Why Choose a Naturopath Instead of a Medical Doctor?
It seems that a lot more people are choosing naturopaths these days, and that people are disillusioned with traditional medical treatments. Many people still rely on their family physician for some things, like stitches and broken bones and sore throats, but will go to a naturopath for routine health care.
One reason people are looking for alternative health care providers is that they often feel like they are just a number and a diagnosis at the doctor’s office. People feel disrespected at doctor’s offices. It’s hard to get an appointment and when you do, you can plan on waiting well beyond your appointment time. When you get in to see the physician, she doesn’t have time to really listen, and just gives you a prescription to take care of your problem and ushers you out as quickly as possible. And charges you a chunk of money for the visit.
Naturopathic physicians schedule significantly more time to listen to and examine their patients. Compare an initial naturopathic visit, which takes 1 ½-2 hours, with an initial visit with an internist at a big box HMO, which is 15-20 minutes. A follow-up visit with a naturopath takes 30-45 minutes; with a physician it’s 10-15 minutes. People feel more valued and listened to when they visit a naturopath.
Another reason people are becoming disillusioned with traditional medicine is the conflicting medical information we receive today. First, HRT was the answer to menopausal symptoms and if you had a family history of heart disease it was especially important to take HRT because it could prevent a heart attack. And then we found out that women who take HRT had more heart attacks. And there’s all the conflicting information about diet. And the recalled medications. And the list goes on. People do not feel like they can trust the information their physicians give to them.
Naturopathic medicine, on the other hand, is based on natural treatments that have been effective for a lot of people and have been used for a long time. Naturopaths also believe that anything that interrupts the body’s own ability to heal itself is harmful, and they don’t use as many medications as physicians do.
People are choosing naturopathic physicians because they receive better care, it is less confusing, and they feel like they are valued and treated with respect. Traditional medicine is losing the ability to do those things, so people are turning to alternative practitioners who can do them.