The practice of naturopathic medicine emerges from six principles of healing. These principles are based on the objective observation of the nature of health and disease and are examined continually in light of scientific analysis. These principles stand as the distinguishing marks of the profession.
The healing power of nature — vis medicatrix naturae
The body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. The role of the physician is to work with the intelligence of nature and the natural healing force of the body using tools that facilitate this response rather than control or alter it.
Identify and treat the cause — tolle causam
Underlying each symptom or disease lies a cause. Alterations in the human body are the body’s response to a change in the internal and external environment, a natural accommodation so that the body can survive. Naturopathic medicine addresses underlying causes of disease, rather than the symptoms in order to restore the environment necessary for the body to functional in an optimal way. This may include physical, mental emotional, environmental and spiritual aspects of healing. It is the task of the physician to address these causes in their totality, at the deepest level, providing the least amount of intervention with the greatest far reaching effect.
First do no harm — primum no nocere
Symptoms that we experience as humans, both in the physical and emotional body, are the body’s way of communicating with us and an expression of our vital life force. Therapeutic intervention must respect and interpret this communication in collaboration with this healing force moving it towards and not away from the direction of health. The role of the physician is to encourage rather than suppress this mechanism and in doing so avoid disruption of this vital force and avoiding harm to the individual.
Treat the whole person — in perturbato animo sicut in corpore sanitas esse non potest
A naturopathic physician must address the patient in their totality of the expression of the life force. Physical, emotional, spiritual, environmental and even inherited aspects of disease must be taken into account for true healing to occur. To only engage one type of healing modality and address one aspect of health would not be in keeping with the naturopathic principles laid out here. Emphasis on a multi-model and whole-istic view of the individual is necessary to facilitate healing.
The physician as teacher — docere
Empowering and inspiring the patient is one of the primary tasks charged to a physician. The physician must educate the patient about their health, their abilities to influence their health and healing and make healthful changes that move them in the direction of health and well being. The physician must accomplish this both through the doctor- patient dynamic as well as through example.
Prevention — principiis obsta: sero medicina curatur
Disease is always easier to treat before it even happens. Promoting health and wellness through education, community involvement and offering opportunities for patients to improve their health in the present moment is the ultimate goal of the naturopathic doctor. An emphasis on healthy living that nurtures this vital force in each individual is a key aspect of care for all patients.
Naturopathic physicians take an oath upon completing their training as a commitment to embodying these principles both for themselves and their patients. This unique framework informs the art of medicine for a true naturopathic physician.
