Ontario Regulation

Naturopathic Medicine is a regulated medical profession in Ontario.  This means that Naturopathic Doctors must have completed an undergraduate degree, and naturopathic medical college, in order to be licensed in this province. 

 

What is Naturopathy?

Naturopathy is a style of medicine that focuses on healing the root cause of imbalance and disease in the person as a whole.  Our approach can be used and blended with allopathic medicine (the kind medical doctor's use), or it can be a stand-alone health model.   Naturopathic Doctors are primary care physicians (family doctors) in Ontario, but our services are not covered by OHIP.

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How does it work?

You can think of us as a "jack of all trades" in alternative and holistic healing modalities.  We do a little bit of everything.  But we often aren't a master in each area, and if your case requires deeper work in any modality, your naturopath will refer you to the appropriate specialized practitioner.

 

The foundation of naturopathic medicine is the understanding that as long as we remove what's stopping or blocking it from doing so, the body heals itself.  If you think of cutting your finger with a piece of glass, as long as the glass is removed and the wound cleaned and protected, the body will close the wound on its own.  There is incredible power and wisdom in each and every one of our bodies.  Illness can be a message from our body trying to teach us a bigger life lesson in that moment, or can be caused by other imbalances, or deficiencies that must be addressed before the body can heal.  Sleuthing out and discovering what's blocking healing is the foundation of what naturopaths do.

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What tools do Naturopaths use?

The modalities we use in Naturopathic Medicine are:

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• Nutrition advice

• Diet and lifestyle changes

• Exercise advice

• Naturopathic counselling

• Supplements and neutraceuticals

• Acupuncture and Traditinal Chinese Medicine

• Herbal Medicine

• Homeopathy

• Hydrotherapy

• Nature Therapy

• Manual adjustments

• Targeted massage

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Some naturopaths, like Dr. Katy, ND, will use additional modalities not traditionally involved in naturopathic medicine, such as reiki, hands-on-healing, and intuitive and psychic work.  Because we cannot "switch hats" and stop being a naturopath, all of our modalities must be provided under the umbrella of our naturopathic title, which is why I cannot offer psychic or reiki services on their own.

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Are naturopathy and homeopathy the same thing?

In short, no.  Homeopathy is one of the modalities that a naturopath uses, but it is not all we do.

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