Naturopath

Holism – Key To Health & Healing

Being able to draw on other areas of healing, including naturopathy, LOA principles and mind–body approaches, can enhance the results that come from well-prescribed homœopathic medicines. After more than 30 years practising as a Homœopath and Naturopath in Inner West Sydney, I understand health, healing and wellbeing, and I know what it takes to use natural approaches to help someone enjoy their best possible health and healing.

There are many reasons for this, but what can make all the difference for some, is addressing the mindset that goes along with enjoying the best health possible.

You are not going to be as healthy as you can be by taking an array of supplements from the health food shop, self-prescribing, nor from a quick over the counter consultation. Depending on what’s being treated, even 1 or 2 consultations will not be enough for you to get the results you’re looking for.

I believe for you to be as healthy as you can be with a strong sense of wellbeing, carefully prescribed medicines and being persistent & consistent with your treatments are key ways to help you. This, along side the right mindset, is a potent combination that may significantly influence your health in a positive way.

“I believe you simply cannot enjoy your best possible health, healing or wellbeing if you don’t have the mindset to match.”

Andrew Collishaw, Homoeopath & Naturopath, Sydney. 2023

Naturopathy In A Holistic Approach to Health

Traditional naturopathic principles may play an important role in your homœopathic treatment when they help enhance your overall health and healing.

Over the last 200 years or so, the term Naturopathy has lost much of its original 18th-century European meaning. Historically, naturopathy referred to a holistic lifestyle rooted “close to Mother Nature,” with practices such as fasting, eating wholesome unrefined foods, sunbathing, and using herbal medicines.

Today, the word has become an umbrella term (inaccurately) covering a wide range of modalities — including nutritional therapy, herbal medicine, homœopathy, bodywork, and remedial massage — even though each of these is a complete system in its own right. Modern naturopathy has also become heavily medicalised, with natural medicines often used pharmacologically to target specific symptoms rather than to treat holistically. This shift has been driven, at least in part, by commercial interests and the highly profitable supplement industry.

Andrew holds dearly and closely to the underlying principles of traditional naturopathy that promotes healing and wellbeing through a genuinely holistic approach as well taking advantage of the very lates scientific research when appropriate, to help you get the best results possible.

In practice, this means Andrew may use selected herbal medicines, nutritional protocols, lifestyle adjustments, or mind–body approaches, always in a way that complements and strengthens your homœopathic treatment.

How I Can Help You?

– After helping thousands of clients over more than 30 years, you benefit from extensive clinical experience across both Homœopathy and Naturopathy.

– A Bachelor of Medical Science (Hons Div 1, University of Sydney) combined with formal Naturopathic training gives you the best of both worlds, traditional healing methods supported by up-to-date scientific understanding.

– Carefully prescribed Homœopathic and Naturopathic treatments are matched with the latest research and traditional principles to help you achieve the best possible results.

– LOA stategies and mind–body approaches may be used to positively influence your thinking & emotional state, reinforcing your healing and overall sense of wellbeing. Better health, healing and wellbeing are always strengthened by a supportive and positive mindset.

– Postgraduate training in Australia and internationally (including The Other Song Academy in India) ensures you receive the highest standard of Homœopathic and Naturopathic care, integrating the most current treatment approaches with traditional wisdom.

– When appropriate, I’m happy to collaborate with your GP or specialist to ensure you receive the most integrated and comprehensive care possible.

Fundamental Nutrition – A Naturopathic Perspective

Nutrition forms an essential foundation for long-term health. When your body receives consistently high-quality nourishment over time, your resilience, energy and immunity naturally improve. When nutrition is lacking, susceptibility to illness and ongoing symptoms often increases. Supporting your eating patterns can therefore play an important role in your overall homœopathic treatment.

Food sensitivities and intolerances are a common part of modern naturopathy and may be relevant in your case, but they are only one small piece of the picture. Avoiding certain foods is rarely enough. What matters most is identifying why the sensitivities developed in the first place. This is where a holistic approach becomes important and using homœopathic, herbal or nutritional support to help restore balance to the immune and digestive systems rather than just managing symptoms.

Most people today take a variety of supplements. They are certainly used in this practice, but only when they genuinely support your deeper healing. The real question is always why:

– Why is the microbiome out of balance?
– Why has a nutrient deficiency developed?
– Does the body truly need more magnesium, zinc or anything else?

When these questions are explored holistically rather than assuming supplementation is always the answer, we can choose the most effective therapeutic approach for you, which does not always involve supplements.

As a Homœopath and Naturopath in Australia, my approach to nutrition is practical, grounded, and focused on helping you achieve the best possible results as part of your broader treatment plan.

Pathological Testing

Pathology testing can be useful, but it’s not the starting point. In this clinic, testing is secondary to understanding you, your symptoms, your history, your constitution and the broader patterns behind your health. Conventional tests follow a simple “A-causes-B” model of disease, while holistic care looks for the deeper reasons your system has shifted out of balance.

It’s also worth saying this directly: junior practitioners often rely heavily on testing, whereas an experienced clinician is far less dependent on it. With over 30 years in practice, I find that a thorough, skilled case-taking process often reveals what testing later confirms, simply because you know what you’re looking for.

When testing is needed, it’s used selectively and only when it genuinely helps guide your treatment. Some of the commonly used investigations include:

• hormonal balance profiles
• comprehensive digestive stool analysis
• microbiome assessment
• liver function and detoxification markers
• mould and environmental sensitivity testing
• allergy and food sensitivity assessments
• metabolic profiling

Testing can be helpful, but the real progress comes from working holistically, interpreting the full picture, and not treating numbers in isolation.

Herbal Medicine

A Stand-Alone System That Strengthens Your Treatment

While our knowledge of herbal medicine dates back to ancient cultures, its applications have been continually refined—particularly over the last two centuries into a sophisticated system of medicine that can support better health and natural healing. Herbal medicine can be used for a wide range of conditions and may also play a role in strengthening the body’s resilience. At the Andrew James Healing Centre, herbal medicine is an important part of the treatment options I use when appropriate.

My use of herbal medicine is very different from over-the-counter products or quick, symptom-based prescribing. Each herbal prescription is chosen with care to match your individual needs and to work in harmony with your homœopathic treatment. This holistic approach looks at your whole state of health and not just the symptom you want relief from, allowing for better health, healing and wellbeing.

Sydney Naturopath – Supplement Warning!

Just about everyone is taking nutritional or herbal supplements, a probiotic of one sort or another, magnesium, fish oils – and the list goes on. This has become a multi-billion dollar industry which motivates heavy marketing and the quick over-the-counter sales of these supplements at health shops, chemists and supermarkets.

“This has become one of the reasons that many of the clients we see
are not getting the results they are looking for
or that their progress has plateaued out and they are not getting any better”

According to Complementary Medicines Australia, the Australian complementary medicines industry has grown to approximately A$6.2 billion, with forecasts of continued growth at around 5.7% annually through to 2029.¹ This level of expansion reflects the strong commercial drivers behind supplement promotion, a trend that often prioritises sales over genuinely holistic, individualised care.

Reference:
¹ Complementary Medicines Australia, Industry Snapshot 2024.