Distance learning naturopathy: no longer a second-class alternative

Distance learning naturopathy: no longer a second-class alternative

Naturopathy is simply 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 branched out into many different disciplines, but the core of them all is naturopathic nutritional therapy, or simply naturopathic nutrition.

Naturopathy schools

Naturopathic training today comes in two types. The first type is sometimes called “natural hygiene.” It's about fresh, natural (often raw) food, internal cleansing, detoxification and fasting. Little has changed with this type of naturopathy since the pre-antibiotic days when Harry Benjamin, Henry Lindlahr and similar leaders of the natural health movement practiced naturopathy. It was a very real and often effective treatment for deadly infectious diseases. Before the advent of antibiotics, diseases such as scarlet fever, diphtheria and tuberculosis were the major public health problems of the day.

Chronic illnesses in the form of arthritis, heart disease or hormonal problems are our biggest challenge today. Traditional naturopathy can sometimes help with these conditions, but it is a “one diet fits all” approach and its effectiveness may be limited.

The other type of naturopathic school is typically modeled on conventional medical schools, with the so-called “evidence-based” model being adhered to ever more strictly. The transfer of important therapeutic knowledge acquired by masters over many decades is often not taken into account in these courses in order to convey the results of clinical studies on dietary supplements and herbal medicines.

These schools may also phase out older editions of books and include only texts that have been rewritten to omit so-called "unscientific" therapeutic findings, leaving only references to clinical trials and similar research results. A notable example is the wonderful original edition of Rudolf Fritz Weiss' book 'Herbal Medicine', which was full of gold for a practitioner whose priority is to help sick people. I have a copy of this book that I wouldn't trade for 1,000 copies of the latest "scientifically censored" edition.

Make people healthy again

Unfortunately, it is all too common these days for the most popular naturopathic schools to follow this so-called “evidence-based” path. After spending $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 the treatment.

If your practice is based on the principle that a “significant percentage” of women with premenstrual syndrome respond to a particular vitamin supplement, copying that treatment will only help the same proportion of your own patients. In medical practice, a “significant percentage” means only those who performed better than the patients who received a sham treatment.

On the other hand, if you study with a Masters who is committed to finding the most effective clinical approach for everyone - whether from your own experience or by also studying advice from previous Masters - you may be more likely to achieve what you originally wanted when you signed up for your course: to get people back to health.

Distance learning naturopathy: A new training solution?

As I wrote my books over the years, I was eager to begin a training course that would help address some of the problems I described. But starting a school is a big project that should not be taken lightly. I have taught many short skills development courses for already qualified health practitioners and these courses have always been well received. One thing I learned from my students was how stressful it was for them to travel to class. Britain is not a large country, but still the distance and cost of travel was prohibitive for almost anyone living more than 100 miles away.

But would oneDistance learning coursebe acceptable? After much thought and planning, I believed that I could do a correspondence course in naturopathy just as well as a course taught in class. The more I thought about it, the more benefits I saw for the student. Not only more affordability and convenience, but also more ease of learning and better contact between students and teachers.

If you think about it, how much student-teacher contact do you get in a classroom? You travel 100 miles to listen to lectures for a few days and raise your hand to ask questions. You can get the same information online and ask your questions in an online forum where you are likely to 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. The answer will be written out in full for you in an online forum.

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

Accreditation for distance learning students

Graduates of a naturopathy course must be able to join a national professional association upon qualification. This allows them to obtain the practitioner insurance they need to legally establish themselves in private practice. Naturopathic health advisors also need professional insurance if they work for health food stores, health clubs or vitamin companies.

For this reason, all practitioner training courses must be accredited by a national professional association recognized by insurers. Recently, many forward-thinking professional bodies are recognizing that a distance learning qualification from a good school can produce good practitioners. (See the link at the end to find an accredited course.)

Modern naturopathy

Modern naturopathy must incorporate the knowledge 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 becomes ill. Only then can the most appropriate treatment be applied. Unfortunately, this basic principle is undermined in mainstream schools of naturopathy. I believe that some of the best education is now found in smaller schools and through learning from respected master teachers. Naturopathy distance learning may be the way forward.