This year I was reminded by the old movie “White Christmas” to count my blessings instead of sheep. One of my big blessings this year was studying with a great group of final year Naturopathy students who really reminded me of the value of what natural medicine can do for clients. What was I doing back at college after 12 years of practice as a Homeopath and Nutritionist (including three years as Head of Nutrition at the College)? Well I decided to finally finish my full naturopathic qualification which included three years of Herbal Medicine and additional student clinic hours. I successfully completed it in September this year.

First term this year at college I completed two clinics on Friday’s back to back. It was a full on day and often we had no time for breaks. The clinics were surprisingly busy and this was largely due to the fact that the group I was studying with brought in lots of their own clients (friends and family) and this meant we saw a much wider range of clients than I would usually see in my own clinic. The first reminder from my group was that you need to keep marketing all the time and and as a result I kicked up my own efforts in terms of both networking and social media marketing.

The second learning was that simple changes to diet and an individual herbal mix or a few well chosen supplements can often make a big difference. For example changing someone’s diet to gluten free when they are suffering from constipation and are also managing an auto-immune condition such as Hashimoto’s can result in big improvements.

Another area that often surprised me was that the information from a well taken case is as comprehensive as extensive blood testing in determining what is needed (although its nice to have the testing as well). In clinic I use some additional testing in terms of Oligoscan, which provides details on 20 nutrient minerals as well as 10 heavy metals plus Quadscan which provides information on body mass parameters, such as muscle mass, fat mass and hydration. Click on this link for more information on the Oligoscan .

There was also a deeper reminder with my core training as I was often asked to sit in on a case when they thought a homeopathic medicine was needed. What impressed me every time was how skilled these new graduates to be were in taking these cases and how as a group we prescribed some very effective homeopathic medicines. It was a good learning about  how the right homeopathic remedy can really shift an emotional state, particularly when people are stuck in grief or anxiety.

Overall I found that finalising Naturopathy added another essential tool to my kit as the value of herbal medicines for organ support is useful in so many cases. Many supplements also contain a mix of herbal medicines and vitamins and minerals so its good to be clear about the value of each component.

Have you done more study recently? What did you get out of it?

Christine Pope is a Naturopath, Homeopath and Nutritionist based at Elemental Health at St Ives. You can make appointments online at Elemental Health or book on 02 8084 0081.