Naturopathic medicine is a system of primary healthcare that focuses on prevention, a holistic view of the patient, and the use of natural therapies to support the body's self-healing process. It combines traditional remedies with modern scientific principles to address the root causes of illness, rather than just suppressing symptoms. Naturopathic doctors (NDs) use functional relationships and physiologic systems to help integrate genetics, biochemistry, physiology, endocrinology to develop personalized care to meet a client’s individual needs.
What is Naturopathic Medicine?
The Healing Power of Nature
Naturopathic medicine recognizes an inherent self-healing process in people that is ordered and intelligent. Naturopathic physicians act to identify and remove obstacles to healing and recovery, and to facilitate and augment this inherent self-healing process.
Identify and Treat the Causes
The naturopathic physician seeks to identify and remove the underlying causes of illness rather than to merely eliminate or suppress symptoms.
First Do No Harm
Naturopathic physicians follow three guidelines to avoid harming the patient:
Utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful side effects, using the least force necessary to diagnose and treat;
Avoid when possible the harmful suppression of symptoms and acknowledge, respect, and work with individuals’ self-healing process.
Doctor as Teacher
Naturopathic physicians educate their patients and encourage self-responsibility for health. They also recognize and employ the therapeutic potential of the doctor-patient relationship.
Treat the Whole Person
Naturopathic physicians treat each patient by taking into account individual physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and other factors. Since total health also includes spiritual health, naturopathic physicians encourage individuals to pursue their personal spiritual development.
Prevention
Naturopathic physicians emphasize the prevention of disease by assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease, and by making appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness.
rinciples of Naturopathic Medicine
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rinciples of Naturopathic Medicine *
Who, What, Why?
Colleen Ivy
Founder
A licensed naturopathic physician (ND) attends a four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical school. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the naturopathic physician also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. These approaches to therapy include but are not limited to clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling.
Naturopathic physicians combine the wisdom of nature with the rigors of modern science. Steeped in traditional healing methods, principles and practices, naturopathic medicine focuses on holistic, proactive prevention. By using protocols that minimize the risk of harm, naturopathic physicians help facilitate the body’s inherent ability to restore and maintain optimal health. It is the naturopathic physician’s role to identify and remove barriers to good health by helping to create a healing internal and external environment.
Naturopathic medicine recognizes that the human body has an innate healing ability. Naturopathic doctors (NDs) teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes while utilizing cutting-edge natural therapies to enhance their bodies’ ability to prevent as well as treat illnesses.
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Colleen Ivy, ND, is a board certified and licensed Naturopathic Physician (ONTARIO). She has extensive training and experience in providing complementary treatments for chronic illnesses, oncology, pediatrics, fertility, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and women’s health.
Colleen Ivy is trained as a general practitioner/primary care physician and is licensed as such in the province of Ontario and while she is a licensed physician in the province of Ontario, Georgia does not confer or recognize such degree and therefore prohibits use of the title “doctor”. She received her training from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine a North American accredited and licensed, four year medical school.She has additional training in environmental medicine, integrative oncology, fertility and endocrinology, and integrative pediatrics.
The comprehensive approach to wellness she uses includes an extensive historical intake, physical examination, tongue and pulse analysis, herbal medicine, nutritional supplementation and dietary recommendations. This is performed while adhering to the tenets of Naturopathic Medicine: Primum no nocere, first do no harm; Tolle Causum, identify and treat the cause as well as the whole person; Vis Medicatrix Naturae, honor and utilize the healing power of nature, Docere, doctor as teacher, and Principiis obsta: sero medicina curatui, Prevention is the best medicine.
She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Waterloo and is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (www.naturopathy.org), the Georgia Association of Naturopathic Physicians, the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors, and the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors