Alternative Medicine FAQ

What do we mean by a better experience of being at a doctor's office?

We find that the two largest complaints about going to the doctor's office are: the doctor is always late, and you are treated like a number instead of a person. Therefore we designed Aspire Natural Health to do the opposite:

1. We make every effort to see you within 5 minutes of your appointment time. Often there is no waiting.
   
   Our doctors make it a priority to see you at your scheduled time, unless urgent or emergency situations require them to spend extra time with other patients. Please help us stay on time by being punctual. Our commitment to being on time means that we do not extend visits for you if you are late. We also encourage you to write down your questions and concerns for your doctor before your visit and present them at the beginning of your visit. This ensures there is time to address your issues. Please do not save concerns for the last minute, as when the doctor is ending the visit is not the time to bring up a new and/or important issue. Our commitment to being on time means your doctor will schedule you for another visit or phone consultation to address your last minute concerns instead of extending the visit.
   
   While we work hard on our time management, we will never abandon you if you have an emergency of serious issue because your session is over. We appreciate your understanding that when we are late, it is because someone really needed the extra time.


2. The most important aspect of our care is the relationship we have with our patients.
   
   With this in mind, we have designed Aspire Natural Health to be a small private practice that does not directly bill insurance. This frees us from the constraints of most conventional doctors, the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. We are small enough that we know you by name and never categorize you by numbers. Our longer visits and long-term treatment plans provide us the time to get to know you, as a person. Our care is never focused exclusively on treating diagnoses or syndromes. We do not have set protocols for specific diseases or conditions. This means all of your care is individualized.


3. We practice guilt-free medicine.
   
   Many people tell us they need to gather their courage before coming to see us, or that they're so embarrassed by their diet or their lifestyle that they've been putting off coming in. Our practice of medicine is focused on compassion and understanding for our patients. We ask you about your diet and your lifestyle to help you and make sure it is serving you and we will not make you feel guilty or ashamed, blame you or make you feel things are your fault, or nag you. We will do our very best to help you.

With our commitment to time management and our focus on you as a person, it is our belief that we have created a better experience of being at a doctor's office. Allow us to show you.

What is a Naturopathic doctor?

A Naturopathic doctor is one half natural healer and one half doctor.

As Natural healers we follow a Vitalist philosophy that says that your body has the power and intelligence to heal itself. We use natural therapies that remove blockages to that healing power and stimulate the body to heal itself. We avoid methods which suppress or distort that healing power.

As doctors we have the training, knowledge, and ability to search for and find a diagnosis. We use this to help rule out serious conditions that need to be handled quickly and decisively, and to more accurately target specific therapies to what is going on in your body. Our training also allows us to communicate and collaborate with the conventional medical community.

As Naturopathic Doctors we combine both of these aspects, the Natural Healer and the Doctor, together. Individuals trained as natural healers tend to lack the formal training and knowledge base of a doctor. Medical doctors (MDs) lack the philosophy necessary to encourage and promote health. This dual mindset allows us to select the best from both worlds and use it to your advantage.

As Naturopathic Doctors, we straddle the line between Natural healer and Doctor; we're able to make use of the valuable information that modern science has provided for us, but we're also able to step back and see its limitations. We respect the knowledge of traditional medicine, and the validity of instinct and intuition. This mindset allows us to make use of the tools of modern medicine such as CT scans, X-rays, and blood tests, as well as many different types of alternative methods of testing, diagnosing, and treating. This flexibility allows us to approach problems from different perspectives, and that is often key to unlocking difficult and complex problems.

As Naturopathic doctors, we strive to combine the best of natural medicine with the best of conventional medicine for the benefit of our patients.

How are Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) different from Medical Doctors (MDs)?

1. The biggest difference between NDs and MDs is that NDs have a different philosophy of health and disease. While we use many of the same tools and information as MDs, we use them under the guidance of a different philosophy, so our care is quite different. We are not natural MDs (who use herbs and other natural therapies under the guidance of Allopathic (conventional) philosophy). Many of our beliefs or practices are not accepted by MDs because we each look at things differently.
   
   
   1. Materialism is the philosophy that guides Allopathic care. In this philosophy, inanimate molecules are the basis of life. We are atoms and molecules that give rise to intelligence. Health and disease are largely the result of our DNA, our biochemistry and our anatomy. Diet and lifestyle have little relationship to disease. Therapies must alter our biochemistry or anatomy to be effective.
      
      
   2. Vitalism is the philosophy that guides Naturopathic care. In this philosophy, Spirit (intelligence) is the basis of life. We are spirit that gives rise to atoms and molecules. The body possesses an innate intelligence and ability to heal itself. Disease is (largely) a result of imbalances in our lives. Therapies need to restore balance to the body and activate our inborn capacity for healing.
      
   
   
2. For NDs, the patient's story is critically important. Lab tests and scans do not replace a deep and thorough understanding of the person.
   
   
3. Imbalances on any level (physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual) can lead to disease. It is necessary to address all levels of a person's being, not just the physical, in order to help that person become whole and healthy.
   
   
4. Healing comes from the patient not from the doctor. Therefore therapies are used to stimulate the healing power of the body.
   
   
   1. Drugs often replace a function or force the body to be over or under active. They overpower microbial (bacteria) and biochemical imbalances but interfere with the body's healing mechanisms, weakening immunity and damaging the integrity of the body. They may be needed to stabilize a person, but wherever possible we replace drugs with natural therapies.
      
      
   2. Herbs and other natural therapies have a healing power that goes beyond biochemistry. The majority of natural medicines are nutritive and immune-supporting, they cleanse and detoxify, and help to regulate and balance our physiological functions.
      
   
   
5. Symptoms are not the problem, and they are not "bad." They are the language of the body to alert us to the fact that something is wrong. Making symptoms go away does not mean the problem has been taken care of, and often make the situation worse.
   

What type of training does a Naturopathic doctor receive?

Naturopathic doctors (NDs) are trained to be primary health care doctors with a focus on general, family-oriented natural-based health care. Professional Naturopathic colleges in the US are accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, an accrediting agency recognized by the US Department of Education.

The first two years of schooling are similar to those of a conventional medical doctor (MD), with the majority of classes being basic sciences such as anatomy, biology, microbiology, pathology, etc. The second two years are specialized academic courses such as cardiology, gynecology, gastroenterology, urology, etc. as well as courses in Naturopathic therapies such as herbal medicine, homeopathy, spinal manipulation, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, clinical nutrition, and counseling. After graduation, NDs are required to pass national board examinations in order to become licensed.

What is the difference between a Naturopathic doctor and an herbalist or a homeopath?

Naturopathic doctors (NDs) undergo standardized medical school training and pass national board examinations.  NDs are registered and licensed by the state of Washington as medical professionals.  Currently there is no standardized training, licensure, or testing for either herbalists or homeopaths. 

Many herbalists and homeopaths attend non-standardized schools; some use self-study or apprenticeship for their training. 

As their name suggests herbalists use botanical or herbal remedies, while homeopaths use homeopathic remedies.  NDs frequently use both herbal and homeopathic therapies in their treatments, which can cause people to think of NDs as herbalists or homeopaths.  However NDs have a much broader range of therapies to draw from in customizing treatments.

This strong emphasis on standardized training, licensure, larger scope of therapies, and firm grounding in Naturopathic philosophy is what differentiates NDs from herbalists and homeopaths.

What types of conditions can a Naturopathic doctor treat?

This is a difficult question to answer because as Naturopathic doctors (NDs) our focus is always on treating the person and not a disease or a condition.  The philosophy of Naturopathic medicine is to focus on creating health instead of treating disease. We believe that only treating symptoms does not lead to healing. By creating health, we allow symptoms to clear on their own.

Because of our general medical training and our philosophy of care, most NDs feel that they can be effective in the treatment of any disease.

Below are some of the conditions for which patients commonly come to Naturopathic doctors.

**Note** 

Regarding cancer, it is currently illegal in the state of Washington for an ND to treat cancer.  NDs are legally required to refer patients to and work with an oncologist in treating patients with cancer.  As NDs our focus is not on treating your cancer/tumor, that is the job of an oncologist, our job is support your health and well-being, and assist your body in resolving the cancer.

 

Will my Naturopathic doctor interact with my MD or other health care practitioners?

Yes. We are happy to work with any health care provider our patients are seeing.  We believe that each health care profession brings something valuable to the care of each patient, and feel that by working together we may provide the best health care possible for each person.

We are always working on expanding our referral network for quality health care practitioners, and frequently collaborate with other professionals.
 

Are the goods and services at Aspire Natural Health covered under my insurance plan?

To provide you with high quality health care, Aspire Natural Health does not contract with insurance companies.  This means that we do not bill insurance companies for the goods and services that you receive, and payment is due at the time of service.  We are happy to provide you with the necessary codes and paperwork for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.

Why should I pay for a doctor's visit?

There are three reasons we believe you will be happy that we do not contract with insurance.

1. By not billing insurance it allows us to provide longer visits, which gives us time to build a relationship with you, and provides us the time to really listen to you.
2. By not billing insurance it allows us to work with you as a person, instead of as a condition or disease.
3. By not billing insurance it allows us to treat you in the way we as doctors feel is best for you, not in the way the insurance company feels is best for you.

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