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Naturopathic Treatment Philosophy

Naturopathic Medicine is the only natural approach to health and healing that recognizes the integrity of the whole person. Naturopathic Medicine is heir to the vitalistic tradition of medicine in the Western world, emphasizing the treatment of disease through the stimulation, enhancement, and support of the inherent healing capacity of the person. Methods of treatments are chosen to work with the patient's vital force, the intelligence of the natural healing process. The practice of Naturopathic Medicine emerges from six underlying principles of healing. It is these principles that distinguish the profession from other medical approaches:

• The healing power of nature.                              vis medicatrix naturae
  The body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. The healing process is and ;  The physician's role is to facilitate and augment the ordered, intelligent process of nature which heals through the response of the life force, and acts to identify and remove obstacles to health and recovery.

• Identify and treat the cause.       tolle causam
  Underlying causes of disease must be discovered and removed or treated before a person can recover completely from illness. Symptoms are expressions of the body's attempt to heal, but are not the cause of disease. Symptoms, therefore, should not be suppressed by treatment. The physician must evaluate fundamental underlying causes on all levels including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, directing treatment at root causes rather than at symptomatic expression.

• First do no harm.                  primum no nocere
  The process of healing includes the generation of symptoms which are, in fact, an expression of the life force attempting to heal itself. Therapeutic actions should be complimentary to and synergistic with this healing process. The physician's actions can support or antagonize the actions of nature's healing power. Therefore, methods designed to suppress symptoms without removing underlying causes are considered harmful and are avoided or minimized.

• Treat the whole person.                                             
  The multifactorial nature of health and disease
  Health and disease are conditions of the whole organism, a whole involving a complex interaction of physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and other factors. The physician must treat the whole person by taking all of these factors into account. The harmonious functioning of all aspects of the individual is essential to recovery from and prevention of disease, and requires a personalized and comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment.

• Doctor as teacher.                                           Docere                                    Beyond an accurate diagnosis and appropriate prescription, the doctor must work to create a healthy, sensitive interpersonal relationship with the patient. A cooperative doctor-patient relationship has inherent therapeutic value. The doctor's major role is to educate and encourage the patient to take responsibility for health. The physician is 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 doctor must strive to inspire hope as well as understanding. The physician must also make a commitment to his/her personal and spiritual development in order to be a good teacher.

• Prevention.                      Prevention is the best "cure"       
  The ultimate goal of any health care system should be prevention. This is accomplished through education and promotion of life-habits that create good health. The physician assesses risk factors and hereditary susceptibility to disease and makes appropriate interventions to avoid further harm and risk to the patient. The emphasis is on building health rather than on fighting disease.