Legacy and Trajectory
Editor’s Note:
Nature’s Medicine Through Time is an independent publication synthesizing materials and integrating perspectives developed during decades studying and teaching natural medicine and its historical expressions in human experience. As an ongoing learning environment content is gathered, refined and shared through an editorial process that is descriptive and inclusive rather than prescriptive or preferential in its presentation. The overarching organizational design and content development principles emphasizing the profession, therapeutics and institutional maturation of naturopathic medicine emerged and evolved as I have been teaching History of Medicine first at National College of Naturopathic Medicine and then for more than three decades at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.
The current iteration of this ongoing project emphasizes four themes:
1. the medical lineages flowing from the Empiricist school of Kos and the Rationalist School of Knidus through the Vitalist and Mechanistic models into Natural and Allopathic paradigms and toward emergent person-centered care and systems sciences with an examination of views on Nature and Medicine, the body and its inherent self-healing properties, and the therapeutic relationship;
2. therapeutic lineages constituting the clinical practice of natural and conventional medicine through time;
3. the influence of cultural context of models of health and disease, medical interventions and self-care, economic, political and artistic influences; and,
4. consideration of the model of professional formation as demonstrated by the collective activities of naturopathic physicians and the evolution of the profession of naturopathic medicine.
Over a decade or so I brought my multicultural studies and library of resources to the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project as History Editor. My knowledge deepened and expanded during a decade of developing lasting relationships with talented and enthusiastic student fellows and activists assisting with content research, contacting key individuals and organizational actors, and sorting through input gathered through multiple channels. In particular, Craig Stuart Mehrmann, MPH, ND, Hunter Peterson, ND, and Craig Fasullo, ND, in concert with co-editor Pamela Snider, ND, medical editor Amy Neil, MS, MAP, project manager Kelsang Tenpa, MA, and design and graphics wizard Christopher Thombs, comprised a formidable team in cultivating a sense of historical self-awareness and collective coherence within the naturopathic profession. Parts of content that appear on this site were also included in the Naturopathic Timeline displayed in draft form at annual conferences of the Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OANP) and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) in 2017 and 2018. The preliminary work done with FNM remains unpublished. Research and content development have continued alongside and after my active role within Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project ended in 2018.
Components of introductory material developed under joint authorship intended for inclusion in the Naturopathic Medicine: History and Professional Formation Timeline are presented on this site for their content and contextualization. The Preface is reproduced in full. The Dedication is below, as are credits and acknowledgments. The topical categorization system has been reconfigured and further developed. Other materials may be included in the future.
While the international community of naturopathic medicine and its sibling disciplines has enthusiastically shared from their histories and heritages, the librarians and libraries at National College of Natural Medicine, Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, University of Western States, Bastyr University and National University of Health Sciences have been especially generous and skillful in enabling access to their resources. Ongoing dialogue and shared discovery with David J. Schleich, PhD, Sussanna Czeranko, ND, Eric Blake, ND, LAc, George Cody and others have enriched my respect for their knowledge and insights and inspired me to deeper investigation into previously underappreciated individuals and historical patterns in the rich community of natural medicine and heritage of vitalistic traditions.
Below we provide Project Credits and Attributions for content shared with and developed in collaboration with the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project during the period of 2007-2018, particularly concerning the development of naturopathic medicine, its institutions and activities between 1974 and 2018:
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Naturopathic Medicine:
History and Professional Formation Timeline
A Living Chronicle:
A Tapestry of People, Events and Institutions
Dedication
To our naturopathic elders and those who have come before us for their courage, dedication and resilience, and to the future generations, creating a healthy world together.
FNM TIMELINE TEAM 2012-2018
CO-EDITORS
Mitchell Bebel Stargrove, ND, LAc and Pamela Snider, ND
LEAD AUTHOR AND HISTORY RESEARCHER
Mitchell Bebel Stargrove, ND, LAc
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Rev. Steven Bailey, ND; Craig Stuart Mehrmann, MPH, ND, (candidate ’20), Jim Lemkin World in Balance History Fellow; Amy Neil, MS, MAP; Hunter Peterson, ND; Kelsang Tenpa, MA; Kelsi Ervin, ND, FNM Philosophy and Practice Fellow; Laura Cotton, ND; Craig Fasullo, ND; Jared Zeff, ND, LAc; Jared Skowron, ND; Roger Newman Turner, ND, DO, BAc (United Kingdom); Stephen Myers, ND, BMed, PhD (Australia); Don Warren, ND (Canada)
Special acknowledgement to Rev. Steven Bailey, ND, for initial research and development.
EXECUTIVE AND SENIOR EDITORS
Pamela Snider, ND (Executive Editor); Jared Zeff, ND, LAc; Joseph Pizzorno, ND; Stephen Myers, ND, BMed, PhD; James Sensenig, ND; Don Warren, ND; Roger Newman Turner, ND, DO, BAc; Thomas Kruzel, ND
SENIOR HISTORY EDITOR
Mitchell Bebel Stargrove, ND, LAc
MEDICAL EDITOR
Amy Neil, MS, MAP
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Kelsang Tenpa, MA
COPY EDITORS
Emily Kane, ND
Jeannine Carrado and Beth LoGiudice, Spring Hollow Press
LAYOUT AND GRAPHIC DESIGN
Christopher Thombs, MSOM (Fort Creative LLC)
Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Institute PO Box 857 Snoqualmie, WA 98065
The Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project and Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Institute is now a proud affiliate of the Institute for Natural Medicine, which serves as our institutional home. Our warm thanks to President Michelle Simon ND, PHD and the INM Board for your enthusiastic welcome.
Our heartfelt gratitude to National University of Natural Medicine, our academic home from 2008 – 2017, especially Presidents David Schleich, PhD (2007-2019) and William Keppler, PhD (2003-2007), and Vice President Susan Hunter, MBA (2002-2017)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS – MEMBERS OF THE TIMELINE TEAM
“If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, travel with many.”
old proverb
PRODUCTION MANAGER (v.1.0)
Margaret Berman, AIA, PMP
FINAL HISTORY REVIEWERS
James C. Whorton, PhD; David Schleich, PhD; Jonathan Wardle, ND, MPH, PhD
LEAD AGENCY REVIEWERS
Iva Lloyd, ND, LAc (CAND); Tabatha Parker, ND (NDI)
AGENCY REVIEWERS
Board of Directors and Deans: AANP, AANMC, ANR, BDDT-N, BINM, CAND, CCACO, CNME, INM, NABNE,NDI, NMI, NMSA, NPLEX, NWNPC, State and Provincial Associations
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For a complete list of individual reviewers: See Introduction to the Chronicle; Reviewers Appendix.
We thank each of you and the many, many other individuals who have responded to our invitations and inquiries, and thoughtfully shared your time, stories, guidance and knowledge.
Many thanks to Sussanna Czeranko, ND, George Cody, and Eric Blake, ND, LAc, for generously sharing their deep knowledge of and enthusiasm for the history of naturopathic medicine.
Our appreciation to John Weeks and The Integrator Blog for unstinting access to publications, language, detail and analysis.
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A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THESE LANDMARK NATUROPATHIC HISTORY TEXTS
Divided Legacy: Volumes I-IV: A History of the Schism in Medical Thought. Coulter, Harris. 1975-1994. Berkeley: North Atlantic Press.
Nature Doctors: Pioneers in Naturopathic Medicine. Kirchfeld, Friedhelm and Wade Boyle. 2005. Portland: NCNM Press.
The History of Naturopathic Medicine: A Canadian Perspective. Lloyd, Iva. 2009. Toronto: McArthur & Company.
The Naturopath and Herald of Health. Lust, Benedict, Ed. 1902-1945. New York: Benedict Lust.
From Nature-Cure to Naturopathic Medicine: the Institutionalizing of Naturopathic Medical Education in Ontario. Schleich, David J. 2005. PhD dissertation, University of Toronto, June 2005.
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©1992-2024 Mitchell Bebel Stargrove
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