Research project on the Hippocratic temperament theory and its application in naturopathy (research, education and clinical practice)
English version
<aside> 🗣 **WEBINAR THURSDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2024
Recording available here with the Passcode : c$hK1DVL
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<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/3de79a25-9ac3-4484-a43e-5586c111df39/4_elements_clair.png" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/3de79a25-9ac3-4484-a43e-5586c111df39/4_elements_clair.png" width="40px" /> The naturopathic discipline is developing innovative and integrative research approaches in the current scientific world. One of its challenges is to transcribe and restore, in a research context, the founding philosophies and theories of the field of practice, in order to remain as close as possible to clinical reality and better explain the choice of its care interventions. In order to do this, better scientific tools must be developed to transcribe the analytical grids relevant to the evaluation of the patient/client field. In this methodological effort, the Navi, cAH’s integrative health research centre, invites you to participate in the Hippocrate & Science project, whose objective is to create a tool for evaluating Hippocratic temperaments that allows for an evolving understanding of the patients' “terrain” (=evolutive ****constitution).
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Preventive and curative practices are evolving with the new knowledge gained throughout the history of medicine. At the same time, the demands of patients and insurance companies are increasing. In this progression of knowledge and demands, medical scientific research is increasingly focusing on the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of care interventions, classically in relation to a pathology or symptom.
Navi's research work is part of a global posture in integrative health, which aims to optimise the coexistence of all traditional, complementary and conventional medicines. This approach also broadens the ways in which patients are treated, who are considered first and foremost, from the point of view of their health balance, as global beings who cannot be reduced to a pathological diagnosis or a collection of symptoms.
1.1. From symptom to “terrain”: understanding the basics of a naturopathic approach to health
Beyond the symptom, the physical and psychic expression of the ills, there is for each person a “terrain”, a way each person is constituted and functions physically, psychologically, emotionnally etc. This subtle ground (”terrain”) makes our being vulnerable to the development of certain illnesses that will not affect those around us in the same way, e.g. affected or not by digestive disorders, infections or pain.
This concept of “terrain” is central to Traditional European Medicine (TEM), a branch of naturopathy recognised in Switzerland as a global system of alternative medicine[1], and commonly referred to as naturopathy in other French-speaking European countries. It is "a sophisticated and nuanced system of traditional medicine that combines modern research with traditional knowledge within a person-centred paradigm"[2].
Like other comprehensive systems of alternative or traditional medicine, naturopathy is "a system of health care in which practitioners apply fundamental philosophies, theories and principles to integrate medical knowledge with natural treatment options[3].”
This integrative approach leads naturopaths to address each person's health dimension, taking into account allopathic symptoms and diagnoses of care, in a way that is integrated with a deep assessment of the "terrain" and the life force (also called vital energy) that are unique to each person. This understanding of the patient's unique and complex "terrain" allows for a personalised approach to health care interventions and health education. To achieve this, naturopathic practitioners use different "terrain" analysis grids, which they superimpose like coloured layers, to give life to a complex and multicoloured image of the patient.
1.2. Importance of developing “terrain” assessment tools in naturopathy and integrative health
Over the last few years, the Navi’s team has observed that the field of naturopathic research does not yet have scientifically proven tools to transcribe its unique healing paradigm, in particular its theories of understanding the “terrain”, determining for the choice of naturopathic interventions.