Naturopathic Philosophy
Open Sky's approach to wellness is based largely on the principles of naturopathic medicine. This form of medicine focuses on maintaining and optimizing health by incorporating nature's harmony into all aspects of healing - body, mind, heart, and soul. Open Sky is currently the only holistic wilderness therapy program in the country. Our wellness team is led by two full-time naturopathic doctors who oversee the health of each and every student.
Learn more about wellness and naturopathic medicine at Open Sky:
- Six Principles of Naturopathic Medicine
- Wellness: A Top Priority at Open Sky
- Naturopathic Doctor Defined
The part can never be well unless the whole is well. ~ Plato
Health and cheerfulness naturally beget each other. ~ Joseph Addison
The six principles of Naturopathic Medicine:
- First, do no harm: Provide the most effective health care available with the least risk to patients at all times.
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Trust the healing power of nature: Recognize, respect and promote the self-healing power of nature inherent in each individual human being. - Identify and treat the cause: Identify and remove the causes of illness, rather than eliminate or suppress symptoms.
- Doctor as teacher: Educate and inspire rational hope and encourage self-responsibility for health.
- Treat the whole person: Health and disease result from a complex of physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social and other factors that must be taken into consideration.
- Prevention: Emphasize the condition of health to promote well-being and to prevent diseases for the individual, our community and our world.
Wellness: A Top Priority at Open Sky
Open Sky is the industry’s only program that has an entire department devoted to health and well-being of all its stakeholders: students, staff, families and allied professionals. We have two full-time licensed naturopathic doctors leading our wellness department by providing assessment, treatment, support and education for our students and their families and ongoing training for our field guides and clinical team.
While our wellness team is led by our naturopathic doctors, it is also comprised of field guides, therapists, and a wellness assistant. The field guides and therapists also have a responsibility for delivering a portion of the wellness education to our students. The naturopathic doctors deliver a weekly wellness curriculum to the students in a group format appropriate to the students in that group and customized for their particular needs. Each week, the clinical and wellness teams meet to discuss unique cases and, when necessary, therapists arrange individual case consultation with the naturopaths to better serve the student and his or her unique health needs. Also, the field guides assist each student in maintaining optimal physical health by teaching students how to prepare and enjoy nutritious foods, manage portions, obtain sufficient sleep, learning the importance of exercise and the role of mental and emotional exercise through yoga and meditation. The guides assist the naturopathic doctors in delivering the wellness curriculum on a weekly basis. Lastly, our guides serve as role models that manage active, healthy lives with moderation and pragmatism.
The Open Sky doctors created a customized wellness curriculum and food menu to specifically address the needs of adolescents and young adults. In addition, the Open Sky doctors facilitate process groups, ensure that each student’s physical well-being is cared for, and provide ongoing training and education for our field guides and clinical staff.
Naturopathic Doctor Defined
A licensed naturopathic doctor (N.D.) attends a four-year graduate-level naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an M.D., but also studies holistic and non-toxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the naturopathic physician is required to complete four years of training in clinical nutrition, acupuncture, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling (to encourage people to make lifestyle changes in support of their personal health). A naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician.
