In the first post in this series we outlined the Naturopathic Philosophy. Here we will expound upon the first two core beliefs in that philosophy.
The first principle is to do no harm. As naturopathic practitioners, we are concerned with the health and healing of our clients first and foremost. Therefore, we must not and we do not base our decisions or implement therapies that lead to a deterioration of health or weaken the body’s ability to heal itself over time, even for short term gain. Furthermore, we will not employ a therapy that brings about short-term symptom suppression at the expense of long-term health and healing. Our job is to remove the obstacles to health and support the body so that it can naturally heal itself. This brings us to our second belief, and that is the healing power of nature or Vis medicatrix naturae.
The second core belief of the Naturopathic Philosophy states that the body possesses the ability to heal itself if given the proper opportunity. The body is believed to have an innate intelligence that is always striving for health. It maintains that a potential pathogenic agent, such as bacteria does not directly cause the symptoms accompanying disease, but rather, that the symptoms are the result of the body’s intrinsic response or reaction to the agent and the body’s attempt to defend and heal itself. Symptoms, then, are part of a constructive phenomenon that is the best choice the body can make given the circumstances. In this construct, the role of the doctor is to aid the body in its efforts, not to take over the functions of the body. To do this, one must identify and address the cause(s) of the diseased state, which brings us to our third core belief.
The third and fourth core beliefs of the Naturopathic Philosophy will be expanded upon in the next post.
