Naturopathy
Naturopathic Medicine, or Naturopathy, is a practice of preventing, assessing and treating conditions of the human mind and body. By integrating conventional health sciences with a range of natural therapies and traditional medicines, naturopathy treats the patient on mental, emotional and physical levels so is treating the person as a whole, not just a part.
Naturopathy literally means “the study of nature” and in times gone by Doctors used plants and natural remedies for treating patients and they were referred to as ‘Nature Doctors’.
Naturopathy is defined in the Medical dictionary as “a drugless system of health care, using a wide variety of therapies, including hydrotherapy, heat, massage, and herbal medicine, whose purpose is to treat the whole person to stimulate and support the person’s own innate healing capacity”.
The foundation of Naturopathy is the philosophy of the “healing power of nature”. This means that the body has its own healing energy within and with the help of naturopathic modalities the body can repair itself and recover from illness if it is in a healthy and supportive environment. Therefore, Naturopathy is concerned with treating the cause of the disease/illness as well as prevention, not just treating symptoms alone as orthodox medicine does.
The Role of the Naturopath
A Naturopath aims to educate, empower and motivate the patient to assume more personal responsibility for their health by adopting a healthy attitude, lifestyle and diet. They do not simply treat the manifestation of a disease and its effects but rather search for the cause and educates the patient on how to make changes to their diet or lifestyle to prevent it reoccurring. Prevention of disease is accomplished through naturopathic education which builds a lifestyle that supports health and well-being.
Benefits of Naturopathy
A Naturopath is trained to employ safe and effective natural therapies that will support and stimulate the healing power of nature in the gentlest, least invasive and most efficient manner possible. Naturopaths use a range of methods to assist in the healing process including Herbal Medicine, nutrition – diet and lifestyle recommendations, vitamins and minerals, flower essences, Homeopathy, hair, tongue, and nail analysis, Iridology and massage.
The individual is viewed and treated in naturopathic medicine as a ‘whole’, composed of a complex interaction of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and other factors. Naturopaths can treat a wide range of health problems-from the common cold or allergies, to cancer and is suitable for people of all ages.
An initial appointment with our Naturopath will take between 1-11/2 hours in which your medical history and general lifestyle will be reviewed in order to determine a naturopathic treatment regimen suited to your individual needs. Iridology and VEGA Testing are used as diagnostic procedures to get a more comprehensive overview of what internal and external factors are involved.
Treatment is tailored to suit each individual and healing modalities include; Herbal Medicice, Homeopathy, Allergy Testing, Nutritional advice, Diet plans, Weight loss and/or Detox Programs, Emotional Healing, Flower Essences, and Therapeutic Massage.
