No. This process is client-driven dependent on needs.

Professional naturopathic care aims to restore a client to the point where he/she becomes independent of treatment; and is able to maintain normal health using means such as good food, fresh air, appropriate exercise, sunlight, positive and life-affirming lifestyle choices.

Support requirements are very individual. On occassion gentle reminders are required, or clients find that an ongoing health partner is required to provide the support, information and advice to achieve health goals.

Follow-up appointments are shorter in duration than the initial consulation, and session packages are a good option to help save money.

The initial consultation provides the opportunity to thoroughly review your health history. Blood tests and pathology reports are a vital tool in being able to assess your current state of health and your individual biochemistry. Your biochemistry can indicate why you may be experiencing certain symptoms, and it can also highlight latent patterns of health that may not yet have elicited symptoms. This is also known as Functional Pathology and allows for early intervention before disease states express themselves.

Pathology reports need to be within the previous 3-6 months of your appointment to be immediately useful. If you have not had blood tests within the previous 3-6 months, a referral can be written for you to take to your GP.

Should the therapeutic relationship be required to continue for a period of time, it is also encouraged to bring your updated blood tests to subsequent appointments – this helps to track progress towards your health goals.

All tests are cross-referenced with www.labtestsonline.org.au, which is managed by the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB) with support from the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA).

Personalised lifestyle medicine is the application of an individualised treatment approach that focuses on prevention and health promotion (see the Australasian Lifestyle Medicine Association for more information). Treatment is tailored to your specific needs and health goals. 

In this context for example, herbal medicine is very much a personalised approach, as each herbal mixture is made according to your specific requirements. Herbal mixtures can also be changed throughout treatment depending on reported changes.

Please also see the FAQ titled ‘What is a Lifestyle Disease?‘

Sarina is a professional member of the following associations with strict code of ethics –

• Australian Natural Therapists Association (ANTA), which is one Australia’s largest and longest serving professional associations in Australia. ANTA’s Code of Professional Ethics can be viewed here.
• National Herbalists Association of Australia.  NHAA’s Code of Ethics can be viewed here.

Industry standards and ethics are essential to the growing Naturopathic industry in Australia and to its recognition as a viable, efficacious healthcare treatment modality.

Payment for consultations, nutrition or herbal supplements can be made using cash or by invoice using Direct Deposit.

The clinic currently does not have the facility to accept credit card payments or process payments through HICAPS.

Receipts for health fund rebates or personal administration can be issued upon request, subsequent to payment.

Note: GST does not apply to consultations.

Emergency and acute care appointments are available in 15 minute sessions (subject to availability) and will cover one health condition.

One appointment is $40, which does not include food, nutrition or herbal supplement products.

I am registered with all major Health Funds.  Rebates for naturopathic services, supplements and professional weight loss management programs can be available depending on your fund and level of cover.

It is recommended that you call your health fund to determine your entitlements before your appointment.

Receipts that are accepted by your Health Fund can be issued upon request and subsequent to payment.

See here for additional information.

To re-order herbal mixes and if you would like them ready for collection on the same day, please leave a message with your order by 10am.  Your herbal mix will be ready for collection after 4pm on that day.

To re-order nutrition or herbal supplment products please leave a message with your order.  If your order cannot be completed the same day, you will get a call letting you know when they will be available.

Please note: It is clinic policy that herbal and supplement fulfillment be individually reviewed every 6 months.

Feedback, whether it is perceived as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, is vital to ensuring your continued health success and is always welcomed.

A good example of ‘bad feedback’, in the context of undertaking a food elimination diet where food sensitivities/intolerances are suspected, is what the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) describe as the ‘withdrawal effect‘. Some people can experience a temporary ‘flare-up’ in their symptoms that can include headaches, nausea, fatigue, skin eruptions and other such ‘bad’ or ‘negative’ symptoms. However, these usually are brief or can last up to 10 days after which, it is common that the symptoms settle down. This ‘bad’ feedback should be communicated as it usually indicates underlying intolerances and is considered a normal part of the healing process.

There are many other examples of ‘bad’ feedback in naturopathic practise, which actually can help direct treatment options.

Communication and feedback is actively encouraged, after all, you know your body better than anyone else.

Impedance testing, a technology that has been credited to NASA for its development from the 1960’s onwards, is measured when a safe electrical signal is passed through the body, carried by water and fluids. Impedance is greatest in fat tissue, which contains only 10-20% water, while fat-free mass, which contains 70-75% water, allows the signal to pass much more easily.

In recent years it has been researched, refined and increasingly validated as a tool for measuring body composition (weight, body fat percentage, muscle percentage, water percentage, bone mass). The technology is now referred to as bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA).

BIA measurements can be affected by – hydration status, caffeine, alcohol, recent exercise, prescription drugs, diuretics, menstrual cycle, and illness.

Nature’s Medicine uses BIA scales that uses the hospital grade standard Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) as a reference model. The scales have been reliably tested to be within 5% accuracy of DEXA.

This measurement tool allows the calculation of the potential risk to your future health that might result from carrying extra weight.  These measurements are taken together with other biometric measurements to identify potential risk factors.  These measurements are indicative, consistency is key in monitoring results, for example, weighing at the same time of day.

Note: BIA testing is not suitable for pregnant women.

References –

http://jap.physiology.org/content/jap/103/5/1688.full.pdf 

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8912424&fileId=S0007114512003698 

http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/lsda_data/dataset_inv_data/NAG91039__2580458538.pdf_BRC_NAG91039_2011_258_050905.pdf 

http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/experiment/exper.aspx?exp_index=1249

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167876003001430

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272638610010462