FOR NEW PATIENTS – APPOINTMENTS & PREPARATION

Prior to your first visit with Dr. Tom, there is a clinic form that needs to be filled out; this can be done in the office before your visit; please be sure to allow for 15 minutes to fill out the form before your appointment time.
In order to get the most out of your first visit, be sure to bring to your visit any relevant information, including previous lab work, health records, and either your actual supplements and medication themselves, or at the minimum, a list of what you are currently taking. It may also be beneficial to bring in a chronological list of one’s major illnesses, diseases, events and traumas experienced.

FEES AND CANCELLATION POLICY

Please see the General Information page for complete information.

WHAT WILL A VISIT BE LIKE?

First visits are all about developing an understanding of what is going on with you, your health goals and concerns, and coming up with a plan for how we can help. This involves both going through your health history, the information on your clinic forms, and performing any clinical assessment (naturopathic, conventional, and applied kinesiology) that would help us develop our treatment plan. This will often take atleast an hour for adults and approximately half this for children.

Along with a detailed look at your symptoms, it is likely we will explore something of your nature and personality, your likes and dislikes, moods and feelings. The purpose is to develop a thorough picture of you that will help in the selection of the most appropriate and the best tailored treatment whether using homeopathy or acupuncture. While some basic physical exam may be performed, tests or procedures that we are not able to offer will be referred.

Treatment consists of first addressing the body on the functional level through homeopathy and acupuncture. This is then supported by counseling in areas of diet and lifestyle, supplementation and botanicals as necessary. Bodywork and homeopathic psychotherapy are used as necessary to encourage and support the process. Our overall goal is simplicity of approach. We believe that a few, well-chosen treatment options can be so much more effective than extensive programs. It is also easier to monitor the effect on the individual of each treatment applied.

FOLLOW UP VISITS

Follow-up visits vary in length and frequency depending on need, and treatment plan. For acupuncture, visits are ideally 2x / week as needed (for a 1-3 week period); less often for bodywork, and for homeopathy, they are scheduled at three to six week intervals and last 20 to 40 minutes. When progress is well established, visits are less frequent.

HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT

Sometimes patients comment that a visit to a homeopath can be somewhat like seeing a psychologist. In homeopathy it has been observed and verified that if the remedy suits the unique personality structure of the patient, it is more likely to work then if it only relates to superficial physical symptoms.

With homeopathic treatment, usually the remedy will be given at the conclusion of the visit, though sometimes a case will be studied before prescribing. The homeopathic remedy may be prescribed in one dose, in several doses or for daily use.

The homeopathic remedy does not cause a crude biochemical effect, but instead appears to act as a catalyst, stimulating the self-healing forces of the body. The process initiated by a few doses of the correct remedy may last for months. This is positive evidence of the body's ability to heal itself when given the correct stimulus.

Patience with the process is important.  Selection of the correct remedy is not always easy.  If after three or four remedies there has been no change, information will be reviewed with the patient very thoroughly, and adjustments made accordingly to the treatment plan.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Chronic (long-term) health problems may improve very quickly in some cases or gradually in others. In some cases only one homeopathic remedy will be all that is needed and in other cases an integrated approach utilizing a variety of treatment approaches will be required over a period of months to achieve the deepest effect.
These differences depend on many factors aside from the accuracy of the medicines selected. These include the basic state of health, the severity and duration of the condition, and the use of standard medicines. We typically allow two weeks to detect a response. In general, children respond quickly as compared with adults.
In some cases old symptoms return for a brief visit. This is a natural part of a true healing process and is a positive sign of a curative direction.