Gibt es einen Unterschied zwischen Naturheilkunde und Alternativmedizin?
Is there a difference between naturopathy and alternative medicine?
In the field of alternative medicine, there are various terms that are often used synonymously or are only vaguely differentiated from one another. There is no fixed difference between the two terms.
The word part "alternative" of"Alternative medicine"generally refers to the position of alternative medicine in the healthcare system: namely as an alternative to conventional medicine. The term is therefore primarily used to differentiate it. Incidentally, various circles take offense at this and prefer terms such as "complementary medicine" - i.e. not a counterpart to conventional medicine, but a supplement. The term "integrative medicine" - medicine that incorporates conventional medicine and traditional health teachings - also goes in this direction.
Naturopathyis a term that distinguishes itself from conventional medicine in terms of content (roughly: Natural remedies versus chemically produced drugs and medical technology). In addition, "naturopathy" is often used in connection with the European healing tradition. Accordingly, one of the four specializations of the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) for "Naturopaths with a Federal Diploma" is called "Traditional European Naturopathy (TEN)" (cf. e.g. the specialization "Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)").
