Your personal health detective
Finally a healthcare professional that will listen to your whole story
Frequently Asked Questions
What are your masking requirements?
At this point (early 2023) masks are optional. If you think you have a high chance of having been exposed recently, I ask that you mask to protect me (so I can keep caring for others). Likewise I am happy to mask at your request (for any reason, or no reason). I have masks available if you do not have your own. Based purely on the science, it would be a good idea for everyone to still be masking, however, I understand the strong emotional pull to skip the mask (as I am feeling that pull too). For your safety we (as always) do surface sanitizing between visits and SSAW has high quality air filters in the clinic.
Are visits virtual or in-person?
Both! I offer remote health consultations via phone or HIPAA compliant video conference. I have clients all over the country (and even a few foreign countries), and am happy that technology has now made this process easier than ever. Remote consults are available for new clients, as well as follow up visits. I also offer in-person visits for local clients that prefer a one-on-one experience, or are seeking acupuncture or other physical modalities.
How much does it cost?
Details about visit fees and what is included in the first visit can be found here.
Lab testing, supplements and herbal formulations are all additional costs and vary depending on recommendation and need. Recommendations from Dr. Becky are unique for your case, on a visit by visit basis, so cost for these extra things cannot be predicted before care. If there are specific types of testing you are interested in, you can discuss those with the staff and in some cases we can provide estimates.
At this time we are unable to offer sliding scale or discounted visits.
What if I have to cancel my appointment?
Please see our pricing policies page, click here.
Does Dr. Becky offer packages?
We offer a 6 visit Acupuncture package, and a Genomic Assessment Package.
Otherwise visits are "as needed" and no particular number of visits is required.
Genomic Assessment Package
Details about the process and fee structure for genomic assessments can be found here.
Does Dr. Becky take insurance, Medicare or Medicaid?
No. Naturopathic doctors are not licensed practitioners in Texas or Kentucky. Insurance, Medicare and Medicaid do not cover services offered by unlicensed practitioners. Visits, labs and supplements are all direct pay. While it can be an adjustment to pay out of pocke for care, most people find the freedom and flexibility is well worth it (no referrals, pre-authorizations, care denials, limits on treatment, etc). Often paying for care directly is less costly than deductible and copay costs.
How long will it take?
Every case is unique, and Dr. Becky does not follow pre-defined protocols. So, how long it takes will be up to you and your situation. That said, clients often need 3-6 naturopathic visits to fully engage in their healing journey. Acupuncture often requires 4-6 visits at minimum to estimate potential progress.
What if I have labs or imaging from other doctors?
Dr. Becky will review any pre-existing labs, imaging or reports you feel are relevant to your case. Please forward documents to the administrative/ scheduling staff. The best way to get them to us is to email them using your secure patient portal. Please reach out to the staff if you need to find other ways to get records to us.
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First visit fee includes approximately 30 minutes of "document review" time.
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Because Dr. Becky works with chronic, complex cases, people often have extensive past records that are relevant to the case. Whenever possible Dr. Becky prefers to look at what has been done before ordering anything new. Extensive past records may incur a "research time" fee to cover Dr. Becky's time to review these records and make notes. These fees will be negotiated with you before Dr. Becky completes a review.
Are there labs Dr. Becky commonly recommends?
Dr. Becky commonly recommends the following screening blood tests:
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CBC, CMP (metabolic panel), Lipids,
Vitamin D, Ferritin, Iron panel,
Homocystiene, Insulin, A1c,
TSH, free T3, free T4
this would be a fasting panel, first thing in the morning.
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Other tests are recommended on a case by case basis and cannot be recommended before a first visit.
What is Dr. Becky's general approach or "style"?
As a naturpathic doctor, Dr. Becky's primary approach will always be to find the "root cause" of illness, find and remove obstacles to healing and support the body's innate healing ability. She is a big fan of the diagnostic tools used by the conventional health care system, and prefers to "find out" instead of "assume" whenever possible.
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Her training includes a rich blend of conventional medical science and holistic, preventive approaches. She fully embraces all approaches to healthcare and views them as part of a continum. In her 20 years of practice, she has found that all therapies - drugs, surgery, herbs, bodywork, homeopathy - can be the "right" approach in different circumstances (all tools are good tools). Dr. Becky always tries to find both the most efficient and gentlest, most natural options for bringing the body back to true balance.
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Dr. Becky's hybrid approach is thorough and science based, but also whole body / systems oriented and focuses on natural ways to support the body's own healing processes.
What tools does Dr. Becky use?
Dr. Becky's primary assessment tools
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Detailed, timeline oriented health history
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Conventional, screening blood tests
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Functional lab testing
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Imaging as available from other doctors
Dr. Becky's primary support tools
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Lifestyle and Dietary changes
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Changes to environment as possible
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Targeted Nutritional Supplements
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Herbal preparations (often custom formulations that blend Chinese and Western herbs)
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Acupuncture
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Targeted bodywork
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Extensive patient education
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Recommendations to discuss with other practitioners
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Outside of Washington state, Dr. Becky cannot
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Order advanced, diagnostic lab testing
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Order imaging (X-ray, MRI, Ultrasound, etc)
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Directly refer for procedures (endoscopy, colonoscopy, EKG, etc)
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Write prescriptions for Rx substances
- ​Offer IV nutrient therapies, or other injection therapies (trigger point, prolo or PRP)
- If she thinks you might benefit from any of the above, she will provide you with information to discuss with your doctor, and when possible recommend practitioners that offer these services
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Dr. Becky does not generally use these tools
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Muscle testing
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Homeopathy
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She does give homeopathic remedies occasionally, but she does not do "constitutional" homeopathy and it is not one of her primary tools​
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Electrodermal testing
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Iridology
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Does Dr. Becky work with children?
Generally no. Dr. Becky does NOT work with infants, toddlers or children younger than 12. She occasionally works with older children / adolescents specifically regarding MTHFR or SNP education, food sensitivities or mood issues. These younger clients need to be open / able to engage in diet change and supplementation to work with Dr. Becky. Meet and Greet visits are highly recommended for younger patients before scheduling a full intake.
How do I schedule an appointment?
Which type or length of appointment do I pick?
Free 15min "Meet and Greet" appointments are available for prospective new clients to ask questions about the practice, make sure their needs are a match for Dr. Becky's services and assess how much time you might want to schedule for your first visit. *Please note that no advice, assessment or recommendations will be made during this visit.*
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Most new clients will default to the 90 minute, naturopathic, first visit.
If you need extra time you can choose the 2 hour option.
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Follow up visits can be acupuncture only, naturopathic only or combined naturopathic and acupuncture visits.
When estimating time needed, we generally recommend 15 min per question/ topic.
Lab review usually requires 30 min for straightforward labs (like screening bloodwork)
Review of the more complex functional tests AND going over a treatment plan to address issues found usually requires about an hour.
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Please note that "Acupuncture" visits ONLY include gathering the information I would need to perform an acupunture treatment, and performing that treatment. This type of visit will NOT include review of labs, discussion of supplement protocols or other integrative health advice.
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If you want both acupuncture and naturopathic consultation, know that acupuncture requires a bare minimum of 35 min (when added onto a naturopathic visit). With this in mind, the shortest possible ND/ Acupuncture combo visit time would be 1 hour, and that would leave only about 15-20 min to discuss naturopathic issues.
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The vast majority of patients have issues that would benefit most from a combination of naturopathic and acupuncture care. For this reason we STRONGLY encourage naturopathic first visits to make sure all your needs are being addressed, then if desired, you can have "acupuncture only" follow up visits.
How do I get to my patient portal?
Your patient portal has to be manually set up by my assistant. This may take a day or two after you have made your first appointment. You should get an email with a link to set up your portal. Occasionally entry errors are made and that email never comes. Feel free to call Joanna at (512) 766-4237 and ask for help accessing your portal.
If you just need to get to the patient portal login page, click here: