At 20 years old, I was a college student in San Diego, California. I woke up one day with an ugly rash over most of my body. At the school clinic, the doctor looked perplexed and wanted to present me before the top dermatologists to see if they could determine what was going on. I was excited to have it resolved. As a young woman, it wasn't helping my self-esteem. A few weeks later, the top dermatologists in town hovered over me and examined my skin. They didn't talk to me, ask me questions, or even make eye contact. I don't exactly remember, but they probably rubbed their chins and then handed me a small brown bag filled with steroid creams.

I do remember walking away feeling like a piece of meat. It was as impersonal an exchange as there ever was. I also knew that the creams weren't the answer to why I suddenly had my skin condition. I reflected on all the other patients who may have had similar experiences, and my heart went out to them. That was my realization, in 1978, that something was wrong with our medical system. The steroid creams calmed down the rash temporarily, but I knew drugs weren't the answer and that they could have bad side effects. Thus, my journey to healing myself began. I started reading books on nutrition and whatever else I could find related to alternative health. At that time, there wasn't much. I learned that there might be some foods that I was eating that were causing me problems.

Besides my skin issue, I also had digestive problems, a lowered immune, and was tired most of the time. I vividly remember going to the library to study. After eating a bagel with cream cheese, I had absolutely no mental focus and would literally fall asleep on my books. I also learned that stress could play a role in one's health. Who knew? I was constantly stressed. I was stressed over exams, choosing a major, living situation, boys, and skin. If that wasn't enough, my father was in a near-fatal car accident at the time, and for a couple of months, I was driving two hours to Los Angeles every week to see him in the hospital.

Around that time, I had my first massage. In the '70s, the words massage and prostitution were synonymous. Thankfully times have changed. The massage was transformational. I was so relaxed. I realized that I had never felt that way. I wanted to learn how to also make others feel this good. What a gift to give someone. After I graduated from college, I went to massage school. I loved it. I did massage for a couple of years. I wanted to learn more and take healing to another level, so I started acupuncture school. It was 1983.

As a fledging acupuncturist, I was very interested in nutrition and the potential of food allergies/sensitivities on the body. I had my patients do blood testing to reveal their allergies. At that time, those tests were very expensive. When they removed the offending foods, they felt much better, but it was very challenging for them to remove those foods for an extended period of time, and as they eventually reintroduced allergic foods, symptoms would return. In my early 30's, I started having debilitating sinus infections. I was miserable and sick all the time. Antibiotics, supplements, herbs, and traditional acupuncture gave me no relief. I was allergic to calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B, sugar, corn, and dust. NAET helped me to identify and overcome my food and environmental allergies. After only a few treatments, my sinus infections have been gone now for over 25 years. What a gift.

As NAET was so successful in eliminating allergies, the stress they can cause on our system, and related symptoms, I also discovered another technique called NET (Neuro-Emotional Technique) to help eliminate emotional stress and the negative impact it can have on the body. NET has benefited my patients and me tremendously. NET helps uncover and release blocked/stored emotions in the body. These blocked emotions may often be the reason behind the allergies and the root of many other physical/emotional problems.

These two techniques are the foundation of my practice, helping patients to eliminate their food and environmental allergies along with stored emotional stress.