Herbs work to enhance & balance physiology directly addressing causes contributing to health challenges (e.g. auto-immune complications, allergies, digestive issues, hormone imbalances, pain, etc.).

Herbs work to compensate for a variety of other causes (e.g. attitudes to life, emotional /physical trauma, age, climate, etc.) that they cannot directly address. However, herbs can support the body immensely, while these causes are directly addressed through diet, lifestyle and/or other modalities (i.e. Conventional Medicine, Acupuncture, Psychotherapy, Energy Medicine, Yoga Therapy, etc.

I combine both western herbal medicine with integrative nutrition when working with clients.

Western herbal medicine (aka. botanical medicine, phytotherapy, herbalism, etc.) is a modern form of herbal medicine that integrates the latest in modern science with traditional western herbal medicine as practiced in North America (e.g. Eclectic, Physiomedicalist & Thompsonian) and Europe (e.g. Greek & Roman).  Additionally, my approach incorporates concepts & approaches from various traditional medicinal systems of the world (e.g. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Ayurveda, Unani-Tibb, Cherokee).

Integrative nutrition takes a holistic approach to using whole foods and nutrition to affect your health.

For example, in my practice I review blood work from a functional perspective combined with traditional tongue assessment. The blood work may uncover functional gastrointestinal imbalances, which may also show up in the tongue. This approach marries traditional & modern assessment techniques, leading to better outcomes.

I predominantly use herbs from North America & Europe, however, I leverage Ayurvedic, Chinese & Latin American herbs where appropriate. In all, I work with close to 350 herbs, allowing me to choose the right set herbs for the right person. Additionally, I incorporate nutrition and lifestyle assessment approaches.

You find details about my qualifications here:  Qualifications

I’m more concerned with “you”, than your health challenge(s). How is life showing up for you, how does it look, how does it feel. How can we support your body & mind to promote health, tailoring everything to you and your circumstances. This personalized type of approach leads to much better outcomes, greater satisfaction for you and it plays to the strengths of an integrative health approach. Your health challenge(s) are usually addressed as a by-product of this type of approach.

I’m not a doctor, so I do not diagnose or treat conditions or diseases. However, herbs, combined with nutrition & lifestyle changes support the body in achieving balance in quite unique & powerful ways.

There are limitations associated to herbal medicine. Areas where its effective, safe & appropriate and areas where it is not safe, effective nor appropriate in comparison to other modalities (e.g. pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, therapeutic massage, counseling, acupuncture, etc.).  In situations where what I have to offer is NOT sufficient nor appropriate and other modalities may be of benefit, I definitely will let you know and offer potential alternates to explore. Furthermore, these other modalities are not in my scope of practice or expertise, so to assess their appropriateness is something that must be done by practitioners of those modalities. As a result, I collaborate with other practitioners on your care team, so you can make the most informed decision.

I believe having access to an array of other modalities & approaches serves my clients the best, as each modality has its strengths & weaknesses and is appropriate, effective & safe to varying degrees in different situations. I’m absolutely open to whatever works for you & the other members of your care team.

Unfortunately, my services are NOT covered by insurance, even if I wanted to accept insurance.

The way my services are structured & the way I practice from the longer appointment times to the perspectives, tools & approaches I use to the personalized care I offer, does not fit into the mainstream conventional model of healthcare, which is supported by health insurance.  Typically, any services that don’t fit that model, are not covered. However, remember that sometimes conventional care is not sufficient to meet you health goals and its in those cases, that services like mine, provide new possibilities for healing.

There are some minor exceptions, where you might be able to get partial coverage through your insurance provider, but you’ll have to speak to them about that. I can definitely provide you with a receipt to facilitate the process.

You don’t have to, since I work with clients remotely!  Consultations are conducted using Skype Video calls using your computer.

You can see shifts within a few days or sometimes it can take a month or two. Results come gradually over time. Depending on what you are coming in to work on and the complexity of what is going on. We might need to only have 3 appointments or we may need to work together long-term over 4 months, 6 months, etc. It all depends on your goals and your health status.

Blood chemistries and labs can reveal tremendous amounts of information about how well or unwell your body is functioning, with great detail & accuracy. This helps me assemble a more effective and safe integrative health program to achieve your health goals.

I review blood chemistries or other labs from a functional perspective, which helps to reveal functional imbalances with the goal of preventive care and optimizing health.  Most naturopathic doctors (ND) and functional medicine doctors  interpret labs in this fashion. This approach differs from the way conventional medical practitioners interpret labs. They are typically concerned with disease diagnosis & treatment, interpreting labs from that perspective & goal in mind, which makes sense since they diagnose & treat disease. Since, I don’t diagnose or treat diseases, its not appropriate for me to interpret blood chemistries in this fashion. I instead use labs to assess your overall health status and functional status of various organs & systems of the body (e.g. Digestive, Cardiovascular, Kidneys, Liver, etc.) helping me see where the body can use support.

Interpreting labs from a functional perspective, takes much longer to do, making it prohibitively time consuming in a conventional medical setting, where appointment times are much shorter. On the other hand, I have the adequate time to read the blood work in this fashion.

Let me give you an example of how this could be useful. After interpreting your labs, I might uncover functional imbalances in your gastrointestinal tract, such as decreased HCL production in your stomach, which in turn could be affecting your nutrient status.  Using traditional tongue assessment, the same imbalance could show up on your tongue and this could further be supported by signs & symptoms indicative of such an imbalance.  This gives me enough confidence that this imbalance could exist and should be addressed via your Integrative  Health Program.  The program could include the use of herbal formulas, mindful eating practices and/or particular foods that stimulate & restore normal HCL production. This type of a holistic approach moves you towards more optimal health, gently & safely, while at the same time helping to prevent the onset of serious health challenges in the future.

I am not a doctor, physician or primary care provider.  My services should not be a replacement for your doctor, physician or primary care provider, they are complementary to the services these practitioners provide. These professionals have a particular set of training & expertise that enables them to cover a wide range of  health-related challenges.

The services I provide offer an complementary & unique set of tools and perspectives to help you on your path to healing, acting as a great complement to conventional care, particularly when conventional care might not be sufficient enough to meet your health & wellness goals.

The university I trained at, Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH), I feel has captured what integrative health practitioners like myself believe:

• We believe that the health outcomes are achieved when we understand and use the best of contemporary science as well as traditional, nature-based wisdom.
• We believe in using the least invasive approach possible to achieve improvement.
• We believe that the patient/client is at the center of every healing experience.
• We believe that the relationship between patient/client and practitioner is sacred and critical for healing.
• We believe that the body is wise and knows how to heal if given the opportunity and, optimal environment, and supportive treatment and tools for change.
• We believe that symptoms can be our teachers and can help us to take action toward positive change.
• We believe that the mind, body and spirit are one and that healing is possible on all levels.

Source:  Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) Nature Care Center

Health Insurance does not cover my services, as a result fees are 100% out-of-pocket.  The current insurance-based model of care, is currently not designed to cover the type of service I offer.

I spend more time on your case, than a conventional medical practitioner typically would. Remember, I work with clients who have complex chronic health challenges. Inspite of having worked with numerous conventional medical practitioners and having tried numerous conventional treatments, they have not achieved their health goals. To get at the root cause of their complex situation, it takes a much different approach, one that that requires much more time to investigate.

Over-the-counter Herbal Supplements are pre-formulated herbal products designed generically for everyone and they can be purchased from a store. They can be effective but they unfortunately aren’t fully tapping the therapeutic potential of herbs.

All the worlds major herbal medicine systems (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Unani-Tibb, etc.) had complex systems for creating herbal formulas specific to the patient, which yielded powerful, safe and effective formulas. I use a similar system to produce a much more powerful, safe & effective formula for you. A formula may contain anywhere from 7-9 herbs, each herb being considered from multiple angles (below), which isn’t factored in when creating generic herbal formulas:

• Modern Herbal Actions
• Traditional Herbal Actions
• Energetics
• Taste
• Phytochemistry
• Specific Indications
• Modern Scientific Research
• Modern Use
• Traditional Use
• Dosing
• Herbal Synergies
• Contraindications
• and more…

Its way to complex to go into herbal formulation here, but I will be posting an article to give you a feel for it.

Additionally, when working with herbal medicines you need make sure they are good quality or else you won’t get the results you hope for or any results at all.  Here are a few things that will help ensure the herbal medicines you are using are of good quality:

• You actually have the correct herb
• The correct part of the plant is being used
• The herb has been cultivated in the correct way
• The herb has been harvested in the correct way
• The herb has been processed in the correct way
• The medicine has been made in the correct way
• and more…

All of the above is taken care of when you work with me, I’ve vetted and reviewed all of this when I custom formulate for you. I’ve been trained by some of the best when it comes to this.