Tell us a bit about yourself!
I was born and raised in a small town in Oregon, but always saw myself somewhere else. Right after my high school graduation I moved up to Seattle, but found my way back to Oregon a year and a half later. For most of my adult life I lived in the Portland, Oregon Metro area, but in 2021 my husband Sam and I decided to go on an adventure, packed everything up and moved to Petaluma, California for a new start.
Clinically speaking, my passions are inclusive medicine and skin and have been so since high school. I have always, however, had a love-hate relationship with the beauty industry because the western standards of beauty have never made sense to me. I use an anti-diet, gender inclusive and body shame smashing approach to skincare and wellness and that hasn’t always been easily accepted in some communities. I have been a part of my industry for over 2 decades now and have noticed that in some ways it is getting better, but we still have a long way to go to make everyone feel welcome!
When I’m not at my office, you might find me at the farmer’s market, out wine tasting, at a community event or at the occasional karaoke bar.
What does it mean to be a Self Care Doc?
To me, self care is essential to wellness because of its proven effects at reducing stress and improving quality of life. As a provider, I love facilitating healing for my clients and helping them transform their relationship with themselves. Calling myself a Self Care Doc means that my chief focus is on prevention and stress management.
That doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t help with chronic issues, I actually love to work with those who have skin or health challenges that have either been overlooked or met with judgment by other providers because sometimes simple changes can make a huge difference. I fully believe everyone deserves to be comfortable in their own skin and feel amazing and beautiful. I also believe that self care goes far beyond instagrammable spa treatments and expensive retreats. It is the little rituals we do every day that truly make a difference.
What services do you offer?
I offer East Asian Medicine based health coaching and Clinical Skincare services both online and in my Petaluma, CA office. There are a variety of modalities within each that I will build my treatment plans around including auriculotherapy, ear seeds, acupressure, herbal compress therapy, facial cupping and gua sha, reflexology, herbal medicine, clinical aromatherapy, meditation, LED therapy, microcurrent, nano facial technology and a whole lot more! I love combining East and West, Ancient and Modern in practice and am always learning something new. I also post free educational videos on my YouTube Channel (almost) every week.
Is East Asian Medicine really effective?
100% yes. East Asian Medicine (EAM) has an over 5000 year history of helping people find balance and improving their health. Here in the US people tend to emphasize the acupuncture portion, which is usually further down the order of treatment in EAM practices in other countries.
There are many other amazing modalities that are underneath the umbrella of EAM, many of them focused on preventative medicine instead of emergency, and are safe, non-invasive, and have little to no side effects. Chinese Nutrition, Moxibustion, Asian Bodywork with or without tools, Herbal Medicine and Qigong are all part of EAM and I love educating people on some of the lesser advertised techniques.
What can a person expect from your treatments?
Folks can expect their treatments and treatment plans to be completely customized as everyone is unique. They can expect me to meet them where they are, and to offer suggestions from a neutral place, without judgment and shame and of course they can expect real results without painful interventions.
What do you love most about your profession?
My biggest passion is helping people feel fabulous about themselves and that’s truly the thing I love most about what I do. When I get the opportunity to help someone love themselves more and take better care of themselves it can make my whole week. I believe when people feel good about themselves, they project that into the world and it becomes a more beautiful place.
