What is Naturopathy

The History of Naturopathy

The early origins of naturopathic treatment were in Europe in the 19th century, beginning with the application of water for healing purposes in hydrotherapy. Shortly after, clinical nutrition was introduced into healing programmes, and many health cure practitioners made their way to America. One of these was John Harvey Kellog, who developed the well-know cornflakes for his patients at Battle Creek Sanatorium.

The first steps in Naturopathy in Britain were taken in the 1900s with the establishment of hydrotherapy clinics. Interest increased but was interrupted by WW1, but after the war, American Stanley Lief came to England and ran a Nature Cure clinic in the Chilterns. Subsequently he set up and ran a Nature Cure resort at Champneys in Tring, lectured intensively around the country and also set up a college, The British College of Naturopathy in London, still in existence as the British College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Naturopathy now

Naturopathic Medicine is a system of primary healthcare which works with the individual’s efforts towards the optimal expression of physiological, physical, and mental/emotional health.

Naturopaths recognise the healing power of nature, the vital force which drives the self-healing or self-correcting mechanisms of the body. We recognise connection and interaction between the structural, biochemical and mental/emotional components of all living beings. Dysfunction in one area invariably leads to dysfunction elsewhere. Equally important is the uniqueness of the individual: People are genetically, biochemically, structurally and emotionally different from one another. Each person responds in a unique way to influences whether they are mental/emotional, structural, nutritional, social or cultural.

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