HerbalPedia.info Lecture Notes and Glossary

Holistic Medicine

Naturopathic medicine

Naturopathic medicine, or naturopathy, encompasses a combination of modern medicine and traditional healing philosophies and techniques. Naturopathic physicians (N.D.s) are general health practitioners trained as specialists in natural medicine, including, but not limited to, herbal medicines. Their training emphasizes natural and holistic approaches, and they are not licensed to prescribe drugs. Naturopaths often choose to specialize in an area of personal interest, so that some may use herbs extensively in their practices. Some naturopaths may be advanced herbalists, but this is not necessarily the case

Herbalist

An herbalist may be trained specifically in herbal medicine.  That is, as a specialist in a modality, or may be a health professional with other credentials, such as

• medical doctor
• naturopathic physician
• osteopathic physician
• homeopathic practitioner
• physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner that studied herbal medicine as well.

Holistic Medicine

Traditional medicine

These are the traditional, usually ancient, medical systems of specific cultures, such as

• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM),
• Ayurveda or
• Native American healing.

These are all holistic healing systems