How does your school differ from other schools of this kind?
There are actually very few schools of our kind- only a handful in the country- by that we mean a hands-on, experiential school. We do not offer home study, nor is this an "online" program. We believe a genuine and authoritative education in this field, one that will serve you for the future, as this field grows, and public awareness and discernment evolves, is derived from a minimum 3 or 4 year program in living classrooms, providing on- premise clock hours, with living experienced teachers mentoring and guiding in living educational processes.
There is no way to deeply understand health and healing responses without living, hands-on education, mentored throughout the program duration by teachers with long term clinical experience.
We encourage the individual prospective student to attend different classes and open houses as you journey towards your decision. We offer the opportunity to drop in , Open House style, for classes, and to register for an entire individual weekend class.
We offer hands-on, experiential curriculum within an evolving educational environment which also honors the spiritual component of life for well being and healing. We offer a supervised clinical internship as part of our program.
We bring in new teachers from outside of our system, to bring fresh flow and perspective to the learning experience, and to assist the school and the students in the development of professional discernment and intellectual inquiry. We strive to create a peaceful, supported, and inspiring experience for you to explore and follow your passion, while requiring high academic achievement under the personal guidance of our highly experienced teachers.
How does your school compare to medical school?
We train in health care, but the comparison is apples and oranges. We are not attempting to masquerade or emulate the medical model.
Also, please note: We have no way to offer "advanced placement", or to allow medically trained prospective students to skip over parts of our program. Our assumption is that you are new to naturopathic training, and would need exposure, study, and practice in all aspects of our program, as these are topics and study areas not offered within medical training.
We have our own unique model, one which has stood the test of time for hundreds of years, and one which we are dedicated to preserving. We are not training people to work within the medical industry, although they could serve a helpful (and needed, in our opinion) role in upgrading the health care within that industry. We are training our students to practice and preserve traditional, classical naturopathy - and to that end, each year of foundational training is necessary, as is the continuing education we promote, offer, and recommend.
Furthermore, medical professionals would find a whole new world of perspective, ideology, and practice within our curriculum- and to that end, we welcome students into our programs who come from medical backgrounds, and wish to broaden their perspectives.
Tell me about the format of the school and what may be required of students going through the program
We gather for many scheduled 20 hour intensive weekends, approximately 14 times per year, for experiential teachings in classical applied naturopathic practice. But it would be misleading to come away with the impression that this is a "weekend activity". The entire program has an intensive nature, designed to immerse oneself in learning experiences when classes meet, and then reflectively complete assignments in between class sessions. For some, taking a few preparatory classes, or committing to the first year, are excellent foundational steps.
Students should be prepared to allocate 4-8 hours per week of personal study time outside of class in order to do well in this program, due to the assignments and projects that are required. There is required homework to complete in between our meeting times. We require a minimum 80% or higher grade to pass the program. We maintain records and evaluations of individual students at the school.
Students should be prepared to pursue tutorials of subjects they find challenging- this approach is also common in college, medical school, and within other intensive healing arts programs.
The program is one of professional development- we encourage participants to evolve into the therapeutic presence as the program unfolds. Be prepared to purchase any needed equipment, such as a massage table, basic iris analysis tools (flashlight and loop), books and notebooks, learning supports, hydrotherapy supports, and other tools of the trade and tools of personal practice, as you transform into a skilled practitioner.
What are admissions qualifications?
Although there are exceptions considered on an individual basis, a potential student must be 21 years of age or older, and possess some experience in the world beyond high school. That could encompass general work experience, professional experience, one or more years of college, and/or completion of a 200 hour + healing arts certification. We recognize that adult life and work experiences does prepare prospective students to consider the step and progression of a life changing program achievement such as those offered at Naturopathic School.
And, since our program offers content which is new to most medical professionals, they would be qualified to take our program based upon the above criteria. Our program offers a pathway for medically trained individuals to learn the holistic healing arts from experienced practitioners offering classic education.
Do you teach different therapies?
Yes, we teach our students to understand, demonstrate, apply, and choose among the many different therapeutic applications within the Naturopath's "medicine kit" and traditional scope of practice as it has been for generations.
These therapeutic applications include but are not limited to compresses, fomentations, poultices, soaks, herbal therapies, botanical/essential oil therapies, bodywork therapies (Naturopathic physical medicine and massage), some movement therapies, energy work, dietary approaches (including cultured, traditional, pastured and raw foods, as well as herbal nourishment), and more. Additionally, students are guided in learning and practicing all aspect of herbology, medicinal herbal study, Herbal Pharmacy and Dispensary, apothecary skills- you will be able to produce therapeutic herbal formulations from seed to bottle or capsule yourself, if you wish, knowing the full scope and ramifications of the herbal quality and action.
We stay away from questionable "therapies". When one is trained properly as a naturopath, one does not need to rely on gadgets, expensive equipment, and strange devices to promote health and healing. While it is certainly up to the individual to purchase among the many devices on the market today, some are, in our opinion, expensive substitutes for real education and skill on the part of the practitioner, and thus not of service to the client/patient.
What financial aid is available ?
Check out the page on this site titled "Financial Planning". The School offers a payment plan- request this information with your catalog. We recommend that students who need loans seek out private loans through credit unions or through their bank, or through other channels.
Additionally, prospective students may be eligible for financial aid through the Michigan Works program. www.MichiganWorks.org
Do you accept credit from other schools?
No, we do not. For some who have had A & P, in the past, they may find we are covering familiar territory now and then. We find that for most people, review in this area is helpful and even necessary. Even our bodywork is taught differently, with different intentions and outcomes than that of many conventional massage therapy programs. We commend those who enter into our programs with a previous background, however, we are unable to determine how courses from other schools compare to our own to the point of offering credit.
What do naturopaths do?
Many of our students have, or will pursue, multiple trainings. The foundation of what we do includes
~ offering consultations for family health and healing
~ teaching within the community about natural healing
~ consulting with companies about natural health products
~ maintaining a private practice for the purpose of helping clients
~ working within an integrated clinic as the voice of natural healing
protocols and methods, as consultant, practitioner, teacher.
~ taking emerging professional pathways, such as naturopathic pet care
Our blogs, newsletter, and other media give good insight into the workday of a naturopath. Also check out the information at www.gaiaherbalstudies.net, which gives insight into medicinal herbal practice and study.
Is a license necessary to practice?
No. There are thousands of naturopaths all over the country who are practicing. The prevailing sentiment is that we seek enactment of a Health Freedoms Act or legislative bill which would allow our citizens the freedom to choose among a variety of health care practitioners. Meanwhile naturopaths have practiced for hundreds of years and will continue to. While we do not seek licensure (which is "permission" to do something, not to be confused with a guarantee of training, skill, experience, or ideology),we at Naturopathic School of Ann Arbor are strong advocates of professionalism, hands-on education, clinical training, development of educational and curriculum standards, and innovation in naturopathy/natural medicine education. When and if political climates and law change, we will be the first to inform.
"Naturopathic" Physicians- ("NMD") which is a different job title (following a medical model interpretation, a different philosophy, and different scope of practice, and lacking much of the important traditional naturopathic training we offer) - do as a group seek licensure around the country, as they seek to admit people to hospitals and diagnose medical disease.
Naturopaths- meaning us- do not . There will always be a demand for well trained and skilled naturopaths, and that demand is growing more and more each day- our communities need us! Naturopaths practice in all 50 states, in Europe, and all over the world.
I had heard that nobody can discuss food and diets in Michigan , unless they were licensed. Please comment.
Discussions about real food, good diets, and dietary changes can and should take place within every home, and they do take place within a large variety of health care practices and teachings - including yoga, physical therapy, massage therapy, natural healers of many kinds, naturopaths, chiropractors, medical approaches, acupuncture/Chinese medicine, and more. Our nourishment is a fundamental basis for our health, and no one group has sole "permission' to discuss nourishment with their clients.
What IS outside of our scope of practice is prescribing diets for medically diagnosed disease treatment. But since we do not do that anyway- naturopaths do not by definition diagnose or prescribe within the framework of the allopathic medical disease codex- we would have no reason to. A "licensed dietician" works within the allopathic medical framework- the very term is an allopathic term.
My own personal experience, having been a student in a university program heading for registered dietician status, was enough to encourage me to drop out and head for the natural healing field for life. I am sure there are pro's and cons, as in everything, however, my experience showed me that the model being used was one of commercial industrial processed food in service of allopathic disease management. That may have "its place", but we work differently when it comes to providing advisory about nourishment. NOURISHMENT being the key word.
So, yes, we do indeed discuss and recommend information about nourishment for healing within our model, and provide guidance and direction to that end.
