Frequently Asked Questions

What is a naturopathic doctor?

Naturopathic doctors are doctors in that we diagnose and treat disease. However, we emphasize the healing process instead of the disease process.

Naturopaths believe that the body has an innate ability to heal itself. Medications and surgery are not the only means to relieve your symptoms. Your body began to malfunction and create a state of dis-ease. Our job is to find out why. Once we discover the root cause, we work to remove any obstacles in your path, and stimulate your body to begin healing itself.

 

What is the process to come see you?

  1. Fill out the new patient intake form

  2. Schedule a free 30 minute phone consultation. The purpose of the consultation is for me to get a better sense of your health history and goals, to answer any questions you may have, and for both of us to see if we would work well together.

  3. During our phone consultation, if we are a good fit to work together we schedule your first visit.  The first appointment lasts approximately 90 minutes. We will cover a head to toe health history and family history. If we have time, I will perform a physical exam. Then we will decide together which labs to run to find the cause of your ailments.

  4. Between the first and second visits I will review your labs and create a custom treatment plan for you.

  5. Third and subsequent visits we will check in, tweak the treatment plan, and run further labs if necessary. My goal is to find the cause of your ailments and get you feeling better.

How are naturopathic doctors trained?

All Naturopathic doctors graduating from nationally accredited naturopathic medical programs must fulfill the following criteria:

Four years of medical education
Two-year clinical internship
Two-step licensing exams

Basic science exams in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology and pathology
Clinical board exams in clinical and physical diagnosis, laboratory diagnosis, emergency medicine, pharmacology, psychology, clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, physical medicine, homeopathy and minor surgery

Do you take insurance?

No, naturopathic doctors in California cannot take insurance. You can use your FSA and HSA funds toward your visits. If you have a PPO health plan, you can pay for services at the time of the visit and I can supply a superbill that you submit to your insurance. Insurance plans vary and they may or may not reimburse naturopathic care.