Today’s blog post is a little deep dive into my thought process as influenced by my Naturopathic Doctorate. While there’s a place and a purpose for every part of the pyramid, ideally in non-emergency conditions, the foundational aspects of health are addressed first and indefinitely.
While there’s different wording in my infographic vs chart below, essentially that baseline level is ideally removing whatever obstacle is interfering with the body naturally healing itself. This could be stress, insomnia, or continuing to do intense yard work when your forearms are very adamantly and persistently telling you to take a break (not to call you out Mom).
For many people, there’s things we keep repeatedly being exposed to that keep the dis-ease, pain, suffering, tension, etc. coming back. We might be ignoring our body’s signals to move differently, perhaps ignoring our hearts’ signals to change how we’re working/living, letting our emotions overly affect our diet, and whatever else we’re more attached to than feeling good in our bodymind. This is the best place to focus our efforts for lasting healing.
Certainly more targeted interventions can be necessary, and helpful for starting down a new path, but if the foundational needs for safety and rest aren’t being addressed, problems will keep cropping up no matter how many times we use targeted interventions to keep them at bay.
Feel free to read a bit more below regarding the tiers of intervention and a few notes about how doctors might use this information in practice.
| Level | Focus / Goal | Typical Interventions or Strategies |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Remove Obstacles to Health (Remove Obstacles to Cure) | Identify and eliminate factors that impair the body’s ability to heal | Diet & lifestyle changes, reducing toxic exposures, improving sleep, stress reduction, removing emotional/psychological barriers, correcting digestion, eliminating unhelpful habits 2 |
| 2. Stimulate the Healing Process (Vis Medicatrix Naturae) | Support and prime the body’s innate self-healing forces | Gentle therapies: hydrotherapy, nutrition, mild botanical remedies, exposure to nature, energetic modalities, light exercise 3 |
| 3. Strengthen Weakened Systems | Build resilience and capacity in physiological systems | Nutritional support, adaptogens, detoxification, supporting liver, immune system, hormonal regulation, antioxidants, lifestyle & restoration measures 4 |
| 4. Correct Structural Integrity | Restore proper alignment, mechanical function, and circulation | Physical medicine: chiropractic, osteopathy, massage, postural correction, ergonomics, movement therapies 5 |
| 5. Use Natural, Targeted Therapies | When necessary, apply more specific natural agents to address pathology | Herbal medicine, specific nutraceuticals, botanicals, other therapies selected for a given condition 6 |
| 6. Use Pharmacologic or Synthetic Agents | In cases where gentler methods are insufficient, use stronger tools | Pharmaceuticals, medications, more potent interventions (where within scope/licensing) 7 |
| 7. Use Invasive / Surgical / Life-Saving Interventions | The most forceful or invasive options, when essential | Surgery, radiation, hospitalization, advanced medical interventions, when no less invasive option suffices 8 |
Notes & caveats
- The order is not rigid. A patient’s condition may require “jumping” to a higher level sooner (for instance, in emergencies) or combining levels concurrently. 9
- The principle behind this is to use the least force necessary to achieve healing, minimizing potential harm or side effects. AANMC 10
- The first step—removing obstacles—is foundational: without clearing the blockages (diet, toxins, stress, structural impediments, etc.), further therapies may be less effective. 11
- In practice, a naturopath may blend different steps: e.g. they might remove obstacles, stimulate healing, and support weakened systems in parallel, then escalate if needed.
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