Melanie Kusznireckyj

Melanie Kusznireckyj is an accredited Naturopathic Doctor with a general private practice located in Montreal, Quebec, near Mont-Royal. She is the Vice-President of the Quebec Association of Naturopathic Medicine (www.qanm.org).  In her practice she works with both pediatrics and adults looking for advice on prevention, complimentary, and/or alternative care.  She combines evidence-based medicine with traditional forms of medicine, facilitating an encompassing system from science and ancient or traditional healing practices. Her patients feel that by coming to an accredited ND, they have greater trust and emotional support for their health, well-being, and healing.

As a Montreal Naturopathic Doctor, Melanie looks forward to being a part of your health-care team!

More about Melanie…

I am a graduate of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, a 4-year post-graduate program. I completed my bachelors of science in Biology at the University of Ottawa, with specialty in ecology and botany. Before becoming a Naturopathic Doctor, I was a professional modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher. My enthusiasm for health, learning, and creativity have always been very important in my life. To this day, dance gives me my sense of well-being. Exploring creativity, of the self and soul, are essential elements to healing.

As the Vice-President of the Quebec Association of Naturopathic Medicine, I have the unique ability to work on achieving regulation for naturopathic medicine in Quebec, as is the norm for most provinces in Canada. The national association, the Canadian Association for Naturopathic Doctors (www.cand.ca) is working towards the regulation for naturopathic medicine in all Canadian provinces and is working with Health Canada for the regulation of Natural Health Products.

I have extended my training at the Canadian Academy of Homeopathy in Montreal with Dr Andre Saine. Here I am studying and applying pure (Hahnemannian) homeopathy to my practice. Homeopathy is the most important of the natural therapies as it addresses both the fundamental cause and susceptibility of disease. It is the most holistic medicine and follows people’s individuality and inherent nature.

The aim of homeopathy is to encourage recovery while lessening or eliminating suppression. Homeopathy is very useful either as an adjunctive care to conventional medicine, or as an alternative. There is a large-body of evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy when used correctly. The evidence of the efficacy of homeopathy during epidemics and other contagious diseases is published in many medical journals with very positive results.

I am working with Dr Saine in the completion of two books on homeopathy: one on Lippe, one of the best homeopathic physicians of our time, and the second on epidemics and homeopathy. These are much anticipated books and will unfold some very important knowledge on the art and practice of homeopathy.

During my studies, I had the chance to volunteer in Nicaragua with Natural Doctors International. This was an exceptional opportunity and influential experience. The founder of NDI, Tabatha Parker, has been actively working to establish global awareness of naturopathic medicine, and the need for grassroots initiatives to begin addressing some of the causes of disease in areas of the world without access to Western medicine. We worked on the Island of Ometepe in Nicaragua.

During my fourth year rotation, I also had the chance to work at Sherbourne HIV clinic and the Queen West Walk-in clinic in Toronto, Ontario.

Why did I become a Naturopathic Doctor?

My first experience with complementary and alternative medicine was when I had a terrible injury during my early dance career. It was a devastation to stop dancing, and the thought that I could no longer dance made it that much worse to heal. I went from medical doctor, to physiotherapist, to chiropractor, to acupuncturist, to osteopath… you name it… when it comes to pain management, I tried anything to be able to get myself back to dance. Nothing was working at the time.

I decided to give up dance and return to University and explore something else. I did not have a good sense as to what I wanted to do as a career, so I took general courses in biology and health sciences, perhaps thinking about medical school down the line.  My favorite courses were botany, tropical ecology, and world ecology. Essentially, issues regarding health and sustainability. During this time, I also worked in research at the McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment on the use of cell phones and the risk of brain tumors. The results from the study are not yet conclusive, however I soon discovered by interviewing patients the magnitude of our environment on our health — since the controlling variables of this study were occupation and living establishments — and that really, it is not necessarily the environment, but how our body responds to different stressors in the environment. Essentially, we can research the risk factors in the environment on our health, but ultimately it is the susceptibility of the individual to these influences, and how they respond.

Thinking about medical school, I volunteered at many hospitals. I observed my mother in her nursing career. The same issues kept coming up – a system that is unsustainable and over-burdened, with focus on fear and disease rather than prevention and health.

It wasn’t until I stumbled across the website for the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine that I felt all my worlds collide. What better way to bridge the gap between an over-burdened health care system, preventative medicine, mind-body medicine, and sustainability? As a naturopathic doctor, I have the unique ability to help people get well to their greatest potential and work towards a more sustainable health care system.

There are three basic tenets to my naturopathic  practice: first, to get informed. Second, to have good judgment. And third, a desire to heal and get better.