AFTER 20 YEARS AS A PEDIATRICIAN....

I began to question my ability to truly effect healing for my patients and their families. With multiple appointments squeezed into 10-20 minute sessions, I could only spend moments on meaningful conversations as more time was siphoned off to checklists and paperwork. Instead of answering questions and giving peace of mind, I was only able to band-aid concerns.  As a pediatrician, I was being asked to ensure the well-being of my patients with only 5-10 minutes to explain and educate caretakers. When I was able to actually ask and genuinely discuss how everyone in the family was doing, I found that care for the children improved.  A happy parent made healthy kids. These observations led to my interest in dedicating myself to the holistic health consulting of parents with the purpose of better serving patients and their families. 

 

HOW DID I GET HERE....

My parents are both pediatricians from Thailand. I was raised with what I admit was an idealistic view of what primary general pediatric care should look like. My parents cared for three generations of families in Michigan, I went to medical school at University of Michigan and did residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital. I returned to Michigan to work in my mother's practice. As I started to  sense what kind of pediatrician I wanted to be, the phrase "strong, confident parent" kept coming to mind. Ten years later, as I entered an integrative practice in Miami Beach, I felt drawn to the basic tenet of Chinese Medicine -- "heal thyself". Unfortunately, my conventional training did not always purport this belief. I found myself mystified by the possibility that we as healthcare providers could help families heal themselves....

 

HOW CAN I HELP YOU...

Healing comes in many forms. Yes, there is an important role for conventional medicine in the form of medications and diagnostic tests. However, in a country that spends one of the world's highest amounts on healthcare with a declining life expectancy, one begins to wonder about other paths to health. What I often tell parents is that "the answer is usually right in front of you". There are elements of our lives that are stressful and aspects that are healing. We are often either too busy or distracted to optimize the healthful and decrease the toxic. There is also the important phrase "trauma can be inherited". Raising children creates an opportunity. As we watch our children grow and mature, we are given the chance to gaze at our own reflection. Through this reflection, we can untangle some of our own traumas and perhaps find the answers right in front of us....