Whether you’re suffering from a recent ailment or a chronic condition, naturopathic medicine works deeply and treats the whole person: the physical symptoms as well as the mental and emotional. Treating the underlying causes removes and cures the problem.
When you come to Natural Panacea, I will listen to you in order to find the underlying problems and then use gentle, natural therapies to restore and optimize your health. Naturopathic treatments include diet and nutrition, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, vitamins and supplements.
Dr. Phillips has a general practice that focuses on both men's and women's health care, as well as infants, children, and elderly patients. Naturopathic medicine is extremely effective in treating infertility, acute illnesses such as sciatica or sinusitis, chronic illnesses such as digestive problems, auto-immune disease and insomnia; as well as mental-emotional problems.
Approaching health through diet is one of the most important tools that naturopaths have. Diet influences gut health, general inflammation, immune system strength – and much more. Dietary changes are used to improve general well-being, maximize nutritional status, treat a certain health condition, or detoxify the body. I will examine your current diet and nutritional intake, and help you discover which key nutrients you’re missing. Clinical nutrition also pinpoints which foods your body may be sensitive toward, and which may be causing or aggravating your health issues.
My experience as a chef is very complementary when it comes to facilitating delicious changes to your diet. My experience as a naturopath helps me to teach you why you need to make changes as well as what constitutes ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food choices. In addition, nutritional supplementation (vitamins & minerals) is often recommended to treat an ongoing health concern or prevent future problems.
Naturopathic doctors use herbs in many different ways: to support and improve organ and endocrine function, to balance hormones and the immune system, and to treat any acute conditions such as allergies & asthma. Herbs can be taken as a tincture (liquid extract), tea, encapsulated, as food, or even topically as a salve or poultice.
Traditional Chinese medicine (or TCM for short) is a form of medicine that has been practised for thousands of years in China, and is still being used today due to its incredible effectiveness. Its primary treatments include acupuncture, herbal medicine, and tuina (similar to massage). These focus on physical, emotional, and spiritual health. It is based on the idea that the human body has an energy in it, known as qi (pronounced “chee”), and when this energy is out of balance or somehow blocked, it causes illness or pain.
Acupuncture treatments entail the insertion of fine-gauge sterile needles into various points on the body (along specific meridians) - to address energetic and physical dysfunction. Acupuncture focuses primarily on the flow of blood and Qi through the body, balancing these to eliminate pain, restore proper energy, and harmonize organ functioning.
Dr. Phillips will often enhance the acupuncture session with Reiki (the channelling of energy) to further assist in moving energy blockages. Acupuncture can be used to treat any physical problem: from sinusitis to migraines to sciatica and joint pain.
Treatment length varies, but usually lasts 20-25 minutes. Repeated visits, no more than 1 week apart, are necessary for long-term change in health concerns.
Homeopathy is the use of minute doses of natural substances to stimulate our self-healing capacities. This is one of the most gentle yet powerful and deeply effective forms of medicine. There are literally thousands of different remedies, derived from plants, minerals, and animal sources. The homeopathic approach to cure is very unique. It can be distilled as “like treats like”. In other words, unlike western medicine, where, for example, joint pain and swelling is treated with an anti-inflammatory; the homeopathic remedy that brings on the inflammatory and pain symptoms in a healthy person, is used to treat and cure this in a patient. Here’s an example: contact with Allium cepa (onion) causes tearing, stinging and irritation around the eyes and nose. Allium cepa could therefore be prescribed to hay fever patients with the same symptoms.
When your health is out of balance, your body’s innate healing system (your vital force) is stuck, and needs assistance moving toward cure. The symptoms you experience (fever, pain, or swelling, for example) are your vital force’s best attempt to bring your system into balance. Your doctor needs to know your symptoms in detail to understand how the vital force is stuck. These symptoms will indicate which remedy is needed to assist the vital force in getting unstuck.
Homeopathy treats physical symptoms (arthritis, IBS or migraines for example) as well as mental/emotional (such as depression, poor cognition or anxiety).
Health involves both mind and body: most dis-ease can be traced to or rooted in mental/emotional dysfunction. This is a very important aspect of your appointments: your Naturopath needs to understand what brought you to your current state of health, from the perspective of your physical history, as well as your emotional experiences. My goal is to help you recognize those patterns that have contributed to your current state of health, and then assist you in changing these patterns or responses.
During the initial appointment many things are discussed. It is not only a comprehensive review of your current condition or concerns, but also many other important aspects of your past and present. It is important to find out as much about you as an individual as it is to determine what makes your symptoms unique or characteristic. Most importantly, I really listen to each person’s story. And, this begins the healing process.
My journey to discovering Naturopathic Medicine occurred after years of working as a chef in Toronto restaurants, interspersed with enough overseas travel to end up with a medically 'indefinable' illness. This ultimately ended with a visit to a naturopath. The return to health through naturopathy was so simple, yet so profound, that I decided to change careers in order to bring to others a similar experience: such a powerful route back to a balanced state of health and well-being.I see myself as a “health detective” - to first find the root cause(s) for your pain or illness, then treat these causes to restore health. I ask questions and hear your story in order to find the underlying causes, which are often hidden and seemingly irrelevant. This means that they are easily missed or ignored by other health care practitioners. I love accompanying others on their journey to discovering a state of well-being; and sharing their excitement when positive and lasting changes are attained. I deeply believe that helping my clients make positive changes in their lives will create a ripple effect, improving not only their health but the health of their families and communities as well.
Four years completing an undergrad degree at the University of Toronto, followed by 4 inspiring years at CCNM (Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine), and 2 years of part-time studies at the Toronto School of Traditional Chinese Medicine contribute to the core of my treatment knowledge.Other techniques or therapies that I have incorporated into practice include Reiki. My practice is diverse in scope, helping to prevent disease and treating a wide range of illnesses: from acute injuries or illness, to asthma, allergies, digestive and bowel problems, mood disorders, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. The beauty of naturopathic medicine is that it focuses on the individual rather than the symptoms, supporting and facilitating the bodys innate ability to heal.
Since starting to practice as a naturopath in 2000, I have had two wonderful children, which has given me a much keener insight into the birth process, infant and child health care, and mum's health; this I also bring to my practice. In response to an increase in thyroid dysfunction in a growing number of patients, I have been certified as a WTS (Wilson's Temperature Syndrome) practitioner. More recently, my passion for homeopathy has led me to pursue more in depth studies, and I have completed the Homeopathic Masters Clinician Program from the Luminos School of Homeopathy.
Outside of the clinic, I love being with my children, my partner and our animals, biking, creating fabulous meals, and working in my garden. I’m also an avid learner. I will always be a student as I continue to take courses and learn – not only from experts in their fields, but also from my clients. This makes the work I do so rewarding and exciting.
I maintain an open, eclectic practice focused on optimizing health, and healing both acute and chronic illness. Naturopathy is a system of medicine that benefits everyone. It is for all stages of life: whether you're looking to enhance fertility, have a healthy pregnancy, care for your children's and your health, optimize your own health to prevent or eliminate illness, or to be free from disease in your later years. My focus is to empower patients to discover their personal healing powers and make healthy choices for themselves and those around them.
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