By Lela Perkins


A naturopathic doctor stimulates the body's natural healing abilities through a personalized program of natural therapy techniques. They take the whole being of the patient, mind, body, and spirit into consideration when seeking to find and correct the cause of illness and help educate patients as to what they can do to maintain good health. By going under the care of a naturopath Vermont patients are choosing a safe and natural alternative to traditional medicine.

Someone who wishes to become a naturopath must take a four-year program at a university. The subjects studied are the same as those regular doctors learn, with the addition of natural therapeutics. Naturopathic doctors normally work in conjunction with traditional doctors and refer patients to their care when indicated.

The patient and practitioner work together as a team, with the doctor educating the patient about healthy lifestyle changes he or she can make. The focus of healing is not on the patient's symptoms, but rather on finding and correcting the underlying problem responsible for the illness. Patients are treated individually and prescribed a natural healing regime which employs such methods as herbal medicine, flower essence therapy, homeopathy, and massage.

Naturopathic medicine is founded on several key concepts. The first one of these is that nature's superior healing powers can be used to tap into the body's intrinsic self-healing ability. When treating illness, the focus should not be on the symptoms, but rather finding and healing the problem responsible for them. Generally, this approach is non-invasive and doesn't have side effects. The patient must also follow any directions the practitioner gives him or her, in order to prevent illness from recurring.

Sometimes a patient who is suffering from a chronic condition such as pain, insomnia, fatigue, or digestive problems and has not been helped by traditional medicine, will respond well to naturopathic care. The practitioner will carefully assess the total health background of the patient and devise a plan which will effectively address their concerns.

To make sure these natural healing methods are actually effective, randomized control trials are periodically conducted. From studies which have been carried out, some patients suffering from conditions such as hypertension, asthma, depression, fibromyalgia, diabetes, and migraines have shown improvement when various forms of treatment were used including nutritional therapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy, and botanical medicine.

When they attend their first appointment, patients can expect that it may take anywhere from one to two hours. The practitioner will want to obtain a very thorough medical history from them, as this facilitates easier planning when it comes to treatment. Once the patient begins therapy, he or she will need to come back periodically for a check-up to determine if it's working and if any changes are needed.

When trying to find the best naturopath Vermont patients must keep in mind that in some jurisdictions these practitioners are not licensed, so there are some who practice as naturopathic doctors but they have only completed a correspondence program and are therefore not fully trained. The person whom one chooses needs to have graduated from an approved residential program at a university.




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