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Natural Medicine--Finding a Qualified Naturopath
By: Lisa Barger
Naturopathic medicine is currently the fastest growing segment of the alternative health movement but not everyone practicing this branch of “natural” medicine is qualified to do so. I like to group naturopaths according to their educational backgrounds because I believe that the quality of your naturopath’s education directly affects the quality of care you’ll receive. Naturopaths fall into one of three categories: Medically Trained Practitioners Medically trained naturopaths are mainstream physicians who have either added natural therapies to their existing practices or have abandoned mainstream medicine altogether in favor of natural therapies. It’s estimated that only 3% of mainstream physicians practice any natural therapies so if you can find one exclusively practicing natural medicine grab hold and don’t let go. Their education and extensive training make these professionals among the best of the best when it comes to natural health. Self-Trained and Untrained Practitioners If medically trained practitioners are among the best of the best then the healers at the opposite end of the spectrum are among the worst. These are what I call the untrained or self-taught practitioners and many of them fall into what I also call the I-read-a-book-and-now-I’m-an-expert group. I’ve known some wonderful self-taught herbalists but before you hire a self-trained naturopath consider the following: * Many self-trained practitioners are self-trained because they feel disenfranchised from medicine, the government and society in general. These “rebels without a cause” often deny clients valid medical information in favor of more “natural” treatments. * Self-trained practitioners often have a poor understanding of basic anatomy and physiology. This can make diagnosis difficult and may result in ineffective or inappropriate treatment. * Self-trained practitioners aren’t going to have access to professional resources like professional journals, peer-reviewed research materials and professional-level diagnostic tools. This can especially worrisome in regard to herb/drug interactions and often means that the practitioner is operating without liability or malpractice insurance. Traditionally Trained Naturopaths Between the medically trained and self-trained practitioners is a group of professionals known as the traditionally trained naturopaths. Like their mainstream peers, these practitioners are formally educated but their education focuses on non-invasive, drug-free therapies. Licensure varies from state to state and most naturopaths work primarily as consultants but some, especially the NDs (Naturopathic Doctors), can replace your mainstream family physician. Before you hire a traditionally trained naturopath ask about his or her educational background. (Unfortunately, diploma mill “degrees” are common in this field.) Anyone using the term “doctor” should have a doctorate-level degree from a legitimate naturopathic school. Before you hire an alternative health practitioner (or any mainstream practitioner, for that matter) request a free consultation and ask a few questions. Any “natural” practitioner that balks at basic questions like these should be avoided: *Where did you go to school? *What’s your area of expertise? *What professional organizations do you support? *What do you think about mainstream medicine? Most importantly, remember that “natural” doesn’t always mean “safe” or “best”. No legitimate naturopath will deny his or her client information about mainstream treatments, prescription drugs or surgical options. Lisa Barger is a traditionally trained naturopath specializing in illness prevention counseling. Ms. Barger holds certification in Ayurveda, Iridology, Homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine and American Herbology. For information about Ms. Barger’s free seminars for churches, day cares and non-profit organizations please see our web site at http://www.LisaBarger.com . Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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How to Benefit from the Mind-Body Connection
(excerpt)
You are about to gain insight into the
mind-body connection. The number of
people who truly understand these principles on our
planet are relatively few.
There is an undeniable connection between our minds and
bodies, you can learn
to use this fact to your benefit.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of "Love, Medicine and
Miracles" was once a
distraught cancer surgeon until he
began to understand the greater principles
of the mind-
body connection. He felt dragged down by the artificial
barriers
that existed between patient and doctor, and the
helplessness he often felt as
a result of his inability
to effectively serve those patients. Eventually, those
barriers
were disintegrated by Dr. Siegel's recognition
and growing understanding of the
mind-body connection and
how it could serve his patients and himself.
Dr. Siegel, or Bernie as he began to have his patients
refer to him, had some
startling realizations as a cancer surgeon. He found that
there were actually
quite a few people in the world that successfully beat
the statistics on cancer
survival. He began to recognize that a patient's ability
to defeat something as
serious as cancer had to do with the patient's mind and
attitude about their
disease.
If you would like to see the rest of
this article, please go here:
http://www.tobeinformed.com/repository/mind-body.html
copyright 2004 - David Snape
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