Of the CAM therapies, acupuncture and chiropractic manipulation are the most widely accepted (Barnes, Bloom & Nahin, 2007); both have been scientifically validated for the treatment of chronic pain (Bronfort, Haas, Evans, Leininger & Triano, 2010; Vickers, Cronin, Maschino, Lewith, MacPherson, Foster, Sherman, Witt & Linde, 2012). However, as the conventional medical view tends to reduce chiropractic care and traditional Chinese medicine to the manipulation of the spine and acupuncture therapy, respectively, these CAM therapies are viewed as compatible with allopathic care and therefore, integrate well with the medical model. This has not been the case with Naturopathic medicine. Elder (2013) discusses the reasons behind this and …show more content…
Framing has been articulated as "a spatial and temporal bonding of a set of interactive messages" (Bateson, 1972). It occurs to me that naturopathic medicine frames the goal of healthcare somewhat differently than the conventional medical community. Naturopathic philosophy is based on the idea that the body has some level of ‘intelligence’, with a capacity to course correct (when given a fair chance) and, that patients are capable of practicing self-care—and therefor, quite capable of partnering with their naturopathic physician to maintain some level of health. Thus, naturopathy frames health in a positive light—as the presence of function. Naturopathy takes a more holistic view of health ‘not losing sight of the forest for the trees’, so to speak, as it focuses more on maintaining health rather than treating …show more content…
Perhaps this is because living systems are dynamic and, in the case of medicine and education, each human being is a distinct individual, not a cog. This problem might be thought of as one of inappropriate uses of technology. Appropriate technology has been defined as “a science or technology considered reasonable and suitable for a particular purpose, that conforms to existing cultural, economic, environmental, and social conditions” (21st Century Lexicon, n.d.). A hallmark of an appropriate technology is decentralization. Smaller, less centralized systems (like the naturopathic community, when compared to the conventional medicine system) tend to have tighter feedback loops, allowing for more agility and greater responsiveness to changing conditions. Naturopathy operates on a human scale, and therefor, a more ‘appropriate’ scale than conventional medicine as naturopaths often operate outside the scrutiny of health insurance providers, they are free to spend more time with (listening to) their patients, allowing them freedom to provide highly individualized