About Us
Meet Dr. Shawn Palmer N.D.
My road to becoming a naturopathic doctor started with being born with a birth defect, a cleft lip. This means there is a split in the upper lip. During my childhood, I spent hours in and out of surgical and dental procedures. In some cases, the procedures worked well and were a blessing, giving me a normal looking lip and enabling me to spend time with other kids growing up, and not being singled out for being different. In other instances, the procedures ended up failing. For example, I spent 3 years off and on in surgical and dental procedures only to have the procedures ultimately fail. Through all this, I personally experienced the wonders of conventional medicine and its failures. There is joy when all works well. And, there is frustration, sadness, disappointment, and heart break when it doesn't. During this time, and later as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Solomon Islands, I started to seek out less invasive approaches. These include approaches that are gentler in promoting healing, and in which failures are not so costly. It is because of these experiences that I decided to become a naturopathic doctor able to give clients gentle, noninvasive alternatives to their health care.
The Purpose of Our Practice
To help as many people as we can truly heal from the inside out. To educate people to take control of their own health and show them there is another way to do medicine that is safe, natural, effective, long lasting, and that it is possible to reverse disease.
Our purpose is to do all this while honoring patience choices, trying to do our part to make medicine affordable, and helping patiences to feel it is alright to integrate natural therapies into conventional care. Because in the end, all healers are on the same team, which is the side of the patient and making people feel better and be healthier.
Why Naturopathic?
Dr. Shawn Palmer N.D. at Aspen Creek Naturopathic Clinic has been in business for about 15 years and believes that alternative and wholistic medicine is about working with the body's own healing mechanisms to overcome disease. Naturopathic doctors are instructed in a variety of alternative medicine techniques which originated in Europe or were developed in the U.S., such as homeopathy, Western herbalism, and nutrition.
Naturopathic medicine is an effective option for most health problems. It can also be effective for many difficult to treat conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune diseases, and childhood behavior disorders. Our goal at Aspen Creek is to give the best long lasting result possible.
Educational Background
I am a graduate of the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, Oregon. NUNM is an accredited 4-year professional school, where students earn an N.D. degree recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Professors at NUNM are experienced health professionals and researchers who hold N.D., M.D. or both kinds of degrees who are also experts in natural medicine. At NUNM, I was instructed in how to assess a patient's health from different points of view and then improve a patient's health using a broad range of therapies including nutrition, supplements, western herbs, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and positional release. In addition to classwork, N.D. candidates engage in over 1000 hours of clinical work helping diverse populations of people in Portland. I additionally hold an MS degree from the University of Wyoming in physical chemistry and a BA in chemistry from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs.
Always working to stay current on the latest advances in natural medicine, I spend significant time in continuing education learning new techniques for helping clients. Further, I have additional education in the area of homeopathy, completing a 2-year course of study through the New England School of Homeopathy. Also, I have spent 4 years learning advanced techniques in Nutritional Response Testing through Ulan Nutritional Systems.
Read Shawn’s Interview and Learn More about what Aspen Creek Naturopathic Clinic Can Do For You
