Services.

Consultations can be done virtually or in person.

The initial strategy session over the phone lasts approximately 5-10 minutes to answer any questions about this website overview. I will also clarify why you seek my help and your overall goal(s) in working with me. This strategy session ensures we are a match to move forward with your diet and lifestyle goals. It’s important to have a goal(s) in mind when you decide to work Functionally. It’s a life change for the better, and you must decide if you are ready to commit to change. The rest is easy.

After the initial strategy session, I will send you a Functional Intake Form to complete. It’s an in-depth form that helps give me the information that I need for the following two premier case reviews (PCRs): PCR #1 and PCR #2. The PCRs are in-depth appointments to help me achieve a broader picture of your health to understand where the root causes might exist. These appointments are usually 90 minutes and are booked via Zoom or in person. Let's look at what these sessions entail.

This is a review and deep dive into your intake form. Your intake is not to fill a filing cabinet. It's a live document about you and your health story. I take this very seriously. You took the time to fill it out and I'm listening. During this session, I will ask you to expand on some of the questions you answered to clarify and better understand what's happening in your health. I want to match my recommendations to you as an individual.

After the session, I map your information into a Functional Medicine Timeline. The objective is not to regurgitate everything you wrote but to populate it into key areas so nothing is missed in your comprehensive assessment. This document usually takes an hour of my own time to complete post-appointment. A copy of this document is provided to you in session 2. There are no health recommendations in session one; its purpose is to fully understand your health. Another critical component is the Food, Mood, and Poop journal.

*Homework: Food, Mood, and Poop (FMP) Journalling

Often at the end of session one, I’ll ask you to complete some brief home assessments to help truly understand your biological system. This is accomplished by completing a FMP. The object of this journal is not to list amounts of food, but a general overview of what you are eating and how well your bowels are moving. You will also write down your mood surrounding the food you are ingesting or something out of the norm that you notice. The mood section can include any mental or physical symptoms you feel, i.e., energetic, irritated, bloated, gassy, constipated, happy, or lethargic.

Before the PCR #2 appointment, I will also have you gather any recent lab work you may have done with your Specialist, Functional Medicine Doctor, GP, or Naturopath. Please note that I usually like to leave no longer than two weeks between the first two appointments to move you forward on your positive health trajectory.

During the second PCR session, I discuss the assessment of your case from the Functional Timeline and begin to make recommendations. I start to map your Functional Timeline information into one of the most important documents in our Assessment, the Functional Nutrition Matrix. The Functional Matrix is a roadmap to understanding your individual health symptoms and concerns. From this foundational document, I can clearly map out action steps. This document highlights three important areas:

• How unique we are in our health terrain by opening up details of your health story. Your story includes your epigenetics (familial health conditions/expressions), triggers (negative things/what makes you worse), and mediators (positive things/what makes you feel better) to health;

• It also allows us to see how individual body systems are connected, referred to as "the soup" (centre portion of our matrix); and,

• How all things matter in our health, with the “skill” section including biometrics on diet and lifestyle. The lifestyle area includes but is not limited to areas such as nutrition, sleep, stress, bowel movements, exercise, and social connections.

Information from the Functional Timeline and Matrix helps us determine our focus and how to best support you. The Matrix is our foundational and revolving document on your health that we also use to adjust any action items suggested. Like the timeline, you get to keep this document. It can travel with you to any healthcare practitioner so they see you as an individual with a unique terrain or physiological makeup. This document can even take time out of a physician's busy schedule to help them understand you at a glance. It could even change their approach if they know your system better.

In the current medical system, many patients often bring family members to appointments in case they forget to bring up important information that might change how a protocol is implemented. With this document, I have gathered important information on your health that shows how your unique body presents and can help quell questions and prevent errors or misunderstandings in medical appointments.

During this session, if there's time, a client may bring forward any testing they may have done in the past, which can shed light on any signs or symptoms the patient is experiencing. Previous tests may include recent labs, specialist reports, radiology reports, or specialized Naturopathic testing. Remember, nothing is done in vain. It's your story.

To summarize, after this session, you will understand and see more clearly the individual aspects of your health, i.e., epigenetics, triggers, and mediators, physiologic factors affecting many body systems, and finally, consider specific lifestyle factors that may need adjustment. Remember functionally, that all things are connected and all things matter to fully understand your health.