VITALISM sometimes by looking at those studies . Personally , I feel that the usefulness of the randomised double-blind placebocontrolled study is starting to be questioned around the world , and I support the in-clinic N-of-1 studies as something far more useful for us as a profession for getting information . It ’ s not just about herbal medicine or nutrition therapy . It is actually useful information that intertwines with our mode of practice . And that ’ s something that the NHMRC and a lot of other bodies have actually been critical of in traditional medicines – that there is actually evidence from randomised controlled studies to show that St John ’ s wort doesn ’ t actually validate what you do . I think that is something that we need to pay far more attention to , and in doing so we have to incorporate our traditional therapies and philosophies , and understanding of the vital force in the discussion , and get away from the idea of treating the disease and not the person , so that we can actually show that there is a therapeutic outcome of seeing a naturopath , and taking what they give you . And that ’ s where we need to distinguish between the approaches and draw a line , because we ’ re going to lose our identity if we don ’ t .
Andrew . And that is something that worries me .
Justin . Certainly , I think there ’ s a bit of grey . I certainly don ’ t have a problem because somebody can ’ t or won ’ t take a pharmaceutical medicine for a particular condition for which there might be certain options that have been validated by decent research – for example , St John ’ s wort , which you refer to – but my issue is with substituting one pill for another . I spoke to Helen Padarin on a podcast and she was very strong in saying that we should be treating the person , and what happens is that the condition that has been diagnosed by orthodox medicine gets better . Now you might sway that treatment towards supporting that organ or tissue that has been out of whack but in general you are treating the person and making them healthy . The analogy that she uses is that you can ’ t be just a little bit pregnant . You tend to not just have one sort of disease and when you get well your whole body gets well and not just that condition .
Andrew . You ’ re absolutely right and I think that it all stems back to what Hippocrates used to say .
“ WHAT SURPRISES A LOT OF PEOPLE IS THAT THE SECOND THERAPEUTIC ORDER IS ACTUALLY STIMULATING THE SELF-HEALING MECHANISM , THAT IS , STIMULATING THE VIX MEDICAE NATURAE , HEALING POWER OF NATURE . AND I THINK THAT ’ S SOMETHING THAT AUSTRALIAN NATUROPATHS PARTICULARLY DON ’ T GET A LOT OF TRAINING IN .”
Justin . I ’ m far more interested in the type of person that has the disease than the disease that the person has . And that ’ s pretty much exactly what it ’ s all about and there was a great PubMed article called A Hierarchy of Healing : Origins of the Therapeutic Order and Implications for Research 1 to which Pamela Snider and Stephen Myers contributed , and I know that naturopathic and herbal students do get taught about it - but they just seem to forget so much about it . When you look at the therapeutic order , there are seven different categories , if you will , and I think they are really worth talking about because they tie in beautifully with what you were just highlighting . The first therapeutic order is establishing the conditions for health and removing obstacles to cure – so removing the alcohol , the smoking , the bad diet – all that kind of stuff – because we have to understand that if you don ’ t change that you ’ ll not be maximising performance . And I think that is one of the first things that most of us look for and identify . What surprises a lot of people is that the second therapeutic order is actually stimulating the self-healing mechanism , that is , stimulating the vix medicae naturae , healing power of nature . And I think that ’ s something that Australian naturopaths particularly don ’ t get a lot of training in . There are a lot of different things that can come into that . That can be everything from spending more time in nature or doing a little bit more hiking or doing a little bit more exercise outdoors all the way through to sleep and hydrotherapy and all sorts of sweat lodge . This is just stimulating the self-healing mechanism . Then there is the third therapeutic order , which is supporting weakened or damaged systems or organs . Now this is where that concept of tonification comes in . Supporting weakened or damaged systems – are we talking about a disease yet ? Not at all . Then you have the fourth : addressing structural integrity . I think that ’ s where a lot of our body therapists come in . You might have a slipped disc . There are not a lot of establishing conditions for health or supporting a weakened system that can address something that needs to be corrected from a structural integrity point of view . And it ’ s not until we get to therapeutic order number five where we actually address specific pathology using specific naturopathic substances , modalities or interventions . This is where I get concerned because most naturopathic students that I ’ ve been watching generally jump straight to therapeutic order number five . They are just going to say someone ’ s got inflammation , we need antiinflammatories etc , whereas there ’ s been not as much attention applied to the first four therapeutic orders which I think are more important , particularly supporting the weakened or damaged systems . That ’ s where in essence so
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