What is naturopathy?

In North America, Naturopathic Doctors, ND's, Naturopathic Medical Doctors NMD's, are all highly trained, licensed and regulated (varies from state to state and province to province in Canada).  There are also those who take on extra certification and are given the designation of FABNO (Fellow of the American Brotherhood of Naturopathic Oncologists).  There are a great many ND's who enjoy working with Cancer patients, such as myself, who have expereince with improving quality of life, and have experience with life transitions.  Not sure which part of the world you are in.  I know in Australia, very little education (2 years) is required to be called a naturopath.  In North America, a minimum of 8 years of university is required and standardized certification exams, which are strenuous on a good day.  It is always important to seek out an ND who has graduated, is certified and licensed (also regulated) to assure you that this Doctor has the training and education needed.  There are only 6 certified educational institutions in North America that can grant a diploma for naturopathic Medicine.  There are alot of "un D's" out there calling themselves, natural healer, nature doctor's, naturalpaths, but ND's will gladly thell you who they are regualted by, where they receied theie education and where to complain if something is not up to you expectations.  And ND's can legally call themselves Doctors, the others cannot, but still may.  Hope this clear it up a little for you-as far as North America goes.

I've also noticed that there can be a wide range of education and training for naturopathic doctors, as well as differences in their specific areas of interest.  I feel very fortunate to have found one whose credentials include a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from a fully accredited 4-year naturopathic college, on top of a BS from a top university in psychobiology, plus a couple of internships (including one in oncology) and specialzed training in Chinese medicine.  But I still use her for only a narrow area of concern --  not my overall care.   I would never use her, for example, to treat bc, nor does she offer anything that outrageous.  And she's always told me if we can't improve something naturally (e.g. the osteopenia I originally consulted her about), I may have to consider pharmaceuticals in the future.

Mine has a dispensary for a few very high quality supplements -- brands you don't find at Whole Foods, and actually some of the same ones that are available @ UCLA.  But she never RX's those particular brands or pushes them.  It's just a convenience if you want to get them there, and I've found they're usually less expensive than they are on-line.  

While there are several other local naturopathic doctors I wouldn't think of bothering with, I can't imagine not having this particular doctor on my team!  But I think you have to be very careful to find one who has real solid training and some interest in and experience with bc -- not one whose practice is primarily weight loss or anti-aging.     Deanna