My youthful enthusiasm for the naturopathic approach to health led me, while studying at Kingston, to the belief that all disease was easily curable ;
patients would jump on to the physical Nature Cure bandwagon
- good food, exercise, etc -
and all would be well.

It was that simple.

Yes, we DO have our successes - as do other 'alternative' practitioners.
So where does the secret of cure lie?

The patient's attitude is all important. Do they have a goal?
What do they wish to do with their new found health?

Leslie Thomson maintained that one of the most important factors in gaining and preserving health lies in our relationships.

And what of the practitioner's attitude and relationship with his or her patient?
Listening is all - important ; giving the patient time.

Fifty years on and semi-retired, I sit in my treatment room while patients 'pour out their hearts' .

Am I an untrained psychiatrist I wonder, just sitting listening?

'After all these years, I am not sure what naturopathy is'
I remarked to a fellow - practitioner recently.

'At the end of the day, Jean' he replied, 'it all comes down to love.'

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