I’m Daena.

There is a bridge across a wide river I like to use: it connects science and intuition in medicine. Often it seems there are endless options and approaches. It takes a combination of knowledge, experience and education to narrow down which options are applicable, which have proven results with the least amount of side effects, and which approach will work with this person’s individual constitution, cultural identity, and lifestyle.

Once we get to that smaller pool of options that are safe and effective, sometimes there are still many approaches, all valid. When the way forward is not clear, this is where intuition can guide us. This is the quiet place where we ask the herbs, the body, and any other guides who will share their infinite wisdom for support. Our cells have co-evolved and interacted with this planet for millions of years, and our bodies want to be healthy. Our bodies know how to be healthy when we give them the support they need. Sometimes it is this inner voice, our intuition is the one who decides which way to go, which plant to use.

I don’t always get to the crossing with every person. Sometimes there is no need; the answer is obvious, but I am grateful for the bridge. I am grateful to move between both the shores of experience, training and research and the knowledge not held in the head, but in the heart. This link was built with the help of community, of healers, mothers, grandmothers, mentors, teachers, activists, elders, creators, gardeners, plant whisperers, historians, scientists, alchemists, doctors, those before us whose histories were destroyed, the stories remembered but told in whispers, and by those in front of us for whom we are writing their history. Their labor gave us the bridge, and I am humbled to use it.

I studied what is called “Traditional Western Herbalism” using a common sense Functional Medicine Approach to health and diet. As a Clinical Herbalist I practice a Vitalist Herbalism in the sense that I strive to balance science and research with more traditional knowledge and experience: both clinical and folk remedies are used with my clients. I support Reproductive Justice for all people in all the different ways that looks. I believe in Harm Reduction and meeting people where they are without judgment or shame. I am a cis-white woman and I am working to center the needs of marginalized people and communities in my practice and in my life.

I am not a medical doctor, but I am here to listen, to help, and to find ways to heal ourselves.

We all deserve the best information and treatment available, no matter income or location. Sometimes the best option available is a prescription drug, sometimes it’s a change in the diet or taking herbs without the potential side effects, sometimes it’s a surgery. Sometimes it’s a combination. Getting quality medical information can be confusing. Between capitalistic doctors trained twenty years ago with their pharmaceutical company partnerships and self-proclaimed healers on Instagram with more marketing skills than researching skills, navigating the waters of health is getting more and more murky.

I am trained (both professionally and personally) to wade through good research and bad; separating quality medical information and biased sources.

I am dedicated to working with people to find their best choice.