Specializing In
~ Steve
East Asian Botanical Medicine
Herbal Therapy alongside Acupuncture are the two major pillars of East Asian Medicine, in addition to movement, nutrition, breath and manual therapies. For the past 5,000 years, Asian herbal therapy has evolved and continues to keep pace with and meet the needs of modern patients. Herbs in conjunction with pharmaceuticals have become the standard of care for certain conditions throughout the world.For modern convenience, herbal preparations are available in various forms that include dried raw plants, concentrated granular powders, tablets, capsules, tinctures, topical washes and rubs. Herbal prescriptions are individually formulated and customized to each patient to target disharmonies and patterns of dis-ease.
The United States Food and Drug Administration actively safeguards the public by continually evaluating and controlling the quality of herbal products. My knowledge base and national certification as an East Asian Herbalist keeps me informed of herbs to include or avoid for your particular condition. I am aware of herbs and formulas that have narrow toxicity ranges and/or potential interactions with any supplements, over the counter medicines or prescribed pharmaceuticals that you may be taking.
Rarely is a single herb prescribed in Asian Medicine but rather a grouping of herbs into an energetically balanced and synergistic formula that may contain as many as 10 to 15 different herbs. There is a traditional hierarchy within the formula that takes into account your requirements for specific function, direction of action as well as taste.
Choosing the precise herbs and being aware of the most effective modifications is both an art and a skill. Herbal therapy can be likened to food, is safe and has a wide range of therapeutic dosing, depending on your age, body constitution and weight. Prescribed correctly, East Asian herbal formulas expedite the healing process, strengthen, support and tonify to bring your body back into balance naturally without unwanted side effects.
I dispense prepared tablets and capsules from my office in addition to prescribing customized formula preparations from the East Asian Herbal Pharmacy at Bastyr University on Stone Way in Seattle. All of the herbal products that I use are of pharmaceutical grade and meet or exceed Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. Each herbal species is inspected for: correctness, adulterants, contaminants, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, potency and non-organic substances such as heavy metals.
~ Clay
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is another holistic system of organic medicine that supplements my practice. I have completed a course of study that prepares me to treat acute, self-limiting conditions. In the event that I believe that you could benefit from a more complete constitutional evaluation, I refer you to a Certified Classical Homeopath for further care.In brief, the principles of homeopathy were first described by a German physician Samuel Hahnemann in the late seventeenth century. The actual medicine called a “remedy” was developed during a series of scientifically reproducible observations during which Hahnemann reported his findings of “likes treat likes” also known as the “law of similars.” This concept is unique to homeopathy.
He noted that certain substances from the animal, mineral and plant kingdoms had a curative effect when matched with a patient having a specific set of symptoms. He also noted that these same substances, when given to a healthy volunteer, could actually lead to these same specific symptoms. As an example, peeling an onion usually leads to the symptom of watery eyes. In homeopathic terms, the homeopathically prepared red onion remedy named Allium Cepa is many times the treatment of choice when you have watery eyes due to an allergy or cold. In other words, likes treat likes!
Homeopathic remedies are prepared by taking a minute amount of substance and subjecting it to hundreds or thousands of dilutions called succussions. There is virtually no remaining substance at a molecular level of the substance when prepared according to standardized homeopathic methods. The effectiveness of the treatment depends on careful attention to symptoms that are unique to you that are individualizing. The skilled homeopath who also knows the healing properties of the remedies matches your symptoms with the most correct remedy.
The curative power of the remedy is achieved due to its vibrational resonance with you as an individual. In other words, symptom relief or cure comes about by the adaptive abilities of your body in response to the remedy when correctly matched by a skilled provider. Homeopathic medicine is practiced throughout the world; there are more than 2,000 homeopathic remedies currently in use with more in development.
Remedies may be taken in granule, pellet, tablet or liquid form. The preparation and distribution of homeopathic remedies are regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration in conjunction with the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States. Some of homeopathy’s most appealing qualities are that it is:
- Safe for patients of all ages
- Has an extremely low side-effect profile
- Holistic
- Fast acting
- Non-suppressive
- Affordable
- User-friendly
- Non-polluting
To learn more about homeopathy please visit www.homeopathy.org and www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org