Naturopathy is a form of natural medicine that uses various techniques to help treat and prevent health ailments. These include dietary and lifestyle changes, alongside herbal extracts, and nutritional supplementation. It focuses on the importance of stress management, daily exercise, fresh water, safe sunlight exposure and a healthy diet. The foundations of naturopathy identify that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’, meaning the whole body is connected. Find out more about the origins of naturopathy.

I studied a Bachelor of Health Science at Endeavour College of Natural Medicine. It is a 4-year full-time degree, covering in-depth subjects from human biology, chemistry, pathology, nutritional and herbal medicine, pharmacology and pharmacognosy, and 12 months of practical clinic hours.

Prior to naturopathy, I studied a Bachelor of Commerce and worked in marketing for several years. 

A naturopath and nutritionist view the patient in a similar way, both are holistic and multidimensional. Both modalities incorporate diet, lifestyle, and nutritional supplementation as part of the treatment recommendations. A naturopath, in addition to this, can also use herbal medicine as part of the treatment, whilst not always required it is a useful tool to have. Teaching my patients how to eat for long-term health is one of my passions. As a society, we are often ‘yo-yoing’ between different fad diets that are not sustainable.

For the initial appointment, please allow 60 minutes for the consultation and additional time with the administration team for payment and collection of herbs/supplements (if required). The appointment will include a thorough case history regarding the presenting health issue/s, a review of diet and lifestyle aspects, stress and environment/social contributions.

If you have had any recent tests, please bring a copy of the results or email them prior to your appointment (wecanhelp@wildabouthealth.com.au). It will save time tracking these down after the appointment. In addition, take photos of any medications or supplements you are currently taking or bring them with you. Please fill in the Health Questionnaire attached in the welcome email, occasionally this email goes to your junk or spam folder.

The first follow-up appointment is recommended 2-3 weeks after the initial appointment to check in on how the treatment is going so far. Thereafter, it is individual on the health situation and may vary from 3-8 weeks. This will be individual for each patient, so this is only a guide.

After the initial appointment, any relevant documentation discussed within the consultation will be emailed to you. This may include a supplement sheet, handouts and/or a treatment plan.

Not necessarily. Each case is independent of the personal health situation. There is a lot we can do with diet and lifestyle which is fundamental to most long-term changes. However, nutritional supplements and herbs may be beneficial to help reach individual health goals.

No functional tests are conducted during the consultation. I may refer for further testing after the initial appointment depending on the presenting health problem. This can help identify the root causes of the presenting health symptoms.

Nutritional or herbal supplements and tonics may be prescribed at an additional cost to the consultation fee. These options will be discussed with you in the consultation. Occasionally, functional tests such as microbiome mapping or hair tissue mineral analysis may be referred to at an additional cost. However, there is a lot that can be done before ordering expensive tests.

Herbal medicine comes in many forms; liquids extracts (herbal tonics), powders, tablets, and capsules. If you have a personal preference, please let me know during the consultation. I will generally have a few suggestions that may be suitable to each presenting issue, but the primary goal is to ensure that the prescription is tailored to suit your needs.

A liquid herbal tonic is a mixture of one or more key herbal extracts from specific plants and plant parts (such as the root, leaf or flower). The plant parts contain key chemical constituents and phytochemicals that have been shown to assist with specific ailments. A personalised herbal tonic can assist with addressing multiple issues such as stress, skin and gut all in one for example. The benefit is that you may only need to take one herbal tonic mix, rather than multiple supplements and herbs, making it a cost-effective option. Herbal tonics are usually distilled in ethanol or glycerine and are recommended to be mixed with a small amount of water with each dose.

Great care is taken in selecting the right herbs or nutritional supplements. If you are taking any pharmaceutical drugs (both over-the-counter and prescription) please include this in the Health Questionnaire. Occasionally, there may be some drug-herb interactions that we need to be cautious of before prescribing.

I practice as a naturopath at Wild About Health in Shellharbour on the South Coast of NSW, a leading naturopathic centre of excellence. The address is 211 Lake Entrance, Blackbutt NSW 2529; located within the Stockland Shellharbour.

Online telehealth options are available to service anyone within Australia. If you were scheduled to attend an in-person naturopathy appointment and need to make a last-minute change, please call the clinic on (02) 4297 4916 or email wecanhelp@wildabouthealth.com.au prior to the appointment.

I am available to see patients on Friday and Saturday afternoons (subject to change), either in-person or via telehealth. Book an appointment online and select the initial appointment option to find the next available appointment.

Sometimes the emails may go to the junk or spam folder, please check either of these folders before contacting the administration team. As I am either in consultations or busy conducting research for patients, please allow a minimum of 2 business days for a response.

No, my elective stream as part of my degree was nutrition, rather than homoeopathy. I would recommend seeing a homoeopath if this is your preferred way of treatment.

It's not something that is currently on offer. If you have any general enquiries prior to booking an appointment, please contact the team at Wild About Health or send me an enquiry.

Not currently. Changes to legislation in 2019 removed a range of natural therapies from private health cover rebates, including naturopathy. The Federal Government announced their decision to review the removal of natural therapies from private health insurance, it is currently under review, but no updated timeframe has been provided.