001. Dr. Lipson writes in "Modern Shamanism - Naturopathy For Hypertension":
"the big difference between naturopaths and real primary care physicians (PCPs) is that naturopaths haven't gone to medical school, completed a post-graduate residency program, and taken their specialty boards [...] if a naturopath wants to be a PCP, then they must provide the same services as other PCPs. They do not [...] naturopaths have an incorrect understanding of human biology [see note 02., below] and do not understand how this is applied in a science-based fashion to prevent and treat human disease [...the NDs' AANP site states] 'prominent national studies have shown the DASH diet has been shown to be as effective as drugs at reducing blood pressure' [...Dr. L.:] the last sentence is simply false. DASH is not as effective as medication for many hypertensive patients [...all-in-all] there is no justification for allowing naturopaths to be primary care physicians, and if what they print is accurate, there is no justification for them to treat any patient for any condition. Naturopathy is modern shamanism, and should be banned [hear, hear!]."
Note 01.: speaking of essential naturopathic shamanism, when I was in ND school, they'd diagnose often with applied kinesiology and even pendulums. More specifically, at that school, there's a term they use called 'entheogenic' [even if they can't spell it right!]:
"[the naturopathy foundation course I've taken] Naturopathic Principles and Practice. Principles and Practice 511, Naturopathic History and Philosophy. This course is a survey and introduction to the history and philosophy of naturopathic medicine as a distinct healing art as well as its fundamental roots [its essential NATURE, not to pun]: botanical medicine, nature cure, physical medicine, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, energy medicine and ancient healing systems from around the globe. We will also explore [...] the philosophy of vitalism and mechanism, shamanic and entheogrenic [sp., entheogenic!!!] healing and encourage students to 'live their philosophy' incorporating the precepts of naturopathic medicine into their lifestyles [i.e., drink the cool-aide!!!]."
Wikipedia states, per "entheogen":
"an entheogen ('creates god within,' en- 'in, within,' theo- 'god, divine,' -gen 'creates, generates'), in the strictest sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious or shamanic context."
Ah, so what the University of Bridgeport is basically talking about is getting stoned and hallucinating 'the divine' / the essentially naturopathic [see note 02., below].
Note 02.: regarding 'god within' and Dr. L's comment on naturopathy's "incorrect understanding of human biology", it may be summed up in this handout I personally received from Sensenig, the founding dean of the school and first AANP president, in 511 per note 01:
"[life, healing & disease are due to the] vital force, innate, life principle, prana, bioplasmic energy, the god power within you [sectarian figmentations: vitalism, autoentheism, entheogenism & kind]."
002. the shamanistic entheogenic / autoentheistic as the scientific -- an important sign of naturopathy's 'epistemic conflation' / 'knowledge incompetence':
naturopathy does not distinguish between the merely mentalized / ideations that have no supporting empirical evidence, and a posteriori, particularly scientific, knowledge. I have written about this elsewhere.
Bastyr University, an ND-granting school, states it quite well:
"we educate future leaders in the natural health arts and sciences. Respecting the healing power of nature and recognizing that body, mind and spirit are intrinsically inseparable."
Note: the HPN is their vitalism premise, coded, while naturopathy claims itself to be a subset of science. But vitalism is extrascientific [outside of science], and so is supernaturalism. The naturopathic-supernatural [e.g., their beliefs of spiritism, entheogenism, autoentheism & kind] is stated as inseparable from science. So, in naturopathy, evidence and belief are commingled -- the a priori is inseparable from the a posteriori, roughly speaking -- and mislabeled as all science.
And UB and Bastyr are, of course, part of 'the health-robbers consortia' who snookered me with this document in 1997.
