No.  However, many extended healthcare plans cover naturopathic consultations.  Check with your workplace insurance company to see if you are covered.  When  you come for a visit, simply pay for the visit, and then submit the receipt to your insurance company for reimbursement.

Naturopathic doctors go through extensive medical training and examination before they are legally allowed to practice.  They require a Bachelor of Science degree or a minimum of three years of University education in pre-medical sciences to enter one of the five naturopathic medical schools in North America.  The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine is Canada’s leading accredited school for the naturopathic program.  The program is four years long and includes a one year intensive clinical rotation.  Midway through the program, and upon graduation from any of the colleges, two sets of NPLEx licensing exams (coordinated by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE)) must be successfully completed before naturopathic doctors are allowed to practice.

For more information about naturopathic licensure, examination, or provincial and national associations, please visit our Resources page.

The goal of naturopathic medicine is to treat the whole body through individualized treatment that is safe, natural, and free of side-effects.  Its main mechanism is to stimulate the body’s own natural ability to heal itself.  It does this through the use of nutrition, acupuncture, botanical medicine, homeopathy, and supplementation, to name a few.  In addition to ridding the body of disease, the goal is to raise the overall health of all organ systems within the body, and to prevent future development of disease.  This is in contrast to the long-term use of prescription medications that can sometimes do more harm than good by deteriorating your vitality in the long run.

Just as each individual is unique, so too are the individually tailored treatments for each person.  Naturopathic medicine is about much more than simply labeling an individual with a disease, and then prescribing a medicine for it.  It is a true health-care system that recognizes the individual needs of each person.

Each year countless research studies, both scientific and clinical, are produced by hundreds of independent companies, laboratories, and universities.  With the growing demand for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), naturopathic doctors meet high standards of practice and base their treatments on sound scientific studies.  Furthermore, naturopathic colleges such as the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM), fund their own research departments to examine and study natural substances.

As for the safety of naturopathic medicine, one could say that its treatments produce less harm than any other medical practice.  This is understandable, since it focuses on using substances that are natural, gentle, non-toxic, and non-invasive.  Side effects are rare and naturopathic doctors are well trained about interactions between naturopathic remedies and conventional medication.

In Ontario, naturopathic doctors are licensed through the Board of Directors of Drugless Therapy – Naturopathy.  They are regulated under the Drugless Practitioners Act (since 1925).  The naturopathic profession is currently applying to be regulated under the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA), an act which regulates other health care professionals such as medical doctors, chiropractors, optometrist, physiotherapists, and midwives.

To find out if a naturopathic doctor is licensed, please contact the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors.

Yes.  It is becoming more common that naturopathic doctors, medical doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, and other health care professionals cross refer clients for a coordinated and complete health care plan.  Naturopathic doctors are trained to recognize conditions that are outside their scope of practice and to refer to other health care providers when it is appropriate.

You do not need a referral to see a naturopathic doctor.

Naturopathic doctors are trained in conventional medical science as well as other complimentary and alternative treatments.  Naturopathic medicine is an umbrella term for doctors that practice many different treatments, called modalities.  These modalities include herbal or botanical medicine, traditional chinese medicine (including acupuncture and herbs), clinical nutrition, vitamin supplementation, lifestyle counseling and homeopathy.  A naturopathic doctor requires an undergraduate degree, four years of naturopathic medical school, and is regulated to practice in the province of Ontario.

A homepath, on the other hand, is trained to use strictly one modality, which is homeopathic remedies, and does not need an undergraduate degree to study homeopathy.  The homeopathic profession is not regulated in Ontario.

No, you do not need a referral to see a naturopathic doctor.  To find a naturopathic doctor in your area, please contact the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors.

Your first visit is between 1 – 1 1/2 hours long.  This amount of time is needed to gather all the necessary information to understand the nature of your health concern, as well as all the factors in your life that contribute to your health and wellbeing.  This is important because no single condition is separate from the rest of the body.  Treating a disease goes hand in hand with improving the health of the body as a whole.

A detailed charting of your chief complaint is done, as well as a thorough medical history, a brief physical examination (if required), and a review of your diet.  Other factors that affect your health are also reviewed, such as the quality of your sleep, your energy level, your digestion, your emotional health etc.

Based on all this information, an appropriate course of treatment will be recommended.  In more complicated cases, short term and long term health goals will be set, and plan to achieve them implemented.   The goals and plans will be agreed upon by both you and your doctor to encourage a co-operative framework for improving your health.

Subsequent visits will be shorter in duration, usually 30 minutes, and their frequency depends on each individual case.  Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Subsequent visits are usually 30 minutes long and their frequency depends on the nature of your complaint.  More severe or chronic condition may need more treatment, therefore more visits may be required.  Also, a treatment plan including acupuncture may likely require more than one visit.  Please visit our Services page to find out what sorts of treatments may be included in your plan.

At subsequent visits, you are encouraged to ask all the questions you may have about your condition or course of treatment.  At this time laboratory results are also discussed and explained in full detail.

To book an appointment please call us at (905) 825-8787.

We are located at:  2368 Lakeshore Rd. W. Oakville, Ontario  L6L 1H5