What is naturopathy? I thought it would be great to explain it so it’s well understood and appreciated.
Naturopathic medicine is health care that blends modern scientific knowledge with traditional and natural forms of medicine. The naturopathic philosophy is to stimulate the healing power of the body and deal with the underlying cause of disease. Focus on prevention and the self-healing process is key. Symptoms of disease are seen as warning signals of improper functioning of the body, and unfavourable lifestyle habits. Naturopathic Medicine emphasizes disease as a process rather than as an entity.
Naturopathy encompasses many disciplines including clinical nutrition, lifestyle changes, phytotherapy, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, psychology and spirituality, traditional Chinese medicine, etc. At a time when modern technology, environmental pollution, poor diet, and stress play a significant role in the degradation of health, a Naturopath’s ability to apply natural methods of healing is of considerable importance.
In school, future Naturopaths take courses like cellular biology, research methods, organic chemistry, biochemistry, phytochemistry, anatomy and biology, physiopathology, clinical microbiology, pharmacology, biomedical analysis, nutritherapy, nutrition, health and stress management, immunology, phytotherapy, gemmotherapy, aromatherapy, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, etc.
In Canada, there are 3 schools recognized by the World Naturopathic Federation; CCNM, Boucher Institute and EESNQ. There are 2 schools where Naturopathic Doctors graduate from; Canadian College of Natural Medicine in Toronto and Boucher Institute in Vancouver.
In Quebec, the EESNQ (École d’enseignement supérieure de naturopathie du Québec) produces either Naturopathic Practitioners and if one chooses to move forward, one can obtain a Naturopathic Doctorate. Quebec does not recognize Naturopathic Doctors like the rest of Canada does so we can not call ourselves doctors here, and that is even if you graduate from a school like The Canadian College of Natural Medicine in Toronto.
Without regulation in Quebec, many people can call themselves Naturopaths, however only two schools are recognized by L’ANAQ and provide the title of ND.A. These include EESNQ and IESN. This does not mean that those who graduate from other schools are not knowledgeable, however when looking for a Naturopath to work with in Quebec, ideally, you want to look at how many hours of study they have completed. At EESNQ, in the first part of our training to obtain the designation of Naturopathic Practitioner ND.A., we complete 2100 hours and in the second half, the doctorate program, we complete an additional 2200 hours.
I hope this helps clarify how important the role of a Naturopath is when it comes to prevention and your health.
