The Therapeutic Order is the natural progression of naturopathic therapeutic recommendations. It guides us in finding natural ways to maximize health while reducing potential harm or further damage. Working from least (bottom of the order) to most invasive (top of the order) interventions, it’s a seven step guide which creates a healing path for each person.
I explain the Therapeutic Order using a house as my example. If the foundation is crumbling and the walls are cracking, you can temporarily fix the walls with a patch job. However, if the foundation hasn’t been fixed and is moving all over the place, the walls are just going to crack again. The temporary fix is similar to using a pharmaceutical drug (and even some supplements).
Alternatively, repairing the foundation allows you to repair the walls more effectively. It’s not the quick and easy route to getting the job done, but it’s the more permanent solution. The main foundations of health are nutrition (good quality food and water), movement, sleep, stress management, spirituality, and relationships. Below you’ll see the Therapeutic Order. I focus most of my efforts with clients on the bottom 2 steps and only move up when necessary.
.Remove Obstacles to Health: In order to reach optimal health, removing any and all obstacles too healing is key. This can be poor diet, food intolerances, unresolved trauma, relationships, mold or parasites, old viral infections, and so much more.
Stimulate The Body’s Self Healing Mechanisms: I use a few different techniques to help stimulate the body’s natural healing mechanisms. Lifestyle modifications, stress management, skin brushing, sleep hygiene, and hydrotherapy are a few I use to signal the body to begin the healing process.
Support + Restore Weakened or Damaged Systems: Some organ systems need extra support, rather than stimulation, from being weakened or damaged. This is where I use a lot of homeopathy to restore both mental and physical function of the body.
Correct Structural Integrity: The use of physical therapies such as exercise, massage, and chiropractic spinal manipulation, come into play in this tier. Spinal alignment is one of the most neglected areas of health for most people, in my opinion.
Natural Substances Used to Restore + Regenerate: Sometimes organs or systems of the body have been depleted and they need a little boost. This is where supplements come in. I think of supplements as a life-raft. They help us get from where we are today to our goal of healing, but they are never a long term solution. They make the journey a little easier. For example, if someone is anemic, I might recommend iron for a duration of time while we work on incorporating iron rich foods and increasing absorption. Word of caution: It’s very easy to use supplements just like pharmaceutical drugs, and this is what a lot of functional docs do. We call this green allopathy.
Pharmacological Substances Used To Halt Pathology: In rare cases pharmaceutical drugs are called upon. Typically, pharmaceuticals are used to stop a symptom, not to heal the body. Pharmaceuticals don’t usually address the root-cause. Sometimes it is necessary in the interest of client health, comfort and safety to suppress pathological symptoms, prior to addressing the underlying root-cause. Pharmaceuticals can stabilize a situation while we take the time to work on the foundations of health and address the root-cause. In these cases the client usually becomes over medicated and the pharmaceutical can be safely tapered under the care of a prescriber.
High Force Intervention: This is where we go when it’s life or death. Surgery, radiation, etc.
Together, we can rebuild the foundation of your health! Click the button below to begin your healing journey with me.
Resources:
https://aanmc.org/featured-articles/therapeutic-order/