Naturopathic work builds in stages because I plan it that way. The first stage stabilises foundations such as sleep, meals and digestion, the second adjusts a herbal prescription with those foundations in place, and the third consolidates before we finish. Each stage has a job, and the order matters.
People sometimes ask how long naturopathy takes to work, and the honest answer is that it depends on where you start and what is being asked of it. The more useful answer is to explain what the stages are for, so that you know where you are in the plan at any given visit. This is how I structure naturopathy at my clinic in Alexandria.
Stage one: stabilising the foundations
The first stage is about the things that happen every day: when and how you sleep, when and what you eat, how your digestion behaves, how you move, and how much pressure you are under. From a naturopathic perspective these are the ground everything else stands on, and a herbal prescription written on top of shaky ground tends not to be worth much.
So the early visits focus here. The changes are usually small and specific rather than sweeping. A regular breakfast. An earlier and more consistent bedtime, along the lines of the simple evening habits for better sleep I have written about before. A different way of eating a meal. If herbs come in at this stage they are usually simple and aimed at settling rather than shifting anything.
This stage is unglamorous, and it is the one people most want to hurry past. I ask you not to. Everything later depends on it.
Stage two: the restorative stage
With the foundations steady, the picture is clearer and I can see what is left once the daily noise has been removed. This is where a more considered herbal medicine prescription comes in, drawing on Chinese and Western traditions and written for you rather than for a label on a bottle.
The word “adjusted” is the important one. A prescription is not set and forgotten. At each follow-up I ask how the weeks went, what changed and what did not, and I revise the formula accordingly: a herb added, one removed, a dose moved up or down, or the whole approach reconsidered. Two or three revisions are normal in this stage. The prescription at the end rarely looks like the one at the start.
Stage three: nourishing and consolidating
The third stage is the one most often skipped, and I think it is the most misunderstood. The first improvement, if it comes, usually arrives somewhere in stage two, and the temptation is to stop there.
The nourishing stage is about making the change hold. The prescription is simplified and gradually reduced. The foundations from stage one are checked to see that they have become habits rather than efforts. Follow-ups spread out. The aim is that when we finish, you are not relying on a regular appointment or a bottle of herbs to stay where you are.
Why stopping at the first improvement leaves the plan unfinished
If you leave partway through stage two, you leave with a prescription that is still being adjusted and foundations that are still new. In my experience that is the point at which people most often drift, and some come back months later to start again. That is not a failure on their part. It is what happens when a staged plan is interrupted at the stage where it is doing the most work.
I would rather tell you this at the first visit than have you discover it. When we agree a plan, I will say roughly how many visits I expect each stage to take, and we review as we go. The plan is individual, which is a subject I have written about in does one size fit all in medicine.
What a 30-minute follow-up covers
Naturopathy follow-ups are 30 minutes, $130, in person at Alexandria or by online video. Half an hour is enough for the work of a follow-up, which is more focused than the initial hour:
- How the past weeks have gone, in your words.
- What has changed in sleep, meals, digestion and energy since last time.
- Any new medication or supplement, so that the prescription stays safe alongside it.
- Adjusting the herbal formula, the food plan or both.
- Agreeing what the next fortnight or month looks like, and when we next review.
Bring your bottles and any notes you kept. The more precise you can be about the weeks in between, the better I can adjust.
How long each stage takes
There is real variation here, and I will not smooth it over. Some people notice change within a couple of weeks. Longstanding concerns can take a few months or more. Stage one might be two visits for one person and six for another, depending on how settled the foundations already were. What I can say is that you will know which stage you are in, why, and what would tell us it is time to move to the next.
Ready to book?
The staged plan begins with an initial consultation, which is an hour in person. If you would like to start naturopathy at the clinic in Alexandria, you can book online or call (02) 9341 5775.
Ahil Naturopath/Acupuncture is a clinic located near Redfern, Alexandria and Waterloo. We also service areas across Sydney including Botany, Camperdown, Darlinghurst, Erskineville, Eveleigh, Mascot, Newtown, Rosebery, Surry Hills and Zetland.
We offer Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Cupping, Gua Sha (Scraping) and Moxibustion services in South-East, Eastern and Inner City of Sydney.
This article is general information only and is not a substitute for individual advice from a qualified health practitioner. If you have a health concern, please see your GP or book a consultation.