Whole system research of naturopathy and medical herbalism for improving mood and reducing anxiety

While research on complementary medicine products is on the rise, study of the real life practice and outcomes of naturopathy and medical herbalism is nascent, thus exploration of the effectiveness and safety of this system of medicine is urgently required. This paper explores considerations of whole system research of naturopathic practice, discussing challenges and strengths of this method and provides advice on pursuing this type of research. An example of a current study underway is presented: The Naturopathic Medicine for Improving Mood and Reducing Anxiety Study. The Australian 16 week observational study of naturopathy for treating depressed mood or anxiety has an aspirational goal to collect data over an 18 month period from over 200 client participants (aged 18-70) with either ongoing depression and/or anxiety. Mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety are prevalent and socioeconomically destructive conditions that represent a major treatment focus for clinicians, thus research of this area is vital. The use of a whole system research design to evaluate the efficacy and safety of naturopathic medicine as it is actually practiced will provide benefit to both the profession and the public by potentially validating its therapeutic benefits. Naturalistic pilot studies, such as the one detailed above, provide a platform for future larger scale research using a rigorous controlled design.