Since I was a young child, I watched helplessly as loved ones struggled with the mentalhealth issues of health anxiety and depression. I also painfully witnessed family andfriends become prey to substance abuse and alcoholism. As a result, I made acommitment to myself to study something in the health profession that could provideemotional and physical relief to those I cared about. It was at that point I decided topursue an undergraduate degree in psychology, with the intention to become apsychologist or psychiatrist. Through the twists and turns of life, I ended up in nursing school and, with a history ofchronic back pain, landed in a hospital receiving an emergency discectomyafter an injury in the clinic. This ended my nursing career. The chronic pain I experiencedwas excruciating prior to and after the operation.At this point in time, my mom began pursuing alternative treatments for herself for her menopausal symptoms. With success in alleviating her issues, she witnessed my struggles with emotional balance and chronic discomfort. Shortly after my surgery, she introduced me to essential oils and holistic healing in hopes it could assist me as well. A complete skeptic in anything unconventional, I read a 500+ page textbook onessential oils before I felt they were safe to use. The effects they had on my mind andbody were so profound that I paused my decision to proceed with a pharmacy school andbegan exploring the world of integrative medicine. It was through a serendipitous internet search that I found naturopathic medicine and decided this would be my career.I was excited to learn that I could support one’s health along with all aspects of theindividual that impact their thoughts and emotions. Later, I got certified in functionalmedicine to enhance my knowledge and clinical skills in personalized and systems-basedmedicine.

Through my own experience, my loved ones, and working with clients, I realized howmany people were silently struggling with mental health issues and how these wereintricately connected to their bodily imbalances. I felt frustrated with how conventionalmedicine and psychiatry separated the mind and body when I knew at the deepestlevel that they were connected and interwoven. I wanted to use my naturopathic andfunctional medicine background to enhance people’s belief that they too could findhealing, not just symptom relief, from emotional and physical scars. This created a passion in me to dedicate myself to empowering people with the knowledgeof their own innate healing ability. Through providing information to my clients, writing,and consulting work, my mission is to provide education to the public on the mind-bodyconnection, the role of the mindset in healing, and the importance of caring for the brain in all matters. I also stress how self-care and emotional balance are as important, if notmore so than any dietary or lifestyle intervention. Personalized medicine approaches that assess and correct hormonal, genetic,digestive, mitochondrial, neurological, psychological, metabolic, brain health, andlifestyle imbalances are important. Yet, these are not enough. In order for lastingtransformation to occur, one must get to the root of the issue. It is acknowledged today that stress creates and contributes to mental and physicalillness, but many ignore the deepest cause of it. This often lies buried in past hurts andtraumas that limit beliefs. These keep one stuck in mental and emotionalroadblocks and prevent the implementation of a successful lifestyle plan to achieve one’sgoals. A true, healing, therapeutic partnership with doctors and practitioners that can bepresent and witness all aspects of the individual, including their deepest wounds, is themost powerful intervention there is to remove these barriers.

I have always been interested in mental health and was amazed to learn how holistichealing impacted the mind and physical body in naturopathic medical school. Withinthe last few years of my 15 years + of practice, I decided to specifically devote myself tothe specialty of mental health. I feel that now is the time to fully cease mental health stigma. It is an unnecessary barrier to addressing brain health for betterpsychological balance and mental issues are nothing to be ashamed of.What excites me the most is connecting psychiatry with integrative medicine andexplaining the biological, chemical, structural, and functional differences that occurwithin the brain of one diagnosed with a mental health illness. I have seen time and timeagain that once these different imbalances of the brain are addressed and corrected, one’s emotional and mental health is optimized. This is usually followed by profoundhealing of the physical body.

I use an integrated approach to mind-body medicine. I take a thorough health history,incorporate conventional lab results and functional tests as necessary, and apply a naturopathic and functional medicine model to balancing the brain and body. I addressroot imbalances in all areas of wellness, including genetic predispositions, past traumasand adverse events, environmental exposures, hormonal, digestive, circulatory,neurological, psychological, and metabolic issues, and anything else that presents itself.I incorporate dietary, lifestyle, and supplemental support along with mind-bodytherapies, such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), yoga, and mindfulness, intoone’s wellness plan. I also have extensive knowledge and expertise in using essentialoils for mind-body balance. I know that once one believes they can heal and their brain becomes balanced, they are able to live unencumbered and able to pursue their passion and values. Health is a means to get there, not the destination. One of my greatest tools is being a present, accepting, empowering witness and partner to my clients as they heal and transform into their highest potential.