‘Holistic’ has been a buzz word, floating around medical and wellness industries for several years. But what exactly is a Holistic Naturopath? To explain what a Holistic Naturopath is, I think it is of value to first explain Naturopathic principles, which set the scene for Naturopathic practice and holism.

Naturopathic Principles

1. Do no harm – utilise strategies, techniques and medicines that have limited side effects. This also encompasses, less as more where the least possible dose to have a therapeutic effect is prioritised. Naturopaths will also consider the best medicine for the person sitting in front of them, not only what works for the majority of similar cases.
2. The Healing Power of Nature – this is recognising the magical powers of the body to know what it needs to do to heal itself. The Holistic Naturopath is there only to educate, guide, support and enhance this natural ability and remove any obstacles preventing good health and recovery.
3. Identify and treat the cause – the Holistic Naturopath considers elements beyond the symptoms to understand and target the cause of the ailment or presentation. This ensure longer term success and prevention.
4. Doctor as teacher – in Latin doctor (docere) literally means “to teach”. The Holistic Naturopath’s role is to educate patients to take control of their own health. This arms patients with the tools they needs to make long term, ongoing lifestyle changes beyond the treatment.
5. Treat the Whole Person – there are many aspects to good health beyond the disease/ailment in front of you. A Holistic Naturopath will consider the connection between mental/emotional, environmental, genetic, physical and social factors. There is even an interconnectedness between different organs of the body. This is recognising all the aspects that make up the whole person, rather than a diseased part.
6. Prevention – A significant part of the Holistic Naturopath’s role is assessing illness susceptibility, risk factors and heredity before they become more problematic for the patient.

Holistic Naturopath – Whole Person Explained

Aristotle ~ “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” This quote by Aristotle is true for the ‘whole person’ approach to treating holistically. This approach considers the interplay between various parts of a person’s life including:

• social
• emotional
• mental
• physical
• environmental;

and the various parts of their body such as:

• heart
• lungs
• gut
• brain
• skin
• liver
• kidneys
• nervous system
• hormones
• energy systems
• musculoskeletal etc.

Each of these elements make up a person and can determine whether they present with an ailment, disease or good health. When one factor is not in balance, we often find that multiple aspects are playing into the presentation. When identifying the cause and treating the many factors involved, improved health can be achieved. This is also important when deciding on a treatment.

Because there are many aspects to why a person may be presenting with an ailment, it is important to individualise each treatment. Individualisation is accessing treatments specific to the person sitting in front of the Holistic Practitioner. This is because, while two patients may present with the exact same ailment (e.g. acne or poor gut health), there may be different factors at play for each of those patients, leading them to that ailment. Further, patients may respond differently to treatments. Some may be more sensitive than others or the remedy may work differently in their body.

The treatment plan itself and how it is delivered to the patient is also an important part of Naturopathic care. Where one patient may do well with direct information on what to do, other’s may require more information and guidance to know exactly why and how they should implement their treatments.

Therefore, the ‘Holistic’ aspect of the title Holistic Naturopath is recognising the practitioner treats the person as a ‘whole’ person, rather than their individual parts or symptoms.

Natural Healing Therapies

Natural healing therapies are the combined treatments that Holistic Naturopath’s use to achieve health outcomes.

Common to Naturopathic Holistic care are herbal tinctures. Tinctures are made up of various herbs, specific to a person’s presentation. They aim to address both symptoms and underlying causes of the ailment. Different herbs offer different properties with diverse actions in the body. Many people are unaware that because natural therapies have been used for thousands of years, they have in fact been researched for their effect on health conditions.

Because herbs can be combined in a tincture, the result is a very specific formula. The formula is targeted at addressing each of a patient’s health concerns. Prevention of the further progression of disease states or improving their overall wellbeing is the primary outcome of herbal treatments. These therapies will often be combined with nutritional and lifestyle aspects to treat the mind and body. Using this holistic combination we stimulate the body’s innate ability to heal itself.

Mind Body Treatment – The Holistic Naturopath Way

When considering the mind-body treatment. A Holistic Naturopath will factor in the role of the emotional and mental wellbeing of the patient. These aspects will connect to the presenting set of symptoms or disease state and/or the underlying cause.

While Holistic Naturopath’s are not psychologists, they can work closely with psychiatric specialists to support patients. Utilising a handy set of evidence-supoorted natural healing remedies and lifestyle exercises to enhance the mind-body connection a more balanced mindset can be achieved.  This again, encompasses the previously mentioned ‘whole person’ health approach adopted by Holistic Naturopaths. Some of these practices may include techniques that compliment dietary, nutritional and herbal therapies such as:

• guided breath-work
• meditation and mindfulness prescription
• stress management

The whole person health approach is something that I value deeply in my treatments as a Holistic Naturopath. It is ingrained into every part of my interactions with patients, and this is because it works.

It is my belief that it is important for patients to feel seen, heard and understood in their journey towards improved health. That can only be achieved when they are considered as a whole person rather than defined by the symptoms they are presenting with.

Take a look at what you might expect in your first Naturopathic appointment here