Holistic Mental Health

My deep belief that there is a deeper cause to our physical ailments led me to my path of becoming a naturopathic doctor. When I began working with patient’s in school I saw so clearly that unaddressed trauma and mental health concerns were contributing to imbalances in the body. This led me to focus on mental health during my residency.  The mind-body connection is mainstream and researched supported, and yet it is often missing from many clinical experiences. Holistic mental health to me means that there is essentially no separation between the mind and the body. Both need to be addressed in order to achieve balance. This is my goal with each and every patient. I have experience helping people navigate anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADD/ADHD, HSP, insomnia, OCD, and burnout

LGBTQ+ Affirming care

As a queer person myself, I know how vulnerable it is to seek out health care providers. Seeking health care is already incredibly challenging let alone when you have to explain things like pronouns, gender identity, or sexual practices. I offer LGBTQ+ affirming care and I have worked with many individuals in the process of navigating gender-affirming care including hormone therapy.

Hormone Optimization

This term is thrown around a lot in the wellness space, but here is what it means to me; your period should not suck or dictate your life. You should have the pleasure of waking up in the morning with a decent amount of energy and that should gradually fall throughout the day. You should sleep soundly and restfully at night. If this doesn’t sound like you, or you are struggling to get pregnant, don’t know what’s up with your period, losing hair, having difficulty maintaining a weight that feels good to you, or not sleeping well at night- those are some clues that something is out of balance hormonally. Regardless of your gender expression, I can help you navigate the symphony that is your endocrine system and get you feeling better. 

Digestive Health

Research continues to emphasize that our digestion impacts our entire body, including our mental health. In fact, the gut is often referred to as the second brain. Imbalances in this part of the body can impact our hormones, mood, and immune system. Because of this, I ask every single patient about their digestion and have taken many additional trainings and courses to better support my patients experiencing imbalances. I can help you if you are experiencing acid reflux, IBS, IBD, SIBO, fungal infections, dysbiosis, constipation, or gas and bloating.

Weight Neutral Medicine

I believe strongly that body weight is independent of overall health. I do not help patients lose weight and never prescribe weight loss. I believe that health is possible at every size (this is strongly supported by research) and that when medical providers look at weight as a marker of health, often things are missed and patients of all body sizes are negatively impacted. I do believe in optimizing health and we can work together to reduce inflammation in the body, heal disordered eating habits, reduce blood pressure and improve insulin sensitivity, heal digestion and hormonal imbalances. Sometimes weight change happens as a side effect of improving overall health, but is never the targeted goal.

Disordered Eating

With my mind-body emphasis along with a weight-neutral medicine approach, I have helped many people heal their relationship with food and disordered eating patterns. I am also versed in addressing the things that tend to go along with disordered eating including trauma, anxiety, depression, IBS, and OCD. My preference is to work alongside a therapist and registered dietician for patients with active eating disorders, but I will always meet you where you are at as long as you are medically safe and stable. I have a number of colleagues I work closely with and can help you put together a team of providers if needed.

Chronic Pain

I believe that chronic pain is often a signal that something is out of balance and the way of the body communicating to us. Bodies can tell the story of our lives and sometimes the pain. My goals with chronic pain are to educate my patients on how their body works and work with the nervous system to reduce their pain experience. I have worked with patients experiencing fibromyalgia, ehlers danlos, and rheumatological conditions reduce their pain experience.