Looking for a Natural Healer in Ormond Beach? 7 Questions to Ask

A trustworthy natural healer in Ormond Beach should be able to answer seven plain questions without flinching: what their credentials are and where you can verify them, how they work with your physician, what it costs from start to finish, what happens if it is not working, whether they will ever ask you to stop a medication, whether they profit from what they recommend, and how care actually happens between visits. Anyone who promises your condition will be gone for good, or tells you to drop a prescription, has failed the interview, and you can end the conversation there.

What the word natural leaves out

Around here the phrase covers a great deal of ground. Someone searching for a natural healer might find a classical homeopath like me, an acupuncturist, a chiropractor, a massage therapist, a functional medicine physician, an herbalist, or a person with no training at all and a shelf of supplements. I wrote about how those fields differ in a post on what a holistic health practitioner is. The short version: "natural" describes the tools, not the quality of the person holding them. It is not a credential, Florida does not license it, and it is not a promise that something is safe or that it works. So the questions below matter more than the label does.

The seven questions, with my own answers

1. What are your credentials, and where can I check them? Florida licenses neither homeopaths nor naturopathic doctors, so certification is voluntary, which makes verifying it all the more important. Ask for the certifying body and look the person up yourself. My answer: I am certified by the Council for Homeopathic Certification (CCH, since 2001) and registered with the North American Society of Homeopaths (RsHom(NA)). Both keep public directories, and my name is in them. I have practiced for thirty years. I am not a medical doctor, and I will say so in the first five minutes. More on the about page.
2. How do you work with my doctor? The answer you want is that your doctor stays in charge of your medical care and the practitioner adds to it. Anyone dismissive of your physician, or who wants to be your only source of care, is a risk to you. My answer: Homeopathy in my practice is complementary care. You keep your physician and every prescription they have written. I ask for your medication list at the first consultation, and I want to know what your doctor has diagnosed before I begin. When something needs a physical exam, a lab test or an emergency room, I say that out loud.
3. What does it cost, start to finish? Ask before the first visit, and ask about follow-ups and products, because that is where surprise costs hide. My answer: $300 for a thorough initial consultation, $75 for each thirty-minute follow-up, and remedies typically add about $40. A chronic case usually needs a few follow-ups over the first several months. I provide detailed receipts if you want to try for insurance reimbursement, though coverage is uncommon.
4. What happens if it is not working? A good practitioner has a plan for this and can describe it. A poor one has an excuse. My answer: If a chronic case has not changed by the third follow-up, I say so at that appointment, and we either take a fresh look at the remedy or talk about whether homeopathy is the right fit for you at all. Losing a client is better than stringing one along.
5. Will you ever ask me to stop a medication? This one is a test. The only acceptable answer is no. My answer: No. Not blood pressure medication, not antihistamines in ragweed season, not steroid creams, not laxatives. If you and I both notice that you seem to need less of something, that is a decision for your prescriber, and I will encourage you to raise it.
6. Do you profit from what you recommend? Pressure to buy a program of supplements from the practitioner's own shelf is one of the clearest warning signs in this field. My answer: I do not sell supplements or protocols. A homeopathic remedy is chosen for you, mailed to your door, and costs about $40. There is nothing else to buy.
7. Virtual or in person, and what happens between visits? Neither is better in every case, but you should know which you are getting and how to reach the person if something changes. My answer: My practice is fully virtual. Classical homeopathy is built on a long, careful conversation, and that works as well by phone or video from a condo on A1A as it would across a desk. Remedies are mailed. Between visits you can call the office at (754) 484-7988, Monday through Thursday from 10 to 6. Anything that needs hands-on examination is not what I do, and I will tell you who does.

Red flags that should end the conversation

• Any promise that a condition will be gone for good, or that a long-standing illness will be undone.
• Being told to stop, skip or taper a prescription without your prescriber involved.
• Being discouraged from seeing your doctor, getting a test, or vaccinating your children.
• A supplement package that costs more than the consultation.
• Credentials you cannot find in any directory.
• Testimonials offered in place of a plain explanation of what the practitioner actually does.

Why early September is when people start looking

Ragweed has been in the air since August and will run into November. The afternoon storms have not let up yet, and the busiest stretch of hurricane season is still ahead. After a summer indoors with the air conditioning running, the allergy and skin complaints that were tolerable in spring have become tiresome, and this is the point at which many people in Ormond Beach decide to add something to what they are already doing. It is a reasonable moment. It is also the moment when hurried decisions get made, so bring the seven questions to any first call, mine included.

If you want to see how I answer the rest of your questions, the FAQ page is the place to start, and the Ormond Beach page explains how a virtual practice serves clients here in town. Before you book with anyone, look the name up in a directory first. It takes about two minutes and settles the first question before you have spent a dollar.