Naturopathy as Portrayed in the Yakima Herald-Republic: Incomplete, Misleading (What's New)

here, I cite from from an article in Washington State's Yakima Herald-Republic concerning naturopathy, and I respond to some of it [see 001., below]; then, I quote from some of ND Robel's own web pages [see 002., below]:

001. Emily Gwinn reports in "Naturopathic Medicine is on the Rise in the Yakima Valley" (2010-07-15)[vsc 2010-08-08]:

001.a. "[ND] Heidi Robel [...says] the essential difference between her medical practice and others [is] 'education, education, education [...] we teach people to make educated choices about their health [...] we're just like other family doctors' [...] Robel [...] grew up in Yakima and decided to return here after medical school."

Note: I believe here that naturopathy is being confused with and falsely portrayed as modern 'medicine'. And as regards education: being that naturopaths are hugely miseducated to spread the huge falsehood that that which is science-ejected is able to survive scientific scrutiny, I'd run away from any 'naturopath trying to educate me.'  When science is the same as nonscience, the clowns are leading the band and the inmates are running the asylum.

001.b. "naturopathic medicine is based on the belief that the human body has an innate healing ability, and naturopathic doctors teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and natural therapies to enhance their bodies' ability to ward off disease [coded vitalism...] naturopathic medicine is a system of health care described by the Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians as an art, science, philosophy and practice of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness."

Note: the actual belief that naturopathy is centered upon is called, though this article fails to mention it, vitalism. The NCNM link above transparently describes that, though it also falsely states that such survives scientific scrutiny.  The WANP also FAILS to transparently describe naturopathy's essential science-ejected vitalism on their own page defining naturopathy.  This is why I term naturopathy an 'unethical sectarian pseudoscience.'  You don't get the absurd truth that is naturopathy -- wherein the hugely exterior to science is falsely labeled science -- not from naturopathy or from reporters writing about naturopathy.

001.c. "medical doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine also use alternative medicines, but only when they've been proven to be responsive through clinical studies that follow the scientific method [...] 'there are many ways of finding truth,' said Dr. Deb Harper, President of the Washington State Medical Association. 'I am going to dedicate myself to what is scientifically true' [...] 'it's dangerous to use art alone without science,' she said."

Note: Harper is quite on point.  No matter how much 'care' is involved in terms of naturopathy, if basic premises are false -- e.g., there's a vital force that is a scientifically supported, objective fact -- the outcomes don't stand much of a chance of being true.

001.d. "naturopathic medical colleges are four-year graduate schools with the doctor of naturopathic medicine degree awarded after classroom, clinic and practical study. In Washington, Bastyr University in the Seattle suburb of Kenmore offers naturopathic medical education and training."

Note: Bastyr is a great example of what I term 'naturopathy's epistemic conflation' and  'knowledge type mislabeling.'  BU claims that within science is the science-ejected vitalistic and supernatural (e.g., "the natural health sciences with an emphasis on integrating [blending] mind, body, spirit [supernaturalism] and nature [vitalism]") and then, obviously, after blending all kinds of knowledge claims, trading on this muddle with a false label that this all is a certain singular type of knowledge (e.g., "science").  This type of thinking doesn't pass freshman undergraduate ANYTHING class, never mind 'graduate medical'-level strictures.

002. ND Robel's web pages state in:

002.a. "Meet The Dr." [vsc 2010-08-08]:

"Dr. Robel [...is] highly trained in Western science and alternative medicine and thus uniquely qualified to determine what is best for her patients [...] Dr. Robel earned a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and a Masters in Acupuncture from Bastyr University, the leading medical institution in science-based natural medicine. She also holds a Bachelors of Science in Neurobiology from the University of Washington."

Note: science, science, science!

002.b. "What’s the Difference Between Medical Degrees?" (a 2008-05-28 linked article written by Sara Bristol) [vsc 2010-08-08]:

"naturopaths have had four years of graduate education, and are educated in all of the basic sciences like D.O.s and M.D.s [...] N.D.s are highly trained in Western science."

Note: science, science, science!

003. boy these ND's really don't want to reveal their nonscientific actuality.  In fact, they claim to be science-experts.  It's quite a ruse.  But, if you look hard enough, you can get to the sectarian center that lies beneath all the opacity and camouflage that is usually presented to the public:

For instance, here's Bastyr University, Robel's alma mater, explicitly stating naturopathy's essential nonscientific vitalistic core belief in "Bastyr University Catalog 2002-2003":

"NM5131 Naturopathic Clinical Theory 1 [...] the vitalistic context of science-based,
modern naturopathic medicine is emphasized [...] NM5136 The Vis Medicatrix Naturae [...]  this course explores clinical research, writings and techniques from various systems of medicine which incorporate nature’s influence on healing, the nature of the healing
processes, and the vital or life force [p.097...] NM9118 Energetics of Natural Medicine [...] this course presents an analysis of the vital force [p.101]."

Note: truly absurd.