Integrative Medicine

Holistic Medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses care of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. The practice of Integrative medicine combines conventional and complementary therapies to promote optimal health and to prevent and treat disease by addressing contributing factors.

In practice this means that every person is seen as a unique individual, rather than an example of a particular disease. Disease is understood to be the result of physical, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental imbalance. Healing therefore takes place naturally when these aspects of life are brought into proper balance. The role of the practitioner is as guide, mentor and role model; the patient must do the work - changing lifestyle, beliefs and old habits in order to facilitate healing.

An Integrative practitioner: 1) views the patient as being ultimately responsible for his/her well being; 2) fosters and maintains a partnership with the patient, using therapies which both feel comfortable; 3) evaluates and recommends treatment options that address the cause of an illness, as well as the symptoms.

In addition to conventional therapies, the holistic practitioner may encompasses a variety of complementary or "alternative" and may, such as use of herbal preparations, biofeedback, acupuncture and other systems of treatment.

' Life and Wellness Coaching

Coaching is . . . a collaborative partnership of equals based on commitment to each other and to the client's success in personal and business goals

One definition, according to the International Coach Federation, is:
Professional Coaching is a professional partnership between a qualified coach and an individual or team that supports the achievement of extraordinary results, based on goals set by the individual or team. Through the process of coaching, individuals focus on the skills and actions needed to successfully produce their personally relevant results.

The individual or team chooses the focus of conversation, while the coach listens and contributes observations and questions as well as concepts and principles which can assist in generating possibilities and identifying actions. . . . Coaching accelerates the individual's or team's progress by providing greater focus and awareness of possibilities leading to more effective choices. Coaching concentrates on where individuals are now and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be in the future. . . . Results are a matter of the individual's or team's intentions, choices and actions, supported by the coach's efforts and application of coaching skills, approaches and methods.

Coaching is also:
- A relatively new profession dedicated to fomenting change in people and organizations

- One of the few partnerships in which both partners are focused on the success of one partner

- An effective way to smooth transitions and develop creative solutions

- Not ever about clients being pushed against their will

The Difference Between Coaching and Counseling
Coaching is Relationship Based. It is Neither Therapy Nor Counseling

Professional coaching focuses on an individual’s life as it relates to setting goals, creating results, and managing personal change. Because coaching is a relatively new profession, and because it implements skills drawn from other helping and consultative disciplines, people often want to know: what’s the difference between counseling (or therapy) and coaching?

We’ve set out a number of different ways of looking at the different disciplines of coaching and psychotherapy, and we will examine them in increasing depth as we go down the page.

Let’s say you wanted to learn to climb a tree. If you hired a:
Therapist, the therapist would help you find out what might be holding you back from climbing a tree. He would delve into your past to discover what kinds of experience you have had with trees and climbing.

Consultant, the consultant would bring you an owner’s manual and tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the physics of climbing and the specifics of the tree. The consultant would then leave you. She might return six months later to see how you had managed the actual climbing part.

Mentor , the mentor would share her experiences of climbing trees and the wisdom and lessons she had learned in her more rich experience with the matter.

Coach, the coach would strap you to the tree, strap herself on the other side of the tree, and encourage, endorse, acknowledge and support you until you felt comfortable enough climb the tree alone.

Acupuncture is the insertion of very thin needles into the skin to balance the body's energies and improve health. Health is restored by stimulating certain points on energy pathways, called meridians, to balance the flow of Qi ("chee") and Blood. These points have been used for more than 2000 years to regulate the body's flow of energy through the 12 major meridians that traverse the entire body. The meridians have specific spots, or acupuncture points, on the skin that are used like switches or gates to redirect energy flow to effectively treat many conditions

How Does Acupuncture Compare To Conventional Medicine?
In order to get a complete picture of the patient's health and the possible causes of their illness, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners ask many questions. Many of the questions may not seem relevant to the condition at all, but little pieces of information add up to a better diagnosis and treatment plan. Acupuncturists also use the tongue and pulse differently to assess the patients' condition. In Chinese Medicine there are 28 different ways to classify the pulse. More information can be obtained from "reading" a pulse than just its rate. Similarly, there are many different "tongue types," that are based on characteristics (such as the moistness of the tongue's coating, color and thickness, among others) which is used to support a diagnosis or lead to another.

Acupuncture Benefits Many Conditions

Endocrine	Obesity
PCOS	Adrenal Fatigue
Respiratory Diseases	Acute sinusitis
Acute rhinitis	Common cold
Acute tonsillitis	Acute bronchitis
Bronchial asthma	Cardiac disorders
Palpitations	High Blood Pressure
Skin disorders	Urticaria
Eczema	Dermatitis NOS
Musculoskeletal disorders	Musculoskeletal conditions (Back Pain, Knee pain, Shoulder pain, Neck pain, etc)
Carpal tunnel syndrome	Tendonitis
Plantar fasciitis	Tension Headaches
Tennis elbow	Golfer’s elbow
Sciatica	Low back pain
Rheumatoid arthritis	Intercostal neuralgia
Bursitis (Hip, Shoulder, knee, foot)	Gastrointestinal Disorders
Spasm of the esophagus and cardia	Hiccups
Gastroptosis	Acute and chronic gastritis
Gastric hyperacidity	Chronic duodenal ulcer
Acute and chronic colitis	Acute bacterial dysentery
Constipation	Diarrhea
Paralytic ileus	Nausea
Neurologic Disorders	Headache
Migraine	Trigeminal neuralgia
Facial paralysis	Paralysis after apoplectic fit
Peripheral neuropathy	Paralysis caused by poliomyelitis
Meniere's syndrome	Nocturnal enuresis
Paralysis after stroke	Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD)
Migraines	Seizure disorder
Psychiatric Disorders	Insomnia
Anxiety	Depression
Gynecological Disorders	Dysmenorrhea
Heavy menstrual cycle	Irregular menstrual cycle
Painful menstrual cycle	Menopausal symptoms
Vaginitis	Urologic disorders
Overactive Bladder	Neurogenic bladder dysfunction
Cystitis	Prostatitis, Chronic
Eye Disorders	Acute conjunctivitis
Cataract (without complications)	Myopia
Central retinitis	Disorders of the Mouth Cavity
Toothache	Pain after tooth extraction
Gingivitis	Pharyngitis
TMJ disorder	Disorders of the Ears
Ear Pain	Otitis Media
Tinnitus	Vertigo
Nasal disorders	Rhinitis
Allergies

Our physician supervised weight loss program includes medical assessment, nutritional and fitness counseling, as well as the introduction to our natural weight loss nutritional supplement line. The time spent in our program is will depend on the desired weight loss. Complementary modalities such as body and ear acupuncture may be used if appropriate. Our program is designed to complement other popular weight loss plans or stand alone depending on the client needs. We individualized our plans to fit the client. Lifestyle modification is strongly emphasized, and forming new eating and exercise habits is encouraged throughout the program. Once goal weight is obtained, a maintenance plan will be provided so that the client can continue with their new lifestyle in order to maintain his/her new thinner self.

Initial weight loss consultation

The initial visit will consist of medical and dietary history taking, a comprehensive medical exam, and an electronic body analysis followed by nutritional and fitness counseling with the doctor. You will be introduced to and offered our wellness package, which includes specifically formulated vitamin, mineral, superfood antioxidant and weight loss supplements. Your weight loss program will be designed and provided for you at the time of your first visit so that you leave with everything you need to get started in creating the new you!

Follow up visits

Follow up visits are designed to monitor progress and consist of weigh in, monitoring of body fat, review of eating habits and exercise program with modifications if necessary. Continued encouragement and support is given and questions are addressed at this time. The frequency of follow up visits decrease gradually as the client continues to make progress and remain consist with his/her program.