We promote and support our patient’s full participation in their own healing process. We practice “root-cause” medicine: we want to know the ‘why’ behind your symptoms before we begin treating you. We also believe each unique individual possesses the innate wisdom and knowledge to heal from within and our aim is to serve as guides and support you during this ongoing process.
How we’re different from traditional doctor appointments:
The main difference between a visit to our center and a conventional visit to the doctor is that our philosophy and treatments require deep diving. Because Naturopathic Medicine considers the whole picture from the very beginning, we always spend time talking about the multiple factors that affect your wellbeing and assessing how you interact and respond to your environment and how that can lead us to express ourselves through symptoms. Instead of only treating these symptoms, we look for the root causes and we make sure to not cut any corners as we identify and attempt to remove the obstacles that may be keeping you from your optimal physical and mental health.
What to expect from your first visit:
Your first visit will last anywhere from 75 to 90 minutes and costs $150.
This is your opportunity to share “your story.” First we will gather as much information about you as possible through our intake form and then we will discuss your personal and family medical history, social history, and psycho-emotional well-being as well as your current health concerns and personal goals. The more information we have, the more we can fine tune your personal care plan so it’s best suited to address your particular needs. If we determine that you need a physical examination, we’ll carry that out, too. We may also order additional labs or specialized studies so that we have the most thorough possible understanding of your symptom’s origins.
Once we’ve gathered all your details, we will begin to advise you on the impact of lifestyle factors such as environment, diet, exercise, stress, and relationships in order to design the most effective long-term strategies to restore balance to your body and mind and improve your health.
Follow-up visit:
Your follow-up visits will last approximately 45 to 75 minutes and cost between $85.00 and $120.00,depending on whether or not we have lab work to interpret and discuss.
We’ll review your progress and answer any questions that may have come up for you. Using the new information and the information you provided during your first visit, we’ll establish both a long and short-term plan that involves exercise, diet, and the appropriate naturopathic interventions or medicines. We’ll also discuss goals for prevention and the proactive upkeep of your long-term wellness.
Continuity and care:
Naturopathic Medicine is a journey to wellness and a deepening knowledge of ourselves and our bodies.
During your first few visits, we will establish a personal care plan for you in order to address your main concerns and create a map of how to help restore and optimize your health. Acute conditions such as influenza will resolve rapidly, but chronic conditions such as arthritis or depression respond better to on-going therapy. Patients with multiple conditions often require care lasting months or even years. Once you’re feeling better, we encourage you to come in for a seasonal rebalancing. This allows us to continue to serve you by supporting and prioritizing a proactive approach to your mental and physical health.
Payments:
Because Puerto Rican insurance companies do not include Naturopathic Medicine under their coverage, we can only accept cash, credit card, or checks as payment. We also accept Paypal and ATH Móvil. All appointments must be paid for ahead of time in order to ensure our services and maintain our schedule. Because we highly encourage continuous health maintenance, we also offer “treatment bundles” and programs to make your work with us as cost-effective as possible.
Brief consultations:
These generally last between 10 and 20 minutes and cost $45.
During these little sound-bite appointments we can discuss basic lab results and any recent imaging such as sonograms or CT scans, refill prescriptions, review treatment plans, or any particular thing that needs immediate or acute attention. Also, if you are coming in for one of our in-house specialized tests, this is the type of appointment you need to request.
Other services:
IV Therapy, Acupuncture, Body Work & Nutritional Health Coaching
Cost Varies depending on service. Call for more details.
Telemedicine (virtual) and phone appointments:
Recent events have made the optimization and use of technology more important than ever, and we have made keeping us connected a priority. Many of our appointments are currently taking place via our telemedicine platform which provides greater flexibility. Also, your medical records are now available electronically via our online patient portal.
Conditions Treated
Women’s Health
Women’s health refers to everything that can affect a woman’s physical and emotional well-being. Women have unique concerns and their health needs evolve across their lives from adolescence to mature adulthood. Although at our center we treat every person holistically, we think that this approach is especially fundamental for women, as female bodies have cycles more deeply embedded in them and proactive measures are particularly effective.
Common women’s health issues include:
Staying healthy and promoting wellness
Weight concerns
PMS, painful periods or heavy menstrual bleeding
Preconception counseling and Fertility Care
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Endometriosis
Sexual concerns
Recurrent vaginitis, yeast or urinary tract infections
Peri-Menopause and Menopausal symptoms
Hormone Replacement
Naturopathic Endocrinology
In essence, Naturopathic Endocrinology is a branch of healing that prioritizes less invasive, more holistic approaches in the treatment of all imbalances that can be traced back to hormones or to the endocrine glands. Hormone management- whether thyroid, adrenal, metabolic, or reproductive hormones- is one of the most common reasons patients seek naturopathic care, as it offers many options that are less intrusive and more gentle than the ones offered by conventional medicine.
Common endocrinological conditions include:
Hypothyroidism
Blood Sugar Dysregulation/ Pre-Diabetes/ Diabetes
Syndrome X / Metabolic Syndrome
HPA-Axis Dysregulation or “Adrenal Fatigue”
Naturopathic Gastroenterology
As Hippocrates once stated, “all disease begins in the gut.” The gastrointestinal (GI) system plays an essential role in your overall health. Often, imbalances in the digestive system lead to symptoms elsewhere in the body, including the nervous system, immune system, and skin. Trained to treat the whole person and address the root causes of symptoms, naturopathic doctors (NDs) excel at treating GI conditions.
Known as “the second brain” of the body, the GI system lining houses hundreds of millions of neurons (the enteric nervous system) which manage the digestive process from swallowing to nutrient absorption to elimination. Cells in the gut lining also produce 95 percent of the serotonin in our bodies. The GI system acts as a communication center to the brain. When we’re stressed, scared, or nervous, our brain notifies our gut, and we may experience abdominal symptoms. Additionally, the gut lining houses more immune cells than the rest of the body, defending us against viruses and bacteria.
The health of this complex and essential body system relies on a combination of whole-body variables, including proper enzymatic function, nutrient absorption, microbiota (the body’s natural microorganisms) balance, tissue health, and elimination of waste. The ultimate goal is to have a digestive system that is functioning optimally.
Common GI conditions include:
Digestive Discomfort; Pain, Diarrhea, Constipation, Gas and Bloating
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth (SIBO)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
GERD/ Reflux
Food Allergies or Intolerances
Gallbladder disorders
Fatty Liver
Naturopathic Metabolic Work
Simply put, our metabolism is responsible for taking everything we eat and drink and turning it into energy. Our genes, hormones, diet, and lifestyle are all factors that play a big part in this process. Metabolism starts at the cellular level, meaning it is our cells that make energy. Within each cell is a powerhouse of energy production called the mitochondria. Mitochondria produce 90 percent of our energy. If the mitochondria are not functioning well, then our cells do not produce enough energy, and our metabolism slows down. High-stress hormones, toxic exposure, drugs and heavy metals can damage mitochondria.
Our aim is to look at the root causes of your metabolic imbalances in order to create a highly personalized road map towards your optimized health.
Common metabolic conditions include:
Weight Gain or Loss
Fatigue
Chronic Infections
Metabolic Syndrome- Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, Insulin Resistance
Environmental Medicine
Sometimes, the culprits behind some of our most pressing health issues are external to our own bodies. The chemicals, toxins, and metals that are in the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and the food that we eat (to name a few) often affect our well-being in invisible ways. We offer treatments that are designed to counteract these pollutants by supporting your natural detoxification pathways in order to reverse or avoid negative consequences. Our goal is to lead our patients on a path of healthy living by teaching them how to make lifestyle decisions to reduce total toxic body burden.
Environmental treatments include:
Seasonal Cleanses
Medical Detoxification Programs that address Mycotoxins (mold), Environmental Toxins, Heavy Metals, and more…
Chronic Disease
Chronic conditions are those that have a lifespan that is longer than a year and which require constant attention. Whatever your chronic condition may be, we approach it with a combination of knowledge, skills and resources in order to assess what’s affecting you on a day-to-day basis and find a place of balance in both your body and your mind.
Common chronic conditions include:
Diabetes
Autoimmune Conditions
Chronic Fatigue/ Fibromyalgia
Depression
Atopic Dermatitis
Mind-Body Medicine
Protecting the symbiotic relationship between the body and the mind is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Although the most common reason that many seek out MBM is stress, we like to think of it in a more proactive sense, where the alignment of your thoughts and your body can actually work to your advantage at all times. If you take care of your positive emotions- as well as your negative emotions- this can directly affect your wellbeing and longevity.
Techniques that are commonly used to foster this ethos of self-care include:
Self-awareness
Relaxation
Meditation
Guided imagery
Biofeedback
Physical exercise
Art
Music
Movement
Issues that can be significantly altered by these techniques include:
Stress Response
Sleep Disturbances
Mood Disorders; Anxiety, Depression
Cognitive Decline
Behavioral Changes
Optimization of Health, Happiness and Fulfillment
General
As Naturopathic Doctors, we are trained as primary care physicians in Family Medicine. This means that we not only provide preventative care, but also work with all populations from pre-natal care, pregnancy, pediatrics to geriatrics. Besides our emphasis on wellness and prevention, we treat a wide range of acute and chronic conditions. Our approach- as with all our other specialties- is always to begin by identifying and treating the root cause, treating the whole person and to work from the bottom up; from the lowest intervention to the highest intervention, as needed. We help you to identify and understand your health by assessing your personal risk factors, family history, strengths and the areas that need more support.
Common issues pertaining to general medicine include:
Preventative Medicine
Common Colds
Allergies
Coaching/ Counseling
Transitions
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My family and I have been patients of Brooke’s for over 12 years. Without a doubt, she is a saving grace of all proportions. In addition to her vast knowledge, her gentil, respectful, welcoming and loving care, as well as her curiosity and passion for her work and her patients, the most valuable quality of working with Brooke as my primary doctor is her willingness to question and investigate. Dr. Leason does not stop searching until she finds a treatment that truly resonates with and helps her patients. She makes us accomplices of our own health and healing which contributes immensely to self-reflection and personal growth in all aspects. For me, this is a true health professional. Thank you dear Brooke!/ Karen Langevin- teacher, movement artist, mother and patient /