Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct primary health care profession, emphasizing natural treatment modalities to help you recover from illness, restore balance to your body, and promote optimal health. It focuses on encouraging and supporting the body’s innate ability to heal while treating the underlying cause of disease. It is an art, science, and practice of preventing, diagnosing, educating, and treating the patients’ mind & body through the use of safe and effective therapeutic methods and substances.

The following principles are the foundation of naturopathic medical practice:

  • The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae): 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 while facilitating and augmenting an inherent self-healing process.
  • Identify and Treat the Causes (Tolle Causam): 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 (Primum Non-Nocere): 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 (Docere): 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 implement appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness.

Naturopathic Medical Education

Naturopathic doctors are educated and trained as primary care physicians with an emphasis on natural medicine and modalities. As a licensed naturopath, it is required to attend an accredited post-graduate training after receiving a bachelor’s degree with required prerequisites. The four-year medical program includes intensive training in basic sciences, clinical and diagnostic sciences as well as naturopathic therapeutics. Clinical and diagnostic training entails utilizing conventional labs, images, and diagnosis.

Naturopathic therapeutic training includes; naturopathic philosophy, nutrition, botanical medicine, pharmaceuticals, homeopathy, physical medicine, and clinical psychology. The training also includes two years of clinical rotations.  At the end of four years’ graduates receive a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree (ND) after passing a rigorous national medical board examination.

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I injured my shoulder and was unable to really use it for about 6 months before going to see Dr. Carley Squires. She recommended Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections to stimulate healing in my shoulder. Dr. Squires took the time to talk to me about the procedure, my concerns, and the expected outcome.  I have had great success with the PRP injection and would highly recommend Dr. Squires.

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