HEALTH COUNSELING & ADVOCACY

What is Medical Advocacy?

The reality of modern healthcare is that most physicians don’t have the time to invest in understanding the complete needs of each individual patient—and, in my experience, few doctors follow up with patients after a diagnosis or prescription. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that each of us take the helm of our own healthcare. As a medical advocate, I will help you understand your lab work, medications, and medical history in order to ask better questions and get better outcomes from your medical team. 

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Health Counseling: Working from the Big Picture

I take time to deeply evaluate your individual constellation of issues, look for gaps in your care, and consider places where natural remedies can be supportive. For each client, I begin with a comprehensive intake session so I understand the care and treatments you're receiving. I want to know what you've tried before and what your frustrations are with your current care and treatment. We'll also look at your labs and reports.. By placing a high priority on your physical and emotional needs, I am able to guide you to holistic solutions.  

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Nutrition: Unraveling Facts from Folklore

Medical science has been surprisingly slow to develop a deeper understanding of human nutrition and the result has been decades of fads and bad advice.  Many of the prevailing guidelines of the past 50 years are being
re-evaluated and, sometimes, debunked by current clinical analysis. At the same time, popular diets such as Paleo and vegan make contradictory claims. I’ve spent decades studying nutrition and wellness to cut through the hype and misinformation . It is an ongoing and frustrating process because the field is constantly evolving, underfunded, largely unregulated, and tainted with commercial marketing. I can help you make sense of how diet and nutrition influence your health and then work with your medical team to ensure you have a sensible, individual plan to support your healing and well being. 

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Medicinal Plants: Bringing Nature to Wellbeing

Plants manufacture chemicals for their own use and protection—and humans have used these natural constituents for thousands of years for health and healing.  The World Health Organization estimates that currently 80% of the world’s population relies on medicinal plants as their primary source of treatment. In the United States, 118 of the top 150 prescription drugs are derived from plant compounds. (1)  
 

By returning to the the source and understanding the plants themselves, we can benefit directly from their medicinal gifts. As a Clinical Herbalist, I synthesize my knowledge of botany and human physiology to evaluate health challenges from multiple angles and develop new and complementary approaches to health and well being. Through extensive research, I evaluate folk and indigenous healing modalities within the context of contemporary scientific inquiry to help bring our understanding of medicinal botany into the modern age. 

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I provide guidance on plant-derived compounds that can assist with a variety of ailments.  In addition to directing clients to the best sources for these supplements, I also grow and wildcraft plants with which I make herbal medicine and custom formulations here in my studio. (1) Center for Biological Diversity, Medicinal Plants at Risk Report, 2008.