Naturopathy is a practice that aims above all to preserve health capital, drawing inspiration from different disciplines. From Chinese medicine to osteopathy via food, naturopaths are akin to prevention generalists. Summary What is naturopathy ? What is the purpose of naturopathy? The indications of naturopathy How does a naturopathic consultation take place? The price of a naturopathic consultation Naturopathic training The limits of naturopathy A veritable synthesis of several methods, naturopathy skilfully mixes lifestyle advice with more controversial disciplines such as iridiology or reflexology. What is naturopathy ? Like Chinese or Ayurvedic medicines, naturopathy is based on the principle of preservation of vital energy. To do so, naturopathy is a synthesis of several disciplines, seeking to preserve and optimize health, improve the quality of life and allow self-healing. NATUROPATHY: A LITTLE HISTORY Naturopathy has its roots in antiquity and Ayurvedic medicines. It is found especially in Hippocrates (460 – 370 BC), a great Greek doctor who already advocated dietetics associated with the four elements and the theory of moods that make up the human body. Modern naturopathy appeared towards the end of the 19th century, first in the United States thanks to John Scheel and Benedict Lust then in the 1940s in France with the biologist Pierre Valentin Marchesseau (1911-1994). * What is the purpose of naturopathy? Naturopathy does not seek to cure a symptom but rather to identify the underlying causes of the problem and to help the body to fight it. To do this, naturopaths can use lifestyle advice, combining: Better nutrition; Good sleep; The practice of physical exercises; Hydrotherapy; Herbal medicine; Other disciplines inherited from Ayurvedic or alternative medicine … It is within this very wide therapeutic arsenal that the naturopath will draw the remedy which seems to him the most judicious for his patient. Depending on their own sensitivity, the choices may differ from one practitioner to another. The indications of naturopathy Since it is a preventive medicine, naturopathy concerns people in good health and who wishes to remain so. But recurrent disorders can also find solutions thanks to this approach: recurrent ENT disorders, fatigue, insomnia, spasmophilia, stomach ache… How does a naturopathic consultation take place? Before approaching the first consultation, the naturopath will explain his approach and how to proceed for the assessment and for the treatments and will indicate his fees. The consultation takes about 60 minutes (sometimes more). His treatments (natural techniques) vary from one practitioner to another and can be the subject of specific sessions. The consultations last between 1h and 1h30 and are generally organized in three stages: An in-depth questionnaire: in the form of a dialogue, on the one hand to identify your expectations and on the other hand to know more about your history, family and personal history, treatments in progress (in which the practitioner absolutely does not intervene) , way of life… ; An assessment of vitality: various very controversial methods can be used to establish this assessment: iridiology (evaluation of the state of health by looking at the iris of the eye), morphopsychology (correspondence between psychology and morphology)… The goal is to ” assess the terrain (vitality, constitution and temperament) of the patient; A personalized program adapted to each is then developed: lifestyle advice and complementary therapies. The price of a naturopathic consultation The consultation of a naturopath can vary between 50 and 80 euros and is not covered by Health Insurance. Naturopathic training The French Naturopathic Federation controls the training of several schools and can guide patients looking for a practitioner. In the absence of official regulations, this federal body representative of the profession establishes itself the rules to be followed. As with other health professions, the naturopath is bound by “professional secrecy”. The limits of naturopathy Be careful however, in the case of serious pathologies, naturopathy cannot be THE therapeutic solution. It can possibly find its place in addition to complementary medical approaches.