Naturopathic Philosphy Revisted

I am team teaching the first year Naturopathic physicians philosophy class this year.  I am on vacation reading texts that I never read because they were not in the curriculum at the time I graduated.  I am having a great time taking a fresh look at the philosophical basis of Naturopathic medicine and thought many of my clients would enjoy the journey with me, so I thought I would make a few blog entries as I make this journey.Historically, in 1940  30% of all states had licensed Naturopathic physicians,  a number of colleges, and 3000 actively practicing NDs.  By 1957, the year I was born, there was only one Naturopathic medical school left, 8 states that were licensed (6 by 1979) and 175 licensed NDs.  The decline was caused by an internal strife in the Naturopathic profession about the philosophy of including or NOT including the new arising mechanistic/reductionist approach by the then "new kid on the block" of allopathic or medical doctors. There was a lot of mistrust by many in the Naturopathic profession to the role of science and research and its application to medicine. The other component to the decline of Naturopathic medicine was the discovery of effective antibiotics which elevated the standard medical profession to a dominant and unquestioned stature by the culture that turned to mechanistic science as unquestioned authority. It was not until the 1970’s and 80's that people started to question this culture as chronic illness arose, destruction of the health of our environment, etc. that lead people back to a more holistic/systems approach to health and well-being. Just for your information, there are now 5 Naturopathic colleges in the United States, over 5000 NDs, and 20 states licensed at this time. Stay tuned for more info.BTW I consider myself a member of the new ND profession that has one foot firmly planted in Naturopathic medicine and one foot planted in allopathic medicine and I shift weight accordingly, using the best of both worlds.  Dr. Bastyr always said "do what works.- Dr. Molly Niedermeyer