By Steve Bigham

Located in a small church in the Hawleyville section of Newtown, a man and woman are providing healthcare to local residents using an assortment of herbs, minerals, diets, mental wellness, and other alternative forms of remedy. They are naturopathic physicians who believe the body has the power to heal itself. Their job is to assist the body in doing so.

Kathleen M. Riley, ND, has been practicing in the area since 1985. Back then, naturopathic medicine was still seen by many as a new concept. In reality, however, naturopathic medicine has been around since the 5th Century BC. In recent years, its revival has been in full swing, especially on the East Coast where the practice had taken a back seat for many years. Reports indicate that more and more people are seeking alternative means of medicine. Some have suffered from chronic disease or injury and are seeking out something new. They have found that traditional medical treatments do not always work.

Last year, Joshua Berry, a 29-year-old physician from Eugene, Oregon, joined Dr Riley. He arrived eight months ago after completing his studies at Portland’s National College of Naturopathic Medicine, the oldest medical school of its kind in the country.

Dr Berry, a specialist in pediatrics, grew up in a small town in Oregon where he was raised on naturopathic medicine. After majoring in biology and biochemistry at the University of Oregon, he made the decision to attend medical school. To him, naturopathic medicine was the logical choice.

  “Naturopathic medicine made more sense to me. It gave me more options. I trained in nutrition and herbs and felt I received a broader education,” he explained of his four years of medical schooling.

  Dr Berry was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes two years ago and while he receives an insulin shot once a day, he said it is his diet, exercise, and alternative medicines that have helped maintain his health. And the young doctor has always been healthy. After a successful high school sports career during which he was an all-state wide receiver on the football team and standout basketball and track star, Dr Berry went on to play football at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Dr Riley said the addition of Dr Berry to her staff has complemented the practice as both bring different areas of expertise.

Dr Berry moved his family to the East Coast because he saw a need for more naturopathic physicians in this area. He had also accepted a position as a full-time professor at the University of Bridgeport’s new College of Naturopathic Medicine.

According to Dr Ron Hobbs, a university dean, the naturopathic college at UB is the first of its kind to operate in the eastern half of America in over 50 years.

For more than a century a small group of dedicated physicians in North America have been providing health care based on the idea that there is a healing power in nature, an idea originally proposed by the Greek physician Hypocrites.

 The basic philosophy of naturopathic medicine is to treat not just the symptoms but also the cause so that the patient can have a lasting cure. In conventional medicine, symptoms often are treated with chemicals whose side effects can be just as bad as the symptoms, Dr Berry said. But when treating the cause, he said, there are so many other elements that can be treated. For example, with the common cold, a viral infection, there is no proven treatment in allopathic medicine, according to the physician.

“In naturopathic medicine we have herbs that are directly anti-viral and nutrition which is very helpful in getting over colds quicker. We also try to boost the immune system and not just suppress the symptoms,” he explained.  “We feel like the body is able to take care of most problems with just a little bit of assistance. We look at the whole person, not just one part, like, for the example, the heart or the intestines.”

Although naturopathic medicine emphasizes time-proven and natural remedies, today’s naturopathic doctor still takes full account and makes full use of all the latest developments in science and medicine, Dr Berry said. And naturopathic physicians will recommend a patient see a specialist about surgery, if such treatment is necessary. A patient being treated for cancer, for example, may see an oncologist, a surgeon, and a naturopathic physician.

Some patients do come to Dr Riley and Dr Berry with their guard up. They are skeptical about this “new” concept in medicine when they arrive.

“I get people who come in because their wives told them to. They don’t want to be there. But then they are amazed to see that our methods actually work,” Dr Berry said. “You don’t have to be a believer in naturopathic medicine. It works either way.”

Naturopathic medicine is being covered more and more by health insurance companies. In many Western states it has become mandatory. Dr Riley and Dr Berry do not bill the insurance companies directly. They leave that up to the individual patient to do so.

The old church now transformed into a doctor’s office was built during the late 1800s, which, according to the two physicians, was a time when naturopathic medicine was at its peak. The advent of antibiotics brought a decline in interest in naturopathic medicine, a decline which now is being reversed.

“There’s something in naturopathic medicine that can benefit everybody. Even if it’s only to increase your quality of life,” Dr Berry said.

Dr Riley received her naturopathic degree from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. However, unlike her colleague she grew up in Hartford, Conn., and knew nothing about naturopathy until she attended the University of Peugeot Sound in Tacoma, Washington. She was there to study marine biology, but eventually changed her focus. The existence of such a field of medicine fascinated her.

“I had past experiences with reactions to drugs and I always thought there must be another way. I just didn’t know it existed,” she admitted.

After four years of medical school, Dr Riley became the first physician in the Danbury area to open a naturopathy practice. Several others have moved in since.

“It’s certainly been demanded by the public. People are looking for non-toxic ways to deal with their health problems,” she said.

For more information on naturopathic medicine, call either Dr Riley or Dr Berry at 426-2306.