Distance learning naturopathy: no longer a second-rate alternative

Naturopathy is just another word for natural medicine. It is a very ancient science (the word “science” means knowledge) that has its roots in Indian and Chinese healing traditions. In the West, these traditions have diversified into many different disciplines, but the core of all of them is naturopathic nutritional therapy or simply naturopathic nutrition.

Naturopathic schools

Naturopathic training today is divided into two types. The first type is sometimes known as “natural hygiene.” It’s about eating fresh, natural (often raw) food, cleansing, detoxing, and fasting. With this type of naturopathy, little has changed since the pre-antibiotic era, when Harry Benjamin, Henry Lindlahr, and similar leaders of the natural health movement practiced naturopathy. It was a very real and often effective treatment option for deadly infectious diseases. Before the advent of antibiotics, diseases like scarlet fever, diphtheria, and tuberculosis were the biggest public health problems of the day.

Today, chronic poor health in the form of arthritis, heart disease, or hormonal problems is our greatest challenge. Traditional naturopathy can sometimes help with these conditions, but it is a “one-size-fits-all” approach that may have limited effect.

The other type of naturopathic school tends to model itself on conventional medical schools, with always strict adherence to what is known as the “evidence-based” model. The teaching of important therapeutic knowledge acquired by teachers over many decades is often left out of these courses in favor of teaching the results of clinical trials on nutritional supplements and herbal medicines.

These schools may also phase out previous editions of books and include only texts that have been rewritten to omit so-called “unscientific” therapeutic insights, leaving only references to clinical trials and similar research. A notable example is the wonderful original edition of Rudolf Fritz Weiss’s book ‘Herbal Medicine’, which was overflowing with pure gold for a physician whose priority is helping sick people. I have a copy of this book that I would not trade for 1000 copies of the latest “scientifically censored” edition.

Make people okay again

Sadly, it is now all too common for the most famous naturopathic schools to follow this so-called “evidence-based” route. After a student has spent $ 100,000 and four years of their life on this type of training, the student may find that they actually lack a basic understanding of holistic health and do not understand why many patients do not respond to treatment.

After all, if your practice is based on the principle that a ‘significant percentage’ of women with PMS respond to a particular vitamin supplement, then copying this treatment will only help the same proportion of your own patients. In medical practice, a ‘significant percentage’ only means those who performed better than patients who received a sham treatment.

On the other hand, if you study with a teacher who is dedicated to finding the most effective clinical approach for everyone, either from their own experience or also by studying the advice of previous teachers, you are more likely to achieve what you originally wanted when he signed up for his course: so that people can be well again.

Distance naturopathy: a new training solution?

As I wrote my books over the years, I really wanted to start a training course that would help rectify some of the problems I have described. But starting a school is an important project, not to be taken lightly. I taught many short “skill development” courses for already qualified naturopaths, and these courses were always well received. One thing I learned from my students was how stressful it was for them to travel to class. The UK is not a large country, but even so, the distance and cost of travel was prohibitive for almost everyone who lived more than 100 miles away.

But a distance learning course be acceptable? After much thought and planning, I believed that I could make a distance learning naturopathic course as good as a class taught course. The more he thought about it, the more advantages he saw for the student. Not only greater affordability and convenience, but also greater ease of learning and better contact between students and teachers.

When you think about it, how much student-teacher contact do you get in a classroom? He travels 100 miles to listen to a couple of days’ readings and raises his hand to ask questions. You can get the same information online and ask your questions in an online forum, where you will probably get a better answer because the teacher has had a chance to think about it. In class you have to try to write down the teacher’s answer and decipher it later. In an online forum, the answer is written for you in its entirety.

Online courses can now easily include video content to vary the learning experience, much better than listening to a lecture. It is well known that the average student begins to lose concentration after about 25 minutes and needs a break. If you have to attend conferences for a whole day or a whole weekend, frequent spikes are not possible. But online they are. Just pause the video and have a cup of green tea.

Accreditation for distance education graduates

After qualifying, graduates of a naturopathic course must be able to join a national professional association. This allows them to obtain the health insurance they need to legally establish themselves in private practice. Naturopathic health consultants also need professional insurance if they work for health food stores, health clubs, or vitamin companies.

This is the reason why all professional training courses must be accredited by a national professional association recognized by insurers. Recently, many forward-thinking professional associations are beginning to recognize that a distance learning qualification from a good school can produce good professionals. (See the link at the end to find an accredited course.)

Modern naturopathy

Modern naturopathy needs to incorporate the knowledge gained from modern research. But I don’t think this means forgetting what our predecessors taught us. Naturopathy is about understanding the human body and how it gets sick. Only then can the most appropriate treatment be applied. Sadly, this basic principle is eroding in leading naturopathic schools. I think some of the best training can now be found in smaller schools and learning from respected teachers. Naturopathic distance learning may well be the way to go.