Your first visit with a naturopath is approximately 90 minutes long, and includes a thorough health history and discussion, as well as a physical examination and urinalysis tests. Since naturopathic doctors are interested in all aspects of health, including the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, the initial interview is lengthy in order to obtain as much information about you as possible; this enables your naturopath to arrive at a proper assessment and create the best plan for you.

In Ontario, naturopathic doctors are licensed through the Board of Directors of Drugless Therapy - Naturopathy (BDDTN), and are regulated under the Drugless Practitioner's Act (since 1925). The naturopathic profession is currently applying to come under the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) - a more recent law that regulates other health care professionals such as chiropractors, medical doctors and midwives. In order to find out if a naturopath is licensed, you can contact the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OAND) at 416.233.2001.

Naturopathic doctors receive 4 years of intensive post-graduate training at an accredited professional college, and are provincially licensed and regulated. Homeopaths, for example, are not required to obtain an undergrad degree prior to entering a homeopathy program, and they are not a regulated profession. Where homeopaths utilize their one modality (homeopathy), naturopaths use several modalities of treatment - which include homeopathy, as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and herbs), clinical nutrition, botanical medicine (herbs), bodywork, hydrotherapy, and lifestyle counseling.

This problem has affected your quality of life and we're here to help. How often and how long you will come for treatment depends entirely on your current state of health and your reason for coming to see us. It will also depend on the goals set by you and Dr. Marissa. One adjustment cannot reverse a lifetime of compensating for day-to-day stresses.

Our chiropractor will often prescribe a schedule of care that spans a specific period of time. Because each person is an individual, so is each plan of chiropractic care.

Many extended health care benefits cover chiropractic, naturopathic care and massage therapy. We recommend that you check with your employer and find out the particular details of your plan. Our health care practitioners will gladly provide a receipt for you to submit to your insurance company in order for you to be reimbursed for your visits.

Call us at 416.360.1300 or drop by and we'll set up your first appointment. Our hope is to help you regain your quality of life. In that effort, we hope we will be able to serve you and your family well.

Financial accessibility to health care is one of 360 Health Care's founding principles. Our Naturopathic Doctors offer a sliding scale to accommodate those who cannot afford to pay the out-of-pocket fees for our services. Each practitioner uses her own discretion, combined with patient information, to decide what the fee structure for any treatment or series of treatments will be. We believe it is important that people - under-employed, artists, musicians, film industry workers, students, parents etc - feel empowered to prioritize health and wellness at a cost they can afford.

I will use my own practice as an example. The initial intake is 90 minutes long, and requires office administration and research to follow up. The cost is $175.00. The "friends and family" rate or sliding scale offered is $100 - 170. I treat several people for much less than this, and some people on disability for free. I like doing this service because it helps me feel I am spreading naturopathic medicine and servicing humanity - both callings of a physician. However, I often wonder at the end of the day, if I am unintentionally selling my own practice short. After all, people value what they pay for. If it is cheap, it may not be regarded in as high a standard as that which is bought for a premium.

Therefore, I offer these criteria for considering financial need as a way of asking you to examine your own relationship to money and health care. Perhaps you do not need to be on the bottom of the sliding scale, but are instead somewhere in the middle.

Factors to consider:

Social status	Employment
Income	Safety net
Assets	Family support / background
Debt	Regular paycheck
Rent or own home	Is home paid off
Savings account	Retirement plan
Professional status	Future income potential
Want	Cash
Do you have dependents	Choices about how to make money
Education	Disability
Means of transportation	Access to credit
Inheritance/ trust fund	Age

It was sliding scales and barters of other people for art, carpentry, graphics, and our website that has made 360 Health Care as special as it is. I only ask that you think about your need realistically, and come to your visit with any of our amazing health care team, willing to offer exactly what you can afford - no more, no less.

Also, ensure that you don't already have benefits for chiropractic or naturopathic that you aren't using. Finally, consider bringing an offer of barter to the table if you are rich in one area, but not as cash-rich. Health care is for everyone, and we will always be accessible for you. All you need to do is ask. By this article I in no way want to challenge our clients to pay more than they can afford; I also thank those of you who pay the full fees through benefit insurance or out of pocket.