the highway can waste a lot of your time and will cost you the price of the repair and a tow. Why not save time and cost of tow with preventative maintenance?

When yielding to insurance companies to control our access to medicine we will end up being sicker than ever. Insurance companies are not looking out for our best interest, they are major corporations working for a profit. The government is already in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies and insurance rules all in medicine. I personally believe it should be between the doctor and the patient together to come up with the best plan for patients. And for this reason I personally feel I am able to serve my patients better without having a third party insurance company tell me what they think is necessary.

So why should you pay out of pocket for my Naturopathic services? You should do it because now is the time to take control of your health; you should do it because you are worth it. You should do it because your health is important. And because you only get one body in this life and it should be valued.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." Ghandi