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SOC]OLOGICAL ASPECTS OF NATUROPATHY
Diane margrrdwrEsNnR
B.Pharrn (Hons.) , B.A. (Ilons.) (sydney universÍty) "
SubmitÈed for the Degree of Master of Arts with the Department of AnthroPologY
The UniversitY of Adelaicle
Date of submission: October I98l
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FORËVIORD SUMMARY'
ACKNOWLEDGEMEIüTS
INTRODUCTION 5
CHAPTER 1:
Concepts of lllnessl Bel,ng IlI so as to Require Naturopathic Care 12 CTIAPTER 2:
Ílre Social Ìùorld and soclai tdeaLs of the Naturopath
CHAPtrER 3:
The Process of 'Becorning Professionall
CITAPTER 4:
llhe NaturoPathic Patient
CHÀPTER 5:
ltre ReaIitY of NaturoPathic Care
CHAPTER 6;
SocíalizatÌon inÈo NatuÏopat'hy
CHAPTER 7:
the nelationship between the Naturopath and His Patient
CHAPTER 8¡
NaturopathyintheHealthCareSystem:AnExampleofthe
Operation of Power in a tvtedical Context
CONCI,USIONS AND IMPLICATTONS
APPENDIX I
ÀPPENDIX II
BIBTIOGSÀPHY
31
59
8B
LL2
139
163
l_85
2l-4
226 229 262
I
FORET¡IORD
While a personal descripÈion of my int"erest in alternative medical
systems may appear somewhat irrelev¡rnt to the reader, iL may add another dj¡nension to my thesis to give a brief outlipe of my background.
Practice in pharmacy and specialisation in pharmacology provoked
ínterest in me to study ethnomedicÍne and medical sociology. During work for an undergraduate degree specialising in Anthropologl', I established contacts with researchers and practitioners of Indían end Asian rtedicines and arranged a sÈudy-Eour to see tradiÈional, herbal and motl,ern medicine in use in China. fn Australia, natural therapy and naturopathy are refated
systems of health care. They represent the area of study where I irave
presently direcÈed my attention" Þly appr:oach ís sociological although its context is medical.
To the best of my knowledge this thesis contains no research qrhich has
been accepted for the award of any other d.egree or siíplonm- j-n any rrniversity"
Nor does ít use any material previously publishecl or wrítten by any other person without due reference ha.¡ing been made wíthin the Èext.
Signed:
D.M. WTESNER
D.ATED: October 1981
2
SUMMARY
For many years, natural therapies, natural remedies and unconventional heaJ-ing services have been regarded as afternative to, and on the fringe of ortlrodox, western and scientific medical practiee in Australia. By 'I974, sufficienL interest and cotunent had been generated in the communíty for the Federal Government to set up a special Senate Commíttee to investigate and report to it. The Committee was to be chaired,by Professor E.C" Tüebb and was charged with exanining the scíentific bases for the practice of
chiropracty, osteopathy, hotneopathy and naturopathy'
The Webb Committee callecl for submissions from all interested parties' interviewed wit¡esses, and conside¡:ed a uu¡nber of surveys a¡rd questi.onnaires
conduc.Eed in different AusÈrafian cities. Its findings suggested that many i¡dividuals trad significant doubts about the nature of conventional medical care and that alternative services cc¡uld play arr Ímçnrtant role in community heatth j-f given the opPorÈuniÈY.
V{hile making a ntunlcer of guarded statements about naturopathy, Èhe Tlebb
Comrnittee admitted that it had not intervieweci or cri.tically discussed r¡rith naturopathic patients, the nature c¡f naturopathic care and the role of the practiÈioner Ìn their treatmenÈ. Nor wa-s it able to come to any conclusions about why normally conservative indivj.duals rn¡ho are accustomed to consulting a family medical doctor, express satisfaction with naturopathic care and claim that treatments have been successful.
I/ty research aime<1 to describe the process of nat-uropathic care. It was conducted using a micro-sociological approach drawírig from phenomenology
and on the'work of the social interactionists in ntedical sociology. I used
both quantitative and qualitative procedures in my investigation.
tJ
For naturopathy I found it possibÌe to descríÌ.¡e rnany features which are prominent, though less obvious aspects of convention;rl med.icaf care" .lhe rel-ationship between the naturopathic practitioner and the patient is vital to that individual r s unclerstanding of his t-herapy atrC his treatment. The holistic nature of naturopathy and the desígn of therapy specifically
tailorecl to Lhe personality and needs of the patient permit, ancl i.ndeed, demand that there be a close relaÈionship between the panticipants" Rapport is built between the natruopa.th and his patienb. at each consuftation as
every facet of [reatrnent is discussed and wor]ced out "
My observations suggest that there are cert¿rin instances or síLua-tions in which an individual defines hj.mself as 'being sj-ck so as to require
naturopathic caret as distinct from ubeing sick so as to require conventional medical carer. This concepÈ develops arorurd ímpressions about naturopabtty, expressíons of dissatisfactìon with other for:ns of healing care, and
perceptions of what medical care should provide for the patient" During naturopathic consultations with the practitioner, t-he pati.ent Ís afso forcecl to come to terms with the naturopath's ideas about health and which may,
init.ially seem unusual- and ru¡sustainabLe to him" Ideally, bhe grovrth of the relationship between the naturopatir ancl his patient as a prograntme of treatrnent progresses permits the patieirt to rationalise and incorporat-e these beliefs into hís existing knowledge and experier.rce.
As a result of this studyn I regard and approach which naturopaths a<lo¡:t to their profession ancl to their patients is contributing Lc making naturo- pathy an increasingly popular and beneficial form of health care. Thetice,
the position which it occupies as an alternative rather than an accepted part of the total health system, is called into question"
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My major debt is to the Department of Anthropology, The uriiversi'Ly of Aclelaide, for having made iÈ possibl-e for me to undertake this stucly and to
my academic supervisors, Kingsley Garbett, susan Barham and Jeff coLlmann"
Their assistance, encouragement and thoughts have ]¡een invaluable" Other
members of staff, fellow post'grraduate students and visitors have also helped mould my ideas into a cogenÈ whole'
I wouLd also like to thank those traturopathic practitio¡rers such as
Mark Robinson, Julie Lorton and Greg Gil-I who have been so generous with their time and thej-r co-operation. I am graieful to their patients
especially who allowed me to join them in the naturopathic care progranmes' ,Ihe staff and sbudents of the N.S.Vü. Cotlege of Osteopathic and Nal--ural Therapies were also very kind and helpful and allowed me to use their facilities, attend their classes and visi-L thei¡: clirlics"
The representatives and spokesman of the more conventional health ancl medicat services are also owed my thanks as they were frank with their opinions and theír insights provided a good balance. To Ray Mulvihill- who typed my efforts I also express my grat'ltude'
on a more personal level, I tt¡a¡rk my family who p::ovided me wíth
distanÈn loving support and in South Australia' ny special friends also' who put up with me rvhen my morale ftaggectr and my ínitiative faltered as seems to be all too cornmon in research projects'
To everyone who gave me their ti¡ne I can only conclude by saying thal:
I hope Èhat their confidence in me is repaid on reading the following pages'
