In 2010 the Regional Government of Lombardy, Italy, provided financial and technical support to WHO (World Health Organization) for the development and publication of the “Benchmarks for training in traditional/complementary and alternative medicine”, as part of the implementation of collaborative projects with WHO in the field of traditional medicine.

INTRODUCTION

In general, naturopathy emphasizes prevention, treatment and the promotion of optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and modalities which encourage the self-healing process – the vis medicatrix naturae. The philosophical approaches of naturopathy include prevention of disease, encouragement of the body's inherent healing abilities, natural treatment of the whole person, personal responsibility for one's health, and education of patients in health-promoting lifestyles.

According to WHO,  Naturopathy experts distinguish two types of naturopathic training in function of prior training and clinical experience of trainees:

• Type I training programs are aimed at those who have no prior medical or other health-care training or experience. This is the Holistic Natural Health approach, which forms Naturopaths or Natural Health Practitioners in Canadian provinces like Quebec,  Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, as well the majority of countries in Europe, like Italy or Poland

• Type II training programs are aimed at those with medical or other health care training (western medicine, dentistry, chiropraxis, osteopathy, etc). This is the Medical Allopathic Naturopathy approach, which forms Medical Naturopathic Physicians in Ontario and most provinces in Canada.

Syllabus
The Type I program includes four primary areas of study:
• basic sciences • clinical sciences • naturopathic sciences, modalities and principles • clinical training and application.
Basic sciences include: anatomy, physiology, pathology.
Clinical sciences include: taking a patient history and clinical assessment; physical examination; hygiene and public health, etc..
Naturopathic sciences, modalities and principles include: naturopathic history and practice; nature cure; nutrition; hydrotherapy; botanical medicine; homeopathy and tissue salts; Bach flower therapy; stress management and lifestyle counselling; ethics and jurisprudence; optional courses.
Clinical training may include supervised clinical training.

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The Alternative Medicine College of Canada, in Quebec, offers the Type I training program, explained in the document: “Benchmarks for training in traditional/complementary and alternative medicine”. “This program is designed to produce holistic practitioners who are qualified to practise as primary-contact and primary-care practitioners. This type of program consists of a minimum of two years of full-time study (or its equivalent) of no fewer than 1500 hours, including no less than 400 hours of supervised clinical training.”