What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Let me tell you a little bit about myself as we dive into this conversation about naturopathic medicine.  I am a Licensed Naturopathic Physician.  I have my private practice here in Wenatchee, and I work with people all over the world.

My goal is to help people understand how to care for themselves at a deeper level so they can make conscious choices to build their own health.  I want them to understand why I’m making the recommendations I make so they are empowered to understand how this interacts in their life.  So, it’s not an, “I’m going to tell you what to do, and you’re going to do it.”  It’s, “I’m going to help you understand your options, and you’re going to choose what’s best for you so that you can make a very strategic choice on what’s going to be the best use of your time and energy.”

Have you worked with a naturopathic physician before? If yes, awesome! If not, let me tell you a little bit about the keys of naturopathic medicine so you can understand my approach.

First off, naturopaths believe in the “Healing Power of Nature.”  I believe that your body is built to heal, and if you can set yourselves up for success, then your body will be able to do its job and heal on its own. 

I believe every cell in your body knows how to heal. We just need to remove the obstacles and give your body the resources it needs to do its job, which is to HEAL

“Identify and Treat the Cause” 

I don’t want to only be putting Bandaids on any disease that may be present, although Bandaids can be a helpful temporary thing while we create a plan help you heal from the inside out.  Bandaids do have their function, but this is not my focus in my practice.  I want to figure out what is going on, what is pushing the inflammation, what is creating the problem for you so that we can deal with THAT while we’re working to reduce your pain and discomfort.

“Do No Harm” 

This is part of the Hippocratic Oath, of course, and what we want to make sure the things we recommend are fully helping you.  A lot of the over-the-counter medications and pharmaceutical medicines, they have this laundry list of contraindications but also side effects that are potentially far worse than the disease you’re trying to treat.  That is not what I see as “doing no harm.”  The risks of that are very apparent, and sometimes they are a risk worth taking.  It depends, some of these things might be slowing your ability to heal.  I believe there is a time and a place for many things, but we want to make sure that you have strong foundational support so you can that you have other options to help you heal. step into those things that are going to harm your health.

“Doctor as Teacher”

This one is why I’m writing this post and why I teach so often about inflammation.  My goal is to help you understand the different options that are available to you and then figure out how you can integrate these new options into your life in a way that is usable and sustainable for you.  This is not just a “Do this once and we’re all good.”  It is a “Let’s create this as a healthy habit that is going to nourish us from the inside out.”

“Treat the Whole Person” 

When I am looking for ways to help you heal, I am thinking about balance- mind, body, spirit.  I am looking for what might be limiting your body, mind, and spirit from healing?  We often get stuck in the physical plane of, “Okay, I have this joint pain,” or “I have this back pain,” and that’s often the driving force for seeking medical help.  And, yes, we need to look at these.  Yet, there are other factors that contribute to health, so that we can create a personalized, more complex plan to help you actually heal from health issues rather than to throw yet another Bandaid on the situation.

“Prevention” 

This is simple, yet powerful, which is why it is my favorite. The more I teach people how to care for themselves, the more we can prevent those deeper, more chronic, issues from developing.  When we are focusing on prevention, we are saving a lot of time, a lot of pain, a lot of energy, and you’re building your quality of life. Prevention is the habit you want to start building into your daily life now, especially if you don’t think you have any problems with your health.  It’s an extremely important factor. 

That is naturopathic medicine in a nutshell. You also need to know that very naturopathic physician practices in a different way.  Knowing how one person practices is not necessarily how others will practice. 

I have an emphasis on teaching and prevention in my practice, as this is what I find is most beneficial to my patients. 

To learn more way to be the healthiest possible you, check out my online classes here for health building guidance.