Because we are not an insurance model clinic, we can provide longer, unrushed, and personized visits for our patients. And since we see one patient at a time, rather than rotating through rooms, we are present with our patients throughout the duration of our acupuncture sessions.

Not in Virginia. The scope of practice for Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) varies throughout the country. However, there are several states that do not yet offer Naturopathic Doctors a practice license; such is the case in Virginia. This limits NDs from practicing in a primary care role. Therefore, NDs in Virginia are unable to offer physical exams, diagnostic imaging, or manage pharmaceuticals.

As a result, NDs in Virginia practice in a consulting role, co-managing patients with their primary care providers. This allows the ND to help patients uncover underlying causes of imbalance(s) and offer safe and effective individualized, natural treatments including clinical nutrition, homeopathy, botanical medicine, acupuncture, and lifestyle counseling. If you are looking for a provider to help optimize the conventional care you are receiving and to put the pieces together holistically, our practice is likely a good match.

Since some patients are only interested in naturopathic care and others only in acupuncture, acupuncture treatments are kept as a separate service. Additionally, while some patients have insurance coverage for acupuncture in Virginia, there is not yet insurance coverage for naturopathic care. Therefore, at Collective Health Center, we keep naturopathic visits and acupuncture visits separate to appropriately accommodate everyone.

Since our approach is individualized, success is necessarily driven by each patient’s outcomes, which can vary based upon many factors. There are a number of research studies that have demonstrated the efficacy of the naturopathic, whole health and whole person approach [see ‘Research Highlights’ on page 22] for conditions such as cardiovascular disease, chronic pain conditions, type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, depression, anxiety, and a myriad of complex chronic conditions.