HEALTH – You wish to consult a naturopath. This is an excellent initiative! But disappointment should not be at the rendezvous. Based on seven key points that we have selected, you will be able to judge whether the practitioner you have chosen is right for you… or not.
The Doctolib platform decided to no longer list naturopaths and other professionals in the field of well-being on its site, in October 2022. A remarkable decision which encourages those who practice naturopathy to be vigilant in the exercise of their profession.
We have made an overview of the criteria to take into account to choose a good naturopath with the contribution of Déborah Passuti, naturopath in Paris, recognized expert in her professional environment, author of a bible called “Guide to Naturopathy. Health, Wellness, Longevity – The Ten Commandments »published by Ramsay.
Naturopathy is a philosophy of life, a preventive practice and complementary to conventional medicine. It allows you to maintain or regain your vitality, to be autonomous and to take part in your well-being over the long term using natural techniques and processes that you carry within yourself.
Naturopathy has its roots in the medicine of Hippocrates in the 5th century BC, which was based on the teaching of healthy living.
Since 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized naturopathy as the “third traditional medicine” after Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine.
But naturopaths prefer to speak of “discipline of better living” rather than “traditional medicine” or “alternative medicine”.
1) The naturopath is not a doctor, but he can be brought to dialogue with doctors
The doctor and the naturopath act at different levels. The doctor establishes a diagnosis, prescribes medication to treat the symptom. The naturopath searches for the cause of the symptom. It accompanies you to rebalance your « terrain ».
“A person wanted to see me for severe stomach pain. I preferred that she consult a doctor before receiving it. She did a CT scan which indicated no seriousness. So we started a program. cites Déborah Passuti as an example.
It is not a question of opposing allopathy and naturopathy but of associating these two disciplines. A naturopath who turns his back on traditional medicine is making a serious mistake. He should not hesitate to pick up his phone to talk to a doctor. Even if it will then be more or less well received!
But doctors who recognize integrative medicine (collaboration between conventional medicine and complementary practices) are more and more numerous.
Note that a good naturopath will not use medical language. He will talk about « consultant » rather than “patient” and will propose a “program” possibly with ” a cure “ rather than” a treatment “.
2) The naturopath does not rush the first appointment, he is totally at your disposal
At a time when family doctors have disappeared and when the general practitioner has limited time for his consultations, the naturopath plays an important role. He also chose this profession for its human dimension. He loves people.
The first appointment must last at least 1h15. The naturopath establishes what is called a “vitality balance sheet”. He listens to you, does not judge you, looks for solutions. The success of your support depends on the answers to the questions asked. You must feel confident. In front of you, there is another human being who must be tactful and subtle.
“We discuss personal history, lifestyle, eating habits, daily dysfunctions and troubles, family history, expectations and feelings, emotions, sleep, sport, work, family life… The medical past and present are very important in order to dialogue with the general practitioner or specialists. We adapt the advice while respecting the medical treatments in progress”explains Déborah Passuti.
If you are not comfortable with your practitioner, you must find another naturopath. To follow a healthy lifestyle program, you must feel completely safe. You can’t have chemistry with everyone. So don’t blame yourself!
3) The naturopath does not leave you without a tailor-made lifestyle program
After an initial or follow-up consultation, the naturopath must offer you a lifestyle program that can be revised over time.
It is not about prescribing a list of dietary supplements that would look like a prescription. Nor is it a question of imposing techniques to be carried out at all costs (massages, colon hydrotherapy, reflexology, etc.). Of course, these recommendations can be useful to restore your ground, but they should not hide basic advice to carry out in your daily life.
Naturopathy is preventive, educational and empowering. What matters are the good habits you adopt over the long term!
Here are some examples :
-Practice breathing exercises in the fresh air
– Do physical exercise at least ¾ hour a day
-Use light therapy
-Decrease alcohol consumption
-Have a light meal in the evening without meat
-Reduce computer exposure before bed
– Go to bed and get up at fixed times
-Having a social life at least twice a week
-Give yourself three compliments at the end of the day
Etc…
A naturopath who advocates only one technique is suspect. It must adapt to everyone’s needs. If he does not, we can think that he is a guru and not a naturopath. We can imagine all the excesses that this can cause in an audience of fragile people.
4) The naturopath does not impose regular consultations on you
Breaking free from bad habits, adopting new ways of living, getting back into shape, all take time. Even a lot of time.
The naturopath should not require that you consult him on a regular basis, except for the start during the first sessions. The naturopath is not a lifelong crutch.
Unlike a nutritionist who may impose a weekly session on his patient, the naturopath seeks to make the person autonomous through educational support. Once she has understood the keys to her well-being, she does not need to consult him.
Of course, there are exceptions when the consultant has a serious pathology and needs strong support over time in addition to his health journey.
5) The naturopath is not a reseller of food supplements
The naturopath can offer you food supplements to strengthen your ground, soothe certain ailments (vitamin C, sea water, magnesium, turmeric, spirulina, etc.).
But he must not feel dependent on different brands because he would have received gifts, commissions on sales…
“A good naturopath must look carefully at the formulation of dietary supplements, checking the ingredients and the quantities of each. You have to be careful with processed forms, additives, coatings,” warns Deborah Passuti.
Of course, the naturopath may have preferences, as he has observed positive results with certain products. This is called experience and it is precious!
If some dietary supplements are more expensive than others, this may be justified given their quality, dosage and effectiveness.
We note today the arrival of the famous “gummies” which are presented as food supplements looking like candies. This market is booming, on sale in supermarkets.
These sweet and fruity little gummies are supposed to offer a brighter complexion, fight against stress, bring better sleep… They look more like a treat than a drugstore product.
Attention, danger ! “Gummies cannot be considered quality dietary supplements. They are mainly sugar-based and some brands have even created sugar-free ranges, while sweeteners are even more harmful than sugar for health”denounces Déborah Passuti.
6) The naturopath is not a social media star
It is not forbidden to have notoriety in one’s professional field. But too much fame can kill credibility.
Word of mouth remains the best recommendation for anyone looking for a naturopath.
It is not useless to consult the website of the naturopath. It is in a way his visiting card, easily consulted. The content of the site provides a first idea of the professionalism of the naturopath.
On the other hand, the abundance of followers on Instagram is not the assurance of using the best professional. It can simply be a marketing ace, concerned about his image, loving to create fashions.
A book makes it possible to better understand the areas of competence of the naturopath who is the author and to get an idea of the credibility of his practices.
Reviews on networks, such as Medoucine, are good indicators. Médoucine, the Doctolib of alternative “medicines”, is a network of certified therapists who, beyond a platform for making appointments, work to promote alternative medicines in an ethical and reassuring framework.
Médoucine was created in 2016 by Solange Arnaud, a polytechnician entrepreneur, keen to provide solutions to people who are looking for practices other than traditional medicine. Moreover, the demand for practitioners has continued to increase since the health crisis!
7) The naturopath did not follow a short and distance training
The profession of naturopath attracts many candidates. Today there are a multitude of training courses, so much so that one gets lost in knowing which courses are serious or not.
Unlike many European countries, the United States, Australia, there is no state-recognized diploma in France. Anyone can declare themselves a naturopath regardless of the title held. Do not hesitate to ask your naturopath for his background if it is not already presented on his website.
It is obvious that distance or short training courses of 120 hours lead to limited knowledge. Sponsored offers of e-naturopathy (or online naturopathic education) abound on the Internet.
“Training in a recognized school in face-to-face contact with teachers offers a much more solid foundation”underlines Déborah Passuti, trained at the French Institute of Human Sciences for several years, member of Médoucine.
If there are about thirty schools, it is advisable to check if these are approved by the French Federation of Naturopathy (FENA), the Organization of Natural Medicine and Health Education (OMNES), the Association Professional of French-speaking Naturopaths (APNF), the Syndicate of Naturopathic Professionals (SPN) or European Group for the Training and Recognition of Unconventional Medicines (REFORMED).
All these representative structures of Naturopathy with the population, the media and the public authorities, work for the quality of the training provided, the respect of ethics and the recognition of a profession of human support.
According to Julia Lévi, director of l’OMNES: “The controversial practices of a minority should not eclipse the commitment, professionalism and ethics of the majority of naturopaths”.
