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- What is Naturopathic Medicine?
- State Licensure for Naturopathic Doctors
What
is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Medicine
is a distinct healthcare profession that blends safe and effective holistic, natural therapies with the latest scientific
knowledge of health and medicine. It combines the best of the alternative medicine and Western healthcare worlds into
one integrated whole. It is a distinctive and unique natural approach to health and healing that recognizes the integrity
of the whole person.
The emphasis of naturopathic medicine is on prevention and restoration of balance in the body,
mind and spirit. Naturopathic Doctor (NDs) will recommend natural, non-invasive therapies aimed to support and
encourage the body's inherent capacity to heal itself. One of the main goals of NDs is to educate and empower
an individual to achieve optimum health.
Naturopathic doctors work with patients of all ages, concentrating
on whole-person wellness by identifying and treating the cause of an illness, rather than just treating the symptoms. NDs
see each patient as an individual, and develop plans that are custom-tailored to their needs.
A naturopathic
doctor is uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between the alternative health world and the conventional medical world.
NDs understand and speak the language of medicine while also embracing the art of natural healing.
Therapies included in naturopathic medicine are: - Nutritional counseling, including dietary assessment and directing dietary changes toward whole foods nutrition
- Therapeutic nutrition, including vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements
- Herbal medicine, including the use of teas, tinctures, encapsulated herbs, essential
oils, and gemmotherapy
- Homeopathy, including constitutional
homeopathy, acute treatment, and biotherapeutic drainage
- Environmental
medicine, including assessment of toxicity in the body, along with cleansing and detoxification programs
- Lifestyle counseling, addressing physical, mental, and emotional issues in daily
life, including stress management
- Physical medicine, therapies
to address musculoskeletal pain and acupuncture
Please see services and conditions for more information on these therapies The Six Fundamental Principles of Naturopathic Medicine Naturopathic medicine is
dedicated to the study and celebration of nature’s healing powers. It is as old as healing itself and as new as today’s
medical breakthroughs. It is a dynamic philosophy as well as a profession that recognizes the interconnection and interdependence
of all living things. It utilizes the most natural, least invasive and least toxic therapies to treat illness and to promote
wellness by viewing the body as an integrated whole.
Naturopathic medicine is defined by principles rather than
by methods or modalities, and this distinguishes the profession from other medical approaches. Above all, it honors the
body’s innate wisdom to heal.
The six fundamental principles of naturopathic medicine: First Do No Harm: Safe and effective natural therapies are used to promote health and minimize the
risk of harmful side-effects.
The Healing Power of Nature: Naturopathic medicine recognizes an
inherent self-healing process in the person that is ordered and intelligent. Sometimes, however, the healing is delayed
or not working as would be expected. In these cases, naturopathic physicians act to identify and remove obstacles
to healing and recovery, to give the body the tools it needs to heal, and to stimulate the body’s own self-healing mechanisms.
Discover and Treat the Cause: Naturopathic physicians seek to discover and address the underlying
cause of a disease, as opposed to treating symptoms as isolated and unrelated problems. Symptoms are an expression of
the body’s efforts to heal, and they themselves are not the cause. Suppressing the symptoms is like cutting the
wires to the “Check Engine” light on your car without first looking under the hood.
Treat the
Whole Person: A holistic approach is utilized by considering multiple factors of health and disease, taking
into account physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, spiritual and other factors. Treatment plans
are formulated specific to the individual’s needs to maximize success.
Doctor as Teacher:
The naturopathic doctor’s role is one of education and empowerment, encouraging self-responsibility for health.
Your naturopath is a doctor, a teacher, a counselor, a coach, and a partner with you in your quest for health and wellness.
Prevention: Prevention truly is the best "cure.” This is done by assessing risk
factors, determining susceptibility to disease, and defining appropriate lifestyle and other modifications to prevent illness
or halt the progression of a disease process. The emphasis is on building health, not just fighting disease.Naturopathic Education
Naturopathic doctors (NDs), like Dr. Passmore,
have attended a rigorous four-year graduate level medical program at an accredited naturopathic medical school. Admissions
requirements are comparable to those of conventional medical schools, which require a bachelor’s degree and pre-med
courses.
The ND course of study includes approximately 4,500 hours of academic and clinical training. The program
leads to a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) degree.
During the first two years of the program, naturopathic
doctors are trained in the same basic science and clinical applications as conventional medical students. These studies
include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, and microbiology.
In the second two years of the program,
ND students continue to take courses in conventional medical fields including cardiology, neurology, gynecology, pediatrics,
and dermatology. They are also trained to interpret lab work, as well as pharmaceutical medications, specifically focusing
on drug/herb/vitamin interactions. During this time they also receive extensive training in holistic and nontoxic therapies
with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. These modalities include therapeutic nutrition,
botanical medicine, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, physical medicine, vitamin/mineral/enzyme therapy, and lifestyle counseling.
Naturopathic students intern for two years under the close supervision of licensed doctors in a clinical setting.
This hands-on application of knowledge with actual patients complements and solidifies classroom learning into practical skills
of health and healing.
Dr. Passmore received her
Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from National College of Natural Medicine, one of the few accredited schools
of naturopathic medicine. The naturopathic medicine program at National College of Natural Medicine is
accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (www.cnme.org). For more information you can go to www.ncnm.edu. State Licensure for Naturopathic Doctors
States licensed for naturopathic doctors currently include Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of
Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington and United States Territories:
Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. For more information on Naturopathic Medicine or to find an ND in another state you
can contact the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians at www.naturopathic.org.
Naturopathic Physicians are not yet licensed and regulated in
New York State. To support the licensing efforts in New York State, please go to www.nyanp.org.
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