It might be the first time you’ve ever heard of naturopathy or naturopathic doctors, and therefore you might wonder what it means to be one. In short, a naturopath is a medical practitioner who makes use of natural and non-invasive treatments and a holistic approach to health and well-being. The biggest focus of naturopathy is to prevent disease rather than responding to acute disease as much of modern medicine focuses upon.

If you were to book your naturopath session in Melbourne today, you’d be making an appointment with a licensed primary care physician, but one with something of a different outlook on how best to achieve optimum health and well-being.

Some Interesting Facts About Naturopaths

First of all, naturopathic doctors can and do work in outpatient facilities, but you wouldn’t find them in an emergency room, for instance. Their holistic approach to healthcare means they take a much broader view of a patient’s care, looking at things like their lifestyle, and factors that may be causing imbalances in the body that result in the symptoms they are experiencing.

While they do help to treat people of their current ailments, naturopaths will consult closely with patients on how to avoid the symptoms returning via the use of botanical medicines, holistic therapies, changes in diet and lifestyle, etc. Government recognition of naturopathy differs around the world, but practitioners of this branch of medicine have been around for a very long time.

Reasons You Could Consider Naturopathy

If you’re wondering about how the naturopathic practice might benefit you as an individual, you can consider some of the following reasons why it’s worth looking into:

The holistic approach to medicine that naturopathy focuses on is about all-around well-being and preventing people from falling into ill health. It’s not a reactive form of medicine as is much of western medicine. It takes people who might be healthy now or feeling unwell and advises them on how to achieve a healthy balance and harmony that will stay with them and keep them well.

Another positive aspect is that naturopathy is non-invasive. Those who are concerned about being told to undergo invasive therapies and procedures when they might be unnecessary can find an alternative approach with a naturopathic doctor.

There’s a perception that naturopathy would be inaccessible to those on a budget, but it’s not as costly as people think. Most consultations are priced in a similar range to getting a facial at a beauty salon, or a massage from a professional massage therapist. That being the case, it’s not out of reach for many people who are interested and who find the preventative and holistic approach to health more appealing.

What is a “Holistic” Approach to Health?

Finally, let’s take a moment to deal with that word used a lot — holistic. Some people aren’t familiar with this word, thinking it’s a kind of a meaningless buzzword. A holistic approach to health and well-being just means that you take a broader range of factors into account when looking at people’s current state of health, and not the very narrowly defined group of symptoms that you might see right in front of you.

Where one person might see a runny nose or a cough, a medical practitioner looking at the situation holistically will definitely pay attention to the same symptoms, but also look at the bigger picture of that person’s lifestyle and the factors that have created the imbalances in their body chemistry. After dealing with the symptoms, the holistic naturopath would seek to ensure they didn’t come back to cause trouble for the patient.