Upon graduating Medical School in 2015, I moved to Corvallis for residency training. Here, I completed a Family Medicine residency, graduating in 2018. During residency, I met Margaret Bartlett, a gifted and well-studied Physical Therapist who practiced Manual Therapy (body work) for her patients.
After graduating from residency, I opened my own practice in Corvallis focusing solely on Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment. I enjoyed a brief, yet very impactful mentorship with Margaret, and many of the ideas that I have used in my early practice were borrowed from her.
My early years were spent in Kent, Ohio; and I did my undergraduate study at Kent State University, in my hometown. Medical School was on the campus of Virginia Tech, in southwest Virginia.
Osteopathic Medicine is essentially a philosophy of health, disease, and healing: The body (along with the mind and spirit) always works toward the best health it can attain. We can help improve the available health by giving it a favorable environment to do so. I chose Osteopathic Medical School because this philosophy resonated with my beliefs about life and health.
My practice style is to work with the body. I learned many techniques, and use only the gentle ones, avoiding popping and cracking. I have found that this gentle approach works better for me than more forceful techniques, and it fits with my overall working approach and way of being.
From my mentorship with Margaret, I learned to look for underlying causes of symptoms, and to attempt to address these. I often spend a lot of time checking for restrictions in the body before providing treatment. I also attempt to teach people how to treat their own restrictions and how to stay healthy. One of my goals is always to work myself out of each patient’s business.
I have worked with people of all ages, treating sports injuries, chronic pain, movement disorders, trouble with balance, car accident injuries, concussions, pregnancy discomfort, postpartum recovery, infants with feeding difficulties and head asymmetries, children with behavior issues, and more.
I have found that people can trust their intuition about their bodies and I make it part of my practice to listen closely to their narratives. I use that information in my attempt to see the whole picture of their symptoms as it relates to their health history, past injuries and the natural processes which are at work in the body.
I view each patient and each encounter as a new puzzle. Every visit requires an individualized treatment plan. We are always working to promote healing and wholeness, whatever the baseline health status.