Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic Medicine is an eclectic medicine, having many roots it draws from and many branches it grows into. The foundation of naturopathic medicine, however, is the idea that we are working with the innate wisdom of nature, the nature all around us and the nature inherently within us. Working with patients is often about guiding the way back to their connection with nature, and their connection with who they are.
Listening carefully, and listening deeply, I hear each person reveal what may be in their way, and what may be keeping them from living their lives to their fullest potential. Once this is understood, there are many tools of healing to be utilized. Naturopathic medicine does not treat diseases, but treats each individual person…trying to bring them back to balance.
Assessment is performed through lab testing, when applicable, pulse and tongue diagnosis, and energetic testing. Acute conditions are usually self limiting, but can be moved along more efficiently with naturopathic treatment. Most chronic diseases stem from a digestive system imbalance, so working with the gut is often included in any treatment.
Therapeutic support includes food and diet, nutritional supplements when needed, homeopathic remedies, gemmotherapy, and herbal remedies. Cranial sacral and visceral manipulation are significant adjunctive therapies, as are Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy and Cold Laser Therapy.
Gemmotherapy & Herbal Medicine
Gemmotherapy
Gemmotherapy is a form of herbal medicine that uses extracts made from the embryonic tissue of the plants, the buds and first shoots and rootlets, a type of plant stem cell therapy. These potent extracts, with their vitamins, minerals, enzymes and growth hormones, have the potential to do drainage and detoxification of tissues and organs, and restore and regenerate function. Gemmotherapy can be used to for acute conditions, for chronic conditions, to facilitate detoxification, and to enhance immunity. They are given in simples and in complexes.
Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine has a long history, going back to when many people were growing or wildcrafting medicinal plants for everyday use. Including culinary herbs in the foods being prepared, and infusing and decocting cups of beverage and medicinally teas brought these healing plants into daily life. Herbalists carried the knowledge forward, sometimes openly, sometimes secretly. The Eclectic Physicians of the late 1800’s in the U.S. studied plant medicine (and homeopathy) in medical schools, it was then banned through the Flexner Report and the AMA, until a resurgence, starting in the 1960’s, has brought herbal medicine full circle again. This is the medicine of the people. This is the gift of the plants.
I recommend herbal medicine in my practice in its many forms….herbal teas, tinctures, elixirs, cordials, spagyric preparations, capsules and tablets, and essential oils. I teach how to grow and harvest herbs, how to make your own preparations, and how to embrace herbal medicine in your life, empowering you in your healing journey.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of medicine that can be used to treat acute and chronic conditions. The remedies are made from plant, mineral, and animal substances, and using the potentized form of a substance, its healing is based on the premise of like cures like.
My favorite example of this is the honey bee. When someone is stung by a bee, the area becomes red, swollen, hot, and painful. The homeopathic remedy to take in this situation is Apis, the remedy made from honeybees. To make this remedy, the bees are put into a jar, shook up to get them angry, covered with a mixture of alcohol and water, where they exude into this menstrum the same substance they would inject when someone is stung. This menstrum is then diluted and potentized to make the homeopathic remedy Apis…which when given, will diminish or abate the bee sting symptoms.
Homeopathy for first aid and acute situations can be learned and practiced by everyone.
Constitutional homeopathy is more complicated. Prescribing constitutionally takes into account the totality of symptoms being presented by the patient, the family history, the mental and emotional symptoms, as well as any unique aspects of the individual. This is best done through a well trained homeopath.
Robin DiPasquale loves homeopathy, and considers herself a life long student of this modality. She practices first aid, acute, chronic and constitutional homeopathy. In addition, Robin uses the combination remedies of Biotherapeutic Drainage that open and detox at the intracellular level. In her homeopathic case taking and prescribing, she strives to understand the patient and the disease at the miasm level.
Family Constellation Therapy
Everyone has a story, some known, some unknown, some seen, some unseen. Patterns, events, and burdens from the past are carried down and repeated through the generations. The memories of our ancestors run through our blood. In Family Constellation Therapy, we bear compassionate witness to where we’ve come from, to the things that are forgotten or suppressed within a family. By bringing these into the light to be seen and acknowledged, peace and balance can be returned to
the family field.
This work, originated by Bert Hellinger in Germany, holds the premise that each person within a family has an equal place of belonging within that family. Stepping in and taking your place allows you to recognize, explore, and heal personal and ancestral energy patterns. When someone is not in their place, it impacts the entire field. Standing in your place in your family allows you to stand in your place in all aspects of your life - relationships, marriage, parenting, work, friendships.d you that are influencing your life, choices, and relationships.
When working within the morphogenic field in Family Constellation, we can meet individually, in small closed groups, or in larger open groups. Each of these formats invites you to step into your place, and allow for the deep healing that this work can bring.
Cranial Sacral and Visceral Manipulation
Cranial Sacral (CS) Therapy is a hands on technique of body work that uses gentle touch to deeply access the nervous system. It can release restrictions that interfere with the fluidity of the spinal fluid bathing the brain and spinal cord, restoring function. Cranial Sacral Therapy can help when there is stress, concussion and traumatic brain injury, headaches, migraines, TMJ Syndrome, neck pain, back pain, and many other conditions.
Visceral Manipulation (VM) is a form of manual therapy that focuses on the internal organs and their correlating connective tissue, with broader application throughout the entire body. Once somatic structures are assessed, gently directed pressure encourages normal mobility, which can bring about improved organ function.
Diet and Nutrition
What people eat is diverse and often cultural. What people eat is often driven by time and money, but also by stress, emotions, and lifestyle choices.
Navigating through the myriad of fad diets can be confusing. Knowing your blood type may offer some insights into optimal food choices. Which is best…paleo, Mediterranean, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian? Should you do intermittent fasting?
Figuring out what diet is best for each individual is the work we pursue together. I can also assist in determining which nutritional supplements may be useful.