Naturopathic Practices: Pitfalls in current practice

Naturopathic medicine typically focuses on lifestyle changes, nutraceuticals, herbs, and physical medicine to treat patients. It can operate similarly to a functional medicine model, both seeking to treat and prevent chronic disease.  Moreover, it is believed that 80% of chronic diseases are lifestyle-related, and naturopathic doctors (NDs) are skilled at promoting positive lifestyle changes that can reduce the risk of these diseases.

·       Patient Self-Sufficiency: With the vast amount of online health information, patients can often find remedies or information independently, reducing the need for NDs to prescribe treatments. Once patients are given herbs or nutraceuticals, they may feel empowered to manage their health without continuous doctor involvement. This can create a need for continual marketing for new patients.

·       Challenges in Treatment: Some patients may not respond to treatment as expected or experience worsening symptoms or adverse reactions. This can lead to frustration and doubts about naturopathic practices. In places where NDs have prescriptive rights, there is the temptation to shift towards pharmaceuticals, potentially abandoning naturopathic principles.

·       Practitioner Burnout: Naturopathic practitioners may feel burned out when patients don't truly improve or heal at a deep level. They may feel they are not resolving the root cause of disease and truly helping their patients.  This frustration comes from the lack of long-term success and from not having clear answers to the persistent or recurring issues that patients face.

·       Lack of Faith in Treatment: In some cases, practitioners may feel that they are simply handing out nutraceuticals or remedies without a solid belief in their effectiveness. This can lead to a sense of disillusionment, as they may not see real, sustainable healing happening in their patients, causing doubts about the efficacy of natural treatments.

·       The Need for a Deeper Approach: These challenges emphasize the need for a more comprehensive approach. Drainage philosophy discussed below looks beyond surface-level symptom relief to truly address the root of disease. Without this deeper understanding and method, both patients and practitioners may feel like they are going through the motions without achieving true healing or progress.

The underlying issue is a gap between the temporary improvement patients feel and the deeper, lasting healing they need. Without the right framework for understanding and addressing this, practitioners can experience a lack of confidence in their methods, contributing to burnout.

The Drainage Philosophy: A Paradigm Shift in Healing

The Drainage Philosophy offers a profound shift in how we approach chronic illness. It goes beyond surface-level symptom management to address the deeper underlying causes of disease:

• Holistic Framework: Drainage emphasizes the importance of supporting the body's natural detoxification and elimination processes. It leverages the principles of emunctorology (elimination from the body) and miasm (predispositions to disease) to restore balance and promote healing.

• Energetic Medicine: Often described as the quantum physics of medicine, drainage addresses not just physical ailments but also the energetic and emotional aspects of health, leading to more comprehensive healing.

Maturation of Organ Systems: The Link Between Trauma and Chronic Disease

One of the foundational principles of drainage is the focus on the maturation of organ systems:

• Trauma and Chronic Illness: Since Vincent Felitti's landmark research in 1998 on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their link to chronic disease, we've gained a deeper understanding of how early trauma impacts health in adulthood. Drainage provides a unique approach to addressing these issues by supporting and revisiting organ maturation.

• Energetic and Emotional Healing: Energetic medicines treat the physical manifestations of chronic disease as well as the emotional trauma that may have disrupted organ development. By integrating energetic medicine, practitioners can address both the physical and emotional layers of disease.

Emunctorology and Miasm: Addressing Toxicity and Disease Reactions

The drainage philosophy also delves into the concepts of emunctorology and miasm, which are crucial for managing chronic illness:

• Organs of Elimination: Emunctorology focuses on the body’s natural elimination channels (e.g., liver, kidneys, lymphatic system). Understanding how these organs function allows practitioners to prevent and manage adverse reactions, such as Herxheimer reactions, which are common when patients detoxify too quickly.

• Homeopathic Miasms: Miasm theory helps practitioners predict the diseases patients get and how the disease is likely to progress.  These insights help to customize protocols, ensuring that the body eliminates in a controlled, predictable manner and speed resolution of the disease.

Hering's Law of Cure: Differentiating True Healing from Reactions

A unique advantage of drainage as an energetic medicine is the application of Hering's Law of Cure:

• Guiding the Healing Process: According to Hering's Law, healing progresses from the inside out, from more vital to less vital organs, and in reverse order of symptom appearance. This principle helps practitioners distinguish between a true healing crisis and a Herxheimer reaction, allowing for more precise adjustments to treatment.

• Assessing Patient Progress: By understanding these patterns, practitioners can better track their patients’ healing journeys, making it easier to achieve sustainable and lasting health improvements.

The Benefits of Integrating Drainage into Your Practice

For practitioners, adopting drainage principles can lead to profound transformations in both patient outcomes and professional satisfaction:

• Achieving Predictable, Lasting Results: Drainage addresses the root cause of illness, leading to deeper, more sustainable healing. Patients experience not just temporary relief but long-term health improvements, which translates to higher satisfaction and loyalty.

• Word-of-mouth growth: As patients see lasting results, they naturally become advocates for your practice, reducing the need for aggressive marketing. This can lead to a thriving practice based on trust and reputation.

• Reducing Practitioner Burnout: Moving from symptom management to addressing deeper causes can reignite your passion for healing, reducing burnout and enhancing your confidence in naturopathic principles.

Are you ready to integrate drainage principles into your practice and elevate patient care? Click here for 5 Steps to Begin integrating Drainage into your practice.