Naturopathy is a coherent and comprehensive medical system that focuses primarily on stimulating natural mechanisms of self-healing of the body. Naturopathic interventions aimed primarily to activate, nurture and strengthen these mechanisms rather than eliminate symptoms or directly attacking pathogens. They also want gentle and non-invasive as possible.
Among the key tools of naturopathy include, among others, herbal medicine, nutrition, homeopathy, aromatherapy, physical manipulations, stress management techniques, etc.
To better understand what today naturopathy, it may be useful to recall its origins dating back to 2500, and his most recent development, since a hundred years.
His origins
By its nature and its foundations, naturopathy is firmly connected with the medical tradition of ancient Greece. The principles underlying these days to practice naturopathic owe much to the "Hippocratic Corpus," which formed the basis of Western medicine, the fifth century BC until the early twentieth century. Here are the highlights.
Primum non nocere - First, do no harm. Symptoms of disease (fever, for example) may be manifestations of a healing process. Therefore, their simple deletion can cause more harm than good. Therapeutic interventions must promote the natural healing process and not counter it.
Screw medicatix Naturae - The nature holds its own healing power. The body has the inherent ability to preserve health and restore when he lost. At the heart of the living organism are the life forces to achieve it. The role of the physician or therapist is to facilitate access to these forces by discovering and eliminating obstacles to it.
Tolle causam - Discover and treat the cause. The physician should investigate the causes of the disease rather than trying to suppress the symptoms. The disease is seen as the ultimate outcome of a particular disorder. Restoring the natural balance can only be achieved by working on the root causes of this disorder.
Docere - Teaching. The physician should guide the patient towards healing and help preserve his health naturally. He must teach them to take care of himself and to support their own healing process, according to the following principles:
The holistic approach. The therapist tells the patient that his illness is the result of a complex set of interactions between physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, and should work on all of them.
The feed. He teaches him how to eat in order to get all the necessary nutrients for health, to avoid the use of synthetic drugs or surgical procedures.
Prevention. Finally, it teaches him how to act on its environment and way of life to maximize his strength and well-being and, ultimately, reduce the risk of disease.
Recent developments
From the late nineteenth century, when all the sciences are experiencing a fabulous development, medicine discovers and integrates a host of empirical approaches ranging from homeopathy to hypnosis, through the pharmacopoeia of various cultures. In the US, the movement of eclectic medicine uses many medical approaches came from the old European, Asian and Native American peoples. A range of herbal preparations are also very popular with physicians of the time.
It is in this movement that the German Benedict Lust (1870-1945), who was a doctor, osteopath and chiropractor, naturopathy officially founded after emigrating to the United States. In 1902, he inaugurated in New York, the first naturopathic school: are taught hydrotherapy, herbalism, nutrition, physiotherapy, physiology, psychology, and a host of other therapeutic techniques.
Thus, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, will open in the US a few dozen naturopathic medical schools offer courses lasting from two to four years. These courses were often associated with advanced courses in homeopathy or chiropractic, medical techniques also knew at that time a major boom.
Alongside this expansion, was developing a medicine focuses more on surgery "heavy" and on synthetic drugs from the nascent pharmaceutical industry. This approach, perceived as more "scientific" eventually win the favor of the medical faculties of the great universities of the West. This is the direction that medicine in the decades that follow. Only physicians trained in medical schools are then allowed to diagnose and treat diseases. Result: the majority of naturopathic schools are closing.
However, from 1970, naturopathy enjoying renewed popularity with the public. Some American universities are even beginning to offer a solid education of four years. It was the arrival of a new generation of naturopaths.
Naturopathy gets some recognition over the years. In 1983, the World Health Organization recommended that medical authorities of all countries to integrate naturopathy to public health services. In 1994, the US government provided for scientific research against AIDS, a budget to Bastyr University, one of the great naturopathic schools in North America.
Naturopathy or naturopathic medicine?
In countries where there is no regulation that frames naturopathy - which is the case of several francophone countries - and naturopathic naturopathy terms are used interchangeably. In English, by cons, naturopathy prevails, and in countries where the discipline is officially recognized, it becomes naturopathic doctor (N.D.), not in naturopathy. On the other hand, the origin of the word naturopathy is uncertain. It may come from the Latin: naturo, nature, and the Greek: pathy, suffering. Naturopathic care would mean suffering - or disease - by nature. But the word comes perhaps instead of English: path resulting path. Naturopathic mean the way (to health) by nature.
The current status of naturopathy
In five Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan) and a dozen US states, as well as Australia, Israel and some other countries, we started to allow naturopaths to practice primary care medicine. They are authorized to diagnose, order analysis and tests (X-rays, blood tests or urine, etc.), to prescribe treatments to provide care and refer patients to specialist physicians.
In Quebec and in most Francophone countries in Europe, naturopathic medicine is not officially recognized. naturopaths however Associations working in this direction. For now, we can use it the title of naturopath, but it does not necessarily mean therapists with extensive training. Moreover, their practice is generally not subject to strict rules. These naturopaths - regardless of the value of their training and skills - are not allowed to ask diagnoses or prescribe for medical treatment. They can only act as health counselors, complementing the care provided by duly licensed healthcare professionals.
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