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Subsequent follow-up visits are typically every 4 to 6 weeks. If you are receiving acupuncture as your primary treatment visits will be more frequent. As you start to experience greater health and wellness, an office visit every three months is recommended for general health maintenance and disease prevention. If ever an acute, non-emergency condition occurs, please call the office as naturopathic treatments may be indicated.
Enclosed you will find a Health Questionnaire, which we ask you to fill out in as much detail as possible. Please bring the completed form to your first appointment.
On behalf of all the team at Britannia BodyWork and Wellness Centre, we look forward to meeting and working with you towards your health-care goals. My hope is for you to get the most of your naturopathic visits.
Sincerely,

Dr. Patricia Brand, BSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor

Introduction to Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic Medicine is the art and science of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease using natural therapies with a focus on optimizing health and well-being through individualized patient care and public education. Naturopathic Doctors are trained as primary health care providers with a minimum of seven years post-secondary education, including three years of university pre-medical sciences and successful completion of an accredited four-year medical program. Standardized licensing exams are carried out throughout North America to secure proper registration and legislation of the profession. The various therapeutic options, the "tools", in Naturopathic Medicine allow for an individualized treatment plan for each patient, with the primary goal being to restore health.

A Naturopathic Doctor will assess the complete symptom picture of a patient to attempt to understand the various systems that need support and then to move forward into treatment options. Naturopathic Medicine is guided by the following six principles:

Principles of Naturopathic Medicine
1.Primum non nocere - do no harm, effective health care with the least risk for all patients
2.Vis medicatrix naturae - healing power of nature, respect and promote self-healing
3.Tolle causum - treat the cause, identify and remove causes, avoid suppression of symptoms
4.Docere - doctor as teacher, educate patients, inspire rational hope, encourage self-responsibility
5.Treat the whole person - each person is unique with their own factors effecting their health
6.Health promotion is the best prevention - well-being includes health individually, in the community and globally

Naturopathic Medical Therapies
Botanical Medicine - use of whole plants individually and in combinations
Clinical Nutrition - diet modification and supplementation for health promotion and disease treatment
Homeopathic Medicine - minute doses of plant, animal and mineral substances for treatment and prevention of illness
Hydrotherapy - healing power of hot and cold water
Health Psychology - understand the roots of a pathology and determine any mind-body connections that may exist
Naturopathic Body Work - diverse techniques for correction of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions
Prevention and Lifestyle Modification - assessment of risk factors and programs to modify behaviour emphasizing self-responsibility

What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is only one of the modalities, or 'tools', that Naturopathic Doctors are trained in and may use to help restore you to optimal health. Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine based upon treating the person as a whole. It was developed in the eighteenth century by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Unlike conventional medicine where drugs are given to work against the body and its symptoms, homeopathic remedies work with the body to help stimulate the body to heal itself.
In homeopathy, your uniqueness is very important. How you uniquely express and experience your complaint is very important to your homeopathic treatment as are all your other symptoms. Details of the symptoms you experience are important to help select the correct homeopathic medicine for you. The remedy that is known to have the same complete symptom picture (physical, general and mental symptoms are all included) as you are experiencing will be chosen and prescribed. This is known as the Law of Similars - "like cures like" - matching the symptom picture of the medicine with the symptom picture of the patient.