What is a Natural Therapist?

A natural therapist is a teacher and facilitator with the purpose of aiding the natural process of healing. Natural therapists are primarily interested in life enhancement and disease prevention. When people take responsibility for their own health, solutions are no longer restricted to a single paradigm. Natural therapists view the individual as a whole, encompassing physical, emotional, social and spiritual circumstances.

Qualified practitioners in New Zealand have a related Bachelor of Health Science or Bachelor of Natural Medicine. Therapists spend a minimum of an hour in an initial consult to holistically assess the individual. Following the consultation, the therapist delivers a treatment plan incorporating lifestyle and dietary advice, and herbs and nutritional supplements may be prescribed when suitable. After a treatment plan has been delivered, it is usual to continue with follow-up appointments. These are important for monitoring progress and building a health picture. Health problems are not always completely solved in an initial consultation and improvements are an evolving process, often requiring effort over time to make important lifestyle changes.

Modern natural therapists take an integrated approach and work inline with general practitioners to deliver the best outcomes for their patients. A responsible practitioner will recognise the limits of their expertise and extend their services to provide referral to relevant healthcare providers, ensuring truly comprehensive and holistic care. When organs fail, the value of mainline medicine cannot be denied and many mainline treatments attempt to emulate nature by replacing missing peptides.