JUST AS MAINSTREAM MEDICINE has a fairly consistent approach to illness, thus will al-ternative medicine. Most prevalent in alternative medicine are the six naturopathic principles. In one type or another, these principles are revisited once more and again throughout Section 2 of this text. The subsequent principles are described by Dr. Catherine Downey and excerpted from her chapter on naturopathic medicine.
1. The Healing Power of Nature (Vis medicatix naturae)
The body has the inherent ability to ascertain, maintain and restore health. The healing process is ordered and intelligent: nature heals through the response of the life force. The physician's role is to facilitate and augment this process, to act to identify and take away obstacles to health and recovery, and to support the creation of a healthy internal and external environment. In short, provide the body the appropriate tools and it will heal itself.
2. Treat the Whole Person (The multifactorial nature of health and disease)
Health and disease are conditions of the full organism, involving a advanced interaction of physical, religious, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, and social factors. The physician should treat the whole person by taking all of those factors into account. The harmonious functioning of all aspects of the individual is essential to recovery from and prevention of disease and needs a customized and comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment.
3. First Do No Damage (Primum no nocere)
Illness could be a purposeful process of the organism. The method of healing includes the generation of symptoms, that are, in fact, an expression of the life force attempting to heal itself. Therapeutic actions should be complementary to and synergistic with this healing process. The physician's actions can support or antagonize the actions of the vis mediatrix naturae; therefore strategies designed to suppress symptoms while not removing underlying causes are considered harmful and are avoided or minimized. Therapeutic actions are applied in an ordered fashion congruent with the interior order of the organism.
4. Determine and Treat the Cause (Tolle causam)
Illness does not occur while not cause. Underlying causes of disease should be discovered and removed or treated before a person can recover fully from illness. Symptoms are expressions of the body's attempt to heal, however they're not the reason for disease; so naturopathic drugs addresses itself promptly to the underlying causes of disease, instead of symptoms. Causes could occur on several levels, including physical, mental-emotional, and spiritual. The physician should evaluate basic underlying causes on all levels, directing treatment at root cause rather than at symptomatic expression.
5. Prevention (Prevention is the best "cure")
The final goal of naturopathic drugs is prevention. This is often accomplished through education and promotion of lifestyle habits that make good health. The physician assesses risk factors and hereditary susceptibility to disease and makes acceptable interventions to avoid further damage and risk to the patient. The stress is on building health rather than on fighting disease. As a result of it's difficult to be healthy in an unhealthy world, it is the responsibility of both the physician and patient to form a healthier surroundings in that to live.
6. The Physician as Teacher (Docere)
Beyond an accurate diagnosis and appropriate prescription, the physician must work to form a health-sensitive, interpersonal relationship with the patient. A cooperative doctor-patient relationship has inherent therapeutic value. The physician's major role is to coach and encourage the patient to take responsibility for health. The physician could be a catalyst for healthful modification, empowering and motivating the patient to assume responsibility. It is the patient, not the doctor, who ultimately creates or accomplishes healing. The physician must attempt to inspire hope as well as understanding. Physicans must also create a commitment to their personal and spiritual development so as to be sensible teachers.
Author Resource:
Carey Howard has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Alternative Medication, Out of doors and Pet Allergies, you can also check out his latest website about:
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")