What is Naturopathic Medicine? A Naturopath Explains

Hi, I'm Dr. Nicole Cain, and I'm a naturopathic medical doctor. I would love to share with you today a little bit about naturopathic medicine, what it is, and specifically to tell you how naturopathic medicine can be safe, powerful, and effective in relieving symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, and more. One of the first questions I often get asked is, what is the difference between a naturopathic doctor and an osteopathic doctor and a medical doctor? And so that often goes down to answering the question of what type of training do naturopathic physicians receive? Naturopathic medicine is a form of medicine that utilizes both natural and conventional therapies to treat and prevent disease. Naturopathic medical doctors attend federally accredited naturopathic medical schools. They sit for multiple licensing board examinations, and in over 25 states are licensed as primary care physicians. In addition to the standard medical education requirements of a medical doctor, naturopathic physicians are also trained in integrative modalities like herbalism, acupuncture, nutrition, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and so much more. The next question is, what do naturopathic physicians treat? Naturopathic doctors are medically licensed as practice primary care physicians, meaning that we're trained to treat all medical conditions and can provide both individually and family care. Examples of conditions that a naturopathic doctor may treat include diabetes, obesity, thyroid, hormonal imbalances, allergies, acute and chronic pain, digestive upset, cardiac and respiratory conditions, fertility, menopause, adrenal fatigue, fat, fibromyalgia, and so much more. As a naturopathic physician, my area of expertise is naturopathic medicine for mental health. My passion is to put a comma at the end of the sentence. In standard medical care, the primary form of treatment for anxiety and depression and trauma is the pill for an ill model and psychotherapy. I'm trained with a master's degree in clinical psychology, as well as my degree in naturopathic medicine, and have found that there are so many, so many other wonderful things that we can do as naturopathic doctors that are safe, powerful, and effective. The next question people often ask is, do naturopathic physicians use pharmaceuticals and can they perform surgeries? Though naturopathic doctors are trained to utilize prescription drugs and are licensed to utilize prescription drugs, oftentimes they primarily emphasize the use of more naturopathic therapies in place of medications or whenever appropriate. The reason for this is because oftentimes using a botanical medicine or a different type of remedy or changing your lifestyle will get you the results that you need. While Increasing your health and reducing your risk of symptoms in the future. Why would we do a pill for an ill for life if you can actually get better? Right? I'm licensed in minor surgery in the state of Arizona and so I can remove scalp skin tags, warts, do sclerotherapy. Some naturopathic doctors do Botox and other injection therapies as well. Oftentimes people will ask why is insurance coverage limited? With naturopathic medicine, the healthcare industry at large is moving towards a cash pay approach. There are a number of reasons for this, but a predominant one is that the insurance industry limits the quality of the care that a practitioner can offer to their patients. They do this by dictating how we treat something as far as reimbursement coverage, how long a visit should last, how much the visit should cost, and how many visits are appropriate. There are also unfortunately, concerns regarding insurance costs and coverage issues depending on a patient's particular history and circumstances. Moreover, as naturopathic medicine is a fairly young branch of medicine, and insurance policies have often not yet entirely been changed to accommodate the public's growing demand, the key thing that sets naturopathic medicine aside is the philosophy. We have several tenants that help set us apart in how we approach patient care and how we use and understand medicine. The first tenet is do no harm. Naturopathic physicians utilize treatments that are generally non invasive and rarely have harmful side effects. As a naturopathic physician, I will carefully consider treatment recommendations with consideration to both your short and your long term health goals. Naturopathic doctors hold professionalism and ethics to the highest regard with each patient. The second tenet is the body has an inherent wisdom in healing. I believe that every person has an incredibly powerful ability to self heal. I see this every day in my practice. The goal of a naturopathic physician is to empower your body to heal itself through gentle, safe and yet powerful interventions. This type of approach will help you become well so that permanent or lifelong medications are no longer necessary. The third philosophical difference is that we focus on identifying and treating the cause. We're not about disease management, but rather health care. And in order to help you find a cure and to become fully well, the root cause of your symptoms must be discovered and addressed. Naturopathic physicians understand that it is important to address your symptoms as well as also look deeper at the origins of why you feel the way you feel and treat this as well so that your predisposition to developing symptoms gets better. The next tenet is treat the whole person. Naturopathic doctors look at their patients as a whole person as opposed to separately functioning parts. For example, in my story I remember going to a doctor for allergies. They gave me allergy medications. That allergy medication caused heart palpitations. I was sent to a different specialist for heart palpitations who then gave me another medication which which made me feel depressed. So then they sent me to a psychiatrist who gave me another medication. And by the way, I still had allergies. Naturopathic medicine is completely different. We understand that each individual has a unique makeup and stress and illness can affect different aspects of our being. For example Physical, mental, emotional, genetic, epigenetic, environmental, social media, social, sexual and I could go on A naturopathic physician will consider the totality of your individual symptoms in putting together a specifically tailored protocol for you. The last tenet is physician as teacher. We say docere in Latin. Empowerment is a key aspect in naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic doctors emphasize the importance of being educators and as well as physicians. Your naturopathic doctor will give you the tools to be healthy and spend time answering your questions so that you leave prepared to take your health into your own hands. Prevention is cure, and the well known phrase rings true in naturopathic medicine. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preventative medicine is on the forefront of innovative health care. By being proactive in your health care, you are preventing chronic disease, reducing the risk of acute illness, ultimately saving time and money so that you can live a longer and happier life. Let's summarize naturopathic medicine in a snapshot. Naturopathic medicine is an emerging field and naturopathic medicine for mental health in particular is powerful and amazing and I can't wait to share in this journey with you and I and so make sure that you check out our website, our social media so that you can get more information about how naturopathic medicine is making waves in mental health. Remember, naturopathic doctors graduate from federally accredited medical schools and are recognized as licensed primary care physicians in over 25 states. To find out if your naturopath is a medically trained naturopathic doctor ch check with your state association for specific regulations and requirements regarding the scope of practice and who is trained as a physician as opposed to a practitioner. Naturopathic doctors are licensed to diagnose and treat disease. Naturopathic doctors can prescribe many pharmacological medications and some doctors do minor surgery and other injection therapies. Naturopathic doctors have an accreditation board and are regulated by state and federal standards of care. Naturopathic doctors are trained in all the same modalities as conventional doctors, but have additional training and alternative modalities, including but not limited to botanical medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, diet, lifestyle, and so much more. In order to receive a naturopathic medical degree, an applicant must pass two National Board examinations. In some states, naturopathic doctors are licensed to conduct minor surgery. For a listing of accredited naturopathic medical schools or to learn more about naturopathic medicine, go to www.naturopathic.org. to learn more about me, I'm Dr. Nicole. You can check out our social media rnicolecane. You could also look at our website, which is www.drnicolecane.com. it.