The Six Principles of Naturopathic Medicine:
- The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae): Naturopathic medicine recognizes an inherent self-healing process in people that is ordered and intelligent (known as the “vis”, or vital force, similar to qi/chi and prana). Naturopathic physicians act to identify and remove obstacles to healing and recovery, and to facilitate and augment this inherent self-healing process.
- Identify and Treat the Causes (ToIle Causam): The naturopathic physician seeks to identify and remove the underlying causes of illness rather than to merely eliminate or suppress symptoms.
- First Do No Harm (Primum Non Nocere): Naturopathic physicians follow three guidelines to avoid harming the patient:
- Utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful side effects, using the least force necessary to diagnose and treat;
- Avoid when possible the harmful suppression of symptoms; and
- Acknowledge, respect, and work with individuals’ self-healing process.
- Doctor as Teacher (Docere): Naturopathic physicians educate their patients and encourage self-responsibility for health. They also recognize and employ the therapeutic potential of the doctor-patient relationship.
- Treat the Whole Person: Naturopathic physicians treat each patient by taking into account individual physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and other factors. Since total health also includes spiritual health, naturopathic physicians encourage individuals to pursue their personal spiritual development.
- Prevention: Naturopathic physicians emphasize the prevention of disease by assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease, and by making appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness.
The Therapeutic Order:
The illustration below depicts the different avenues through which naturopathic doctors can assist someone’s healing process. Removing the obstacles to cure is the first and most important step all naturopathic doctors strive to accomplish. The second step is to allow space for the body to correct itself in the absence of said obstacles. These two steps are the foundation of any naturopathic practice, which is why they are at the base of the pyramid. From that foundation, if more assistance is warranted, we strive to use the most natural and least invasive approaches to achieve optimal wellness, with synthetic drugs and more invasive treatments being used as a last resort. There are, however, some cases when more invasive and synthetic treatments may be necessary before continuing with more natural approaches to prevent death, or permanent damage and disfigurement. Our main priority in either case is to protect the patient at all costs.
