Naturopathic Medicine

Welcome to Naturopathic care with the Britannia BodyWork and Wellness Centre!

Your initial visit will include a consultation, detailed history, relevant physical exam, screening diagnostics and naturopathic assessments. Other lab work may be requested depending upon your specific presentation and concerns.

Your second visit, usually two weeks later, will include a detailed report of findings and your individualized treatment plan will be discussed. Also, any remaining portion of the relevant physical exam will be completed on this visit. Treatment plans may include dietary changes, botanical/herbal medicine, nutritional supplementation, homeopathy, lifestyle recommendations and hydrotherapy.

Subsequent follow-up visits are typically every 4 to 6 weeks. If you are receiving acupuncture as your primary treatment visits will be more frequent. As you start to experience greater health and wellness, an office visit every three months is recommended for general health maintenance and disease prevention. If ever an acute, non-emergency condition occurs, please call the office as naturopathic treatments may be indicated.

Enclosed you will find a Health Questionnaire, which we ask you to fill out in as much detail as possible. Please bring the completed form to your first appointment.

On behalf of all the team at Britannia BodyWork and Wellness Centre, we look forward to meeting and working with you towards your health-care goals. My hope is for you to get the most of your naturopathic visits.

Sincerely,

Dr. Patricia Brand, BSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor

Cancellation Policy: To avoid being charged for your visit, please give the office 24 hours notice if you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment. We are then able to give the appointment time to someone else.

Payment for visits shall be made at the time of the appointment. We accept Visa, Mastercard, debit, cheque or cash.

Introduction to Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Medicine is the art and science of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease using natural therapies with a focus on optimizing health and well-being through individualized patient care and public education. Naturopathic Doctors are trained as primary health care providers with a minimum of seven years post-secondary education, including three years of university pre-medical sciences and successful completion of an accredited four-year medical program. Standardized licensing exams are carried out throughout North America to secure proper registration and legislation of the profession. The various therapeutic options, the "tools", in Naturopathic Medicine allow for an individualized treatment plan for each patient, with the primary goal being to restore health. A Naturopathic Doctor will assess the complete symptom picture of a patient to attempt to understand the various systems that need support and then to move forward into treatment options. Naturopathic Medicine is guided by the following six principles:

PRINCIPLES OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

1. Primum non nocere - do no harm, effective health care with the least risk for all patients
2. Vis medicatrix naturae - healing power of nature, respect and promote self-healing
3. Tolle causum - treat the cause, identify and remove causes, avoid suppression of symptoms
4. Docere - doctor as teacher, educate patients, inspire rational hope, encourage self-responsibility
5. Treat the whole person - each person is unique with their own factors effecting their health
6. Health promotion is the best prevention - well-being includes health individually, in the community and globally

NATUROPATHIC MEDICAL THERAPIES

Botanical Medicine - use of whole plants individually and in combinations

Clinical Nutrition - diet modification and supplementation for health promotion and disease treatment

Homeopathic Medicine - minute doses of plant, animal and mineral substances for treatment and prevention of illness

Hydrotherapy - healing power of hot and cold water

Health Psychology - understand the roots of a pathology and determine any mind-body connections that may exist

Naturopathic Body Work - diverse techniques for correction of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions

Prevention and Lifestyle Modification - assessment of risk factors and programs to modify behaviour emphasizing self-responsibility

What is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is only one of the modalities, or 'tools', that Naturopathic Doctors are trained in and may use to help restore you to optimal health. Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine based upon treating the person as a whole. It was developed in the eighteenth century by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Unlike conventional medicine where drugs are given to work against the body and its symptoms, homeopathic remedies work with the body to help stimulate the body to heal itself.

In homeopathy, your uniqueness is very important. How you uniquely express and experience your complaint is very important to your homeopathic treatment as are all your other symptoms. Details of the symptoms you experience are important to help select the correct homeopathic medicine for you. The remedy that is known to have the same complete symptom picture (physical, general and mental symptoms are all included) as you are experiencing will be chosen and prescribed. This is known as the Law of Similars - "like cures like" - matching the symptom picture of the medicine with the symptom picture of the patient.

Dr. Patricia Brand, BSc, ND

A career in medicine was always my intention. The question just came down to what area of medical science would be the most rewarding, have the greatest room for personal growth, allow me to really get to know my patients and share in their experiences, and allow me to feel confident that health and vitality were being harnessed. I feel very fortunate to have found Naturopathic medicine. Naturopathy offers me the flexibility to provide primary health care within a setting that allows individualized treatment through exploring patients' circumstances and their complete clinical picture.

Before moving to Toronto for the four-year naturopathic program, I balanced out the scientific laboratory environment of my university chemistry degree by maintaining active work in crisis counseling for children and women affected by domestic violence. This draw to counseling came from a long background of working with children in a variety of recreational settings. This background has taught me the impact that trauma, emotion and stress can have on general health and has certainly influenced my naturopathic practice, especially with respect to working with children. Clinically, I have maintained a broad primary care practice, though there is a focus on family medicine, pediatric care, women's health, stress syndromes (including digestive upset, fatigue, pain complexes), fertility and pregnancy care.

My naturopathic education has offered many opportunities for growth and learning that have shaped my clinical style and understanding of the dynamics of optimal health. I was honoured with the 2006 Governor's Medal of Excellence for outstanding academic and clinical performance throughout the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine program. I have also been fortunate enough to attend four advanced classical homeopathy seminars in India, learning from many of the world's homeopathic leaders. The naturopathic philosophy is to stimulate the healing power of the body and to treat the root cause of disease. As a Naturopathic Doctor, I can draw from a variety of treatment methods depending on the individual needs of each patient. My goal is to bring each patient to a state of independence in their health, to restore flexibility, and most importantly to educate.

In the last number of years, the principle of Docere (Doctor as Teacher) has become central focus in my practice and within Calgary at large. Since 2007, I have been teaching naturopathic medicine introductory courses within the Faculty of Continuing Education at the University of Calgary. These courses have also stemmed numerous lectures on women's health, pediatric care and homeopathy for the public, allowing charitable donations to the same domestic violent shelters that helped shape my career choice.

For more information, or to book an appointment with Dr. Brand, call 243-6610.

Dr. Patricia Brand, BSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor
pbrand@ndnet.ccnm.edu