Over the past 50 years, there have been some dramatic changes in how children are raised, fed, and educated. In looking at both child-rearing practices and children’s education, one of the most obvious changes is this as a society, we seem to have lost our most basic common sense about the natural relationship between physical wellness and mental health, and in so doing we’ve forgotten how interconnected we really are to the natural world around us. Isn’t it concerning that 1 in every 12 children take a medication that has a significant and often unknown impact on their development in cognitive and neurological maturation?

As has always been true, children need good food, adequate sleep, plenty of fresh air and sunshine, and opportunities for physical work, play, and exercise. With these observations in mind, Naturopathic Wisdom provides a common sense roadmap for the implementation of safe naturopathic practices that are desperately needed for struggling children and teens. More specifically, this book will:

• Highlight relevant aspects of the author’s own illness-to-wellness story
• Share professional observations and insights gained from a mental health practice of 30+ years
• Propose simple, safe, naturopathic interventions for the physical and mental health conditions in children and teens
• Detail the research that supports these practices

Marlo Payne Thurman, PhD, began her career in 1992 as a private practice school psychologist. Through the years she has held positions with various group homes, mental health centers, hospital clinics, and schools in conjunction with providing assessment, advocacy, consultation, and counseling services in her practice to thousands of clients. For ten years she also owned and ran a special needs private school that made national headlines for successfully serving twice-exceptional students. Then, during the worst years of her own wellness journey, she returned to school and received her PhD in Special Education. Her first book, Autism is the Future, came out of that course of study. After receiving her PhD, she helped to design an autism certificate program and taught university classes at the University of Northern Colorado. She is now the President and Board Chair of the U.S. Autism Association. Always dividing her time between her private practice work, continuing education, and various charity endeavors, Marlo made the decision to pursue a final degree in the field of naturopathic medicine. This book is the culmination of that degree, as it combines her history, her personal wellness journey, and her remarkable insights as both an educator and mental health practitioner. Marlo lives in Colorado where she is an avid outdoor enthusiast and gardener.