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For details about the health problems that can be helped by naturopathy click here to visit my homepage.
Sometimes it might seem that the only options out there are "the Pill", Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), hysterectomy, antidepressants, antibiotics, antacids, antihistamines, sedatives, cortisone, problematic anti-inflammatories such as NSAIDS, and so on. Of course, these have their place, but my clients, colleagues and I always find ourselves wondering, "Where would we be without herbal medicine? Imagine if there was no homeopathy or nutritional medicine!"
What is naturopathy?
My training includes a 4 year Bachelor of Health Sciences degree, plus ongoing professional education.
To become qualified as a naturopath, I studied 4 years each of herbal medicine, homeopathy and nutrition, as well as studies in flower essences, celloids, iridology, counselling and psychology. My degree also included the medical sciences of pathology, biochemistry, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, clinical diagnosis, pharmacology and research methods.
For your safety, and best results, it is important that a naturopath is fully qualified. It is a fallacy that “natural” always means “safe”. In Victoria we are working towards registration of our profession, but until this is complete, unfortunately anybody can call themselves a naturopath or herbalist.
However, rebates from health insurance companies are only available from fully qualified naturopaths who are members of recognised professional associations, such as the National Herbalists Association Australia and the Complementary Medicine Association.
Naturopathy is a logical system of treatment based on a number of core ideas:
- The healing power of nature
Naturopathy teaches that that the body has the ability to heal itself and that it is the naturopath's role to try to facilitate this natural process in each patient.
- Identify and treat the cause
In naturopathy, the underlying root causes of disease must be removed for complete healing to take place. These root causes can exist at many levels: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is the naturopath's role to identify these root causes, in addition to alleviating a patient's suffering by treating symptoms.
- First, do no harm
The Hippocratic Oath applies to naturopathic practice. The process of healing includes the manifestation of symptoms, so that any therapy that interferes with this natural healing process by masking symptoms is considered suppressive and should be avoided. The natural life force of the individual should be supported to facilitate healing and wellness.
- Treat the whole person
One of the biggest tenets of naturopathy is the belief that mainstream medicine alone does not treat the "whole person", and that naturopathy goes beyond treatment of symptoms and treats the entire body, as well as the spirit and mind.
- The naturopath as teacher
It is the role of the naturopath to educate an individual in their health and lifestyle practices and encourage that individual to "take responsibility for their own health". This cooperative relationship between naturopath and patient is essential to healing.
- Prevention
The ultimate goal of the naturopath practitioner is preventative health for the patient. Accordingly, the naturopathic emphasis is on building health not just fighting illness. Adjusting your lifestyle towards healthier options is our goal. Naturopathy is a wellness focused health system. |
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What happens in a naturopathic consultation?
I spend an hour talking with you and take a detailed history of your health issues and patterns. This helps me to understand the causes of your symptoms today, and allows me to prescribe treatment that best fits you as an individual. This initial consultation includes an iridology assessment, which helps me to further understand your inherited health disposition, and allows more specific choice of remedies or treatment for you.
It’s quite involved, but it all fits in within a systematic framework.
With your participation, I develop an individualised health plan, tailor made for you. We usually have short term goals and long term goals. This may include the prescription of pharmaceutical quality herbal medicines and tonics, nutritional supplements (of a quality only available to qualified practitioners), homeopathic medicines, flower essences or dietary and lifestyle adjustments. Read more about these below.
Depending on your circumstances, follow up consultations of half an hour are usually required. This helps me to adjust the treatment according to your response, and to take the treatment to a deeper level, if indicated. Often there is not time to discuss everything in the first consultation, and it also gives you an opportunity to ask further questions that you may not have thought of at our first meeting.
Naturopathic treatment is gentle and gradual, and while you will nearly always have a positive response after the first session, it is important to allow time for your body to get itself back into order, especially if you have had health problems for a number of years.
However, unlike many health professionals, I do not insist that you keep on coming back for consultations indefinitely. I will always have a sound rationale for subsequent consultations, and sometimes, you do indeed need only one consultation.
Treatments I may choose for you:
Modern Herbal Medicine
I use concentrated liquid extracts of pharmaceutical quality herbal medicines, blended by myself for each individual patient. These medicines have stood the test of time. They have been used through the ages as traditional medicine, and now they are having their actions tested and proven by medical science. I have hundreds of herbs to choose from in order to best individualise your prescription. Some are quite specific for treating certain conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis, liver disorders, constipation, bloating, urinary tract infections, and so on. Others are wider acting "tonics" and help settle your nervous system and your adrenal glands in the case of short or long term stress. Most herbal medicines have actions on more than one body system, and it is my training and skill in herbalism that enables me to optimise a tonic mix for your specific symptoms.
You do not need to boil up these herbs. I may recommend teas (infusions), but mostly you will take a very small amount of medicine with water or juice. Some combinations of herbs are available in tablet form. Easy!
Homeopathy
A distinct system of medicine, this involves low dose remedies chosen to match the specific symptom pattern of the patient. For example, while cutting onions, we complain of burning, itching, watering eyes. Some hayfever sufferers present with this as their most irritating symptom. The homeopathic remedy made from onion, Allium Cepa, can treat that specific hayfever symptom pattern.
With the right homeopathic remedy, profound changes can occur. Again, there are hundreds of remedies to choose from, and it is a significant analytical process to find the specific homeopathic remedy for you.
Bach flowers and other flower essences
These are plant based remedies in drop form that particularly target emotions. These can be a wonderful way to treat emotional disturbances and any form of stress. A few examples of when I might choose them: after shock, during times of transition, feeling “stuck” or “blocked”, unexplained sadness, irritability, overly busy mind whirling with thoughts; there are many more.
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Nutritional Medicine
Food is our medicine. Small changes to the way we eat can make big changes to the way we feel.
Some people are looking for a detox diet. There is a lot of mis-information about what this is. I can give you realistic, safe approaches to going on a detox diet, as well as providing supportive detox herbal medicines and nutrients.
Occasionally, where the diet does not provide enough nutrition, where lifestyle factors deplete nutrients rapidly, or where specific health complaints call for an increased demand of nutrients, supplementation can be used.
Naturopaths have access to excellent quality supplement products that you will never find over the counter in a health food shop. These are available to qualified practitioners only, and are made by specialist nutritional manufacturers. They contain ingredients that are designed to work together synergistically and to provide meaningful therapeutic doses. Again, there are many options to choose from, and it is important that the right product is chosen for you by a qualified professional.
Lifestyle advice
I offer detailed advice around how you can implement some convenient changes in regard to food, leisure and work, to bring relief to your health complaint. Advice is always sensitive to the restrictions of your lifestyle and can be as simple or as detailed as required. You’d probably be surprised at how simple some of the adjustments can be, yet how remarkable their effect.
Art therapy:
Counselling in the form of art therapy is available as a separate consultation (optional). This is an enjoyable yet profound method of problem solving and exploring personal issues, using simple image making to process life's challenges. Although this is a powerful and very helpful form of counselling/psychotherapy, or personal growth, it is not necessary to be artistic to benefit. Learn more here.
My qualifications as both a naturopath and an art therapist are unique, providing you with the opportunity to participate in a rich therapeutic experience that nurtures and supports both your mind and body.
Tests that may be useful for you:
- Hair Mineral Analysis (shows heavy metals and various nutritional mineral levels)
- Functional Liver Detoxification Profile (how well does your liver perform its detox function?)
- Intestinal Permeability (do you have a leaky gut, which may be contributing to chronic inflammation and allergy?)
- Salivary Hormone Profiles (male and female)
- 2 & 16 Urinary Oestrogen Metabolites
- Neuroendocrine metabolites (are your mood swings, depression, anxiety, etc a result of imbalances in your brain chemistry, or neurotransmitters, which can then be helped by providing nutrients the brain needs?)
- Amino acid profile (also used for assessing mood problems, depression, anxiety, as above)
- Mood Disorder Appraisal
- Complete Digestive Stool analysis
- Osteoporosis Risk Marker
- Food allergy IgG
Planning a baby:
 Naturopathic treatment is especially good for preparing for a healthy baby. Pre-conception care and natural fertility management is designed to give you the best chance available for a natural conception, healthy pregnancy, childbirth and a healthier baby. The benefits include a stronger immune system for mother and baby, and reduced likelihood of morning sickness, stretch marks and babies with birth defects, allergies, asthma, eczema and excessive crying.
Working with your doctor:
Most health concerns can be supported using natural therapies, including those where it may be necessary to work in a team with your doctor (for example, if you are taking prescribed medication, or require certain tests).
Naturopathic treatment is particularly appropriate when you have been to the doctor with a health problem, and you have been told that there is nothing wrong with you, even though you know you do not feel well.
Common Terminology Questions:
Is a naturopath an "alternative medicine" practitioner, or do we say "complementary medicine"? What is the difference anyway? Here's a little explanation:
Naturopaths don't really consider ourselves to be "alternative", because the question is then, "alternative to what"? (Standard Western pharmacological medicine, obviously, but that's not really applicable these days).
Certainly, many use the term "complementary medicine" because our treatments can be used in conjunction with standard medical treatments, and are therefore "complementary"; filling in the gaps, or complementing, what standard medicine cannot do, or supporting standard medicine, with regard to managing side effects and so on.
HOWEVER, most of us prefer to use "Integrative medicine" nowadays, recognising that medicine is all one "thing", and whatever is appropriate should be used.
Some people call standard Western medicine "traditional medicine". However, this is somewhat ironic, since in its current form, it's only been going a little over 100 years, in other words, not particularly "traditional".
There's no need to delay doing something about your ongoing health problems when you could be feeling so much better long term.
Phone 0429 387 388 for your preferred appointment and start feeling good again.
Links:
http://www.nhaa.org.au
http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/therapist/2381
http://www.westonaprice.org
http://www.realmilkaustralia.com
http://www.thenaturalhealthguide.com.au
http://www.usenature.com
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