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Principles of Naturopathic Medicine – The practice of Naturopathic Medicine emerges from six underlying principles of healing.
The Healing Power of Nature – Vis medicatrix naturae
The body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. The physician’s role is to facilitate and augment this process, to identify and remove obstacles to health, and to support the creation of a healthy internal and external environment.
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 conquering disease.
The Physician as Teacher – Docere
Beyond an accurate diagnosis and appropriate prescription, the physician must work to create a healthy, sensitive interpersonal relationship with the patient. A cooperative doctor-patient relationship has inherent therapeutic value. The physician’s major role is to educate and encourage the patient to take responsibility for his/her own health. The physician is a catalyst for healthful change, empowering and motivating the patient to assume responsibility. After all, it is the patient, not the doctor, who ultimately creates/accomplishes healing.
Treat the Whole Person
The multifactorial nature of health and disease requires a personalized comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment. Naturopathic physicians treat the whole person (i.e., physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and spiritual) taking into account all aspects of their internal and external environment.
First Do No Harm – Primum non nocere
Naturopathic medicine follows three principles to avoid harming the patient: 1) utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful side-effects; 2) avoid, when possible, the harmful suppression of symptoms; 3) acknowledge and respect the individual’s healing process, using the least force necessary to diagnose and treat illness.
Identify and Treat the Cause – Tolle causam
Illness does not occur without cause. Underlying causes of disease must be discovered and removed 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. Naturopathic physicians seek to identify and remove the underlying cause of illness, rather than eliminate or merely suppress symptoms.
