When you go to a doctor's appointment looking for help, do you struggle with:

Here are some stories of people frustrated with their healthcare...

Are you tired of feeling reluctant to go to the doctor, and then leaving frustrated? Join this course to get a new approach. Learn how to:

1. Communicate your concerns in a way your doctor can take in, understand, and respond to.

2. Be better prepared for your appointments, so your doctor has more time to look for underlying causes of your symptoms.

3. Feel more confident in your appointments, which signals to your doctor that you're not just looking for a quick fix.

How it works:

Over the course of two months, we'll provide five engaging 90-minute online meetings plus one 30-minute one-on-one coaching call. Through active discussion, handouts, and worksheets, we'll help you prepare to have more effective appointments with your doctor. You’ll learn how to:

• Meeting 1: Clearly articulate your symptoms By organizing your symptoms in a medical format, your doctor can better understand what's going on with you.

• Meeting 2: Effectively share your personal context Through understanding the power of context, succinctly share the impact of your symptoms in a way that your doctor thinks, "I can help this person," and "this person is really trying to feel better."

• Meeting 3: Organize chronology concisely When you understand the importance of the timing of health and life events, you are better able to communicate a cohesive storyline to your doctor, so they can take action on your behalf. 

• Meeting 4: Create a summary statement for your provider We'll guide you as you summarize your work from the first three meetings. Having a summary statement helps you maximize your time with your doctor and ensures that your personal notes are integrated into your permanent healthcare record. Additionally, Dr. Allott will review the diagnostic labs she commonly suggests for individuals with fatigue, depression, insomnia, and anxiety.

• Meeting 5: Bringing the lessons-learned full circle Four weeks after Meeting 4, we’ll meet for a fifth and final meeting to debrief as a group, celebrate successes, and problem-solve unexpected challenges.

Bonuses: 

Dates of the course:

Now, you may still be wondering…

“Can I REALLY have a productive conversation with my doctor?”

It’s completely normal if you’ve got concerns. Some of the biggest ones are usually:

• What if I don't really know what's wrong with me?

• What if my doctor has already said there's nothing wrong with me?

• What if I've already tried and I wasn't taken seriously?

• What if I am too tired to try again? 

• What if I have already been labeled a "problem patient"?"

• What if I don't understand medical jargon?

• What if I'm intimidated by authority figures?

• What if I hate my current doctor?

If you’re worried about any of those things, you’re in good company! Most people have similar fears and worries when they don't feel at their best and still need to advocate for themselves. 

It doesn't matter if you don't know what's causing your symptoms – organizing your information in a way that your doctor can understand, and presenting yourself as a patient who is engaged in your healthcare, can make a world of difference.

In fact, Dr. Allott has successfully coached hundreds of people to get better healthcare for two decades. Here are some success stories:

Do you still have concerns? 

Some people may be concerned that they don't have enough time to organize their health information. Most of the work will be done during the class. 

You can also email us your questions and concerns before signing up for the course. 

Application deadline: Friday July 29th at 11:59pm Pacific time

Who we are we, and why we’re offering this course: 

Dr. Kristen Allott is a naturopathic physician, international speaker, and author. As a pioneering advocate for the use of whole foods nutrition for improving energy, mental clarity, decision-making, and treatment of mental health and addiction disorders, Dr. Allott is passionate about helping patients realize tangible results. Over two decades, she has refined her expertise in promoting increased cognitive functioning by treating the physiological and hormonal causes of mental health and addictions. In 2021, Dr. Allott co-published with her lifelong friend Natasha Duarte, the workbook, Fuel Your Brain, Not Your Anxiety: Stop the Cycle of Worry, Fatigue, and Sugar Cravings with Simple Protein-Rich Foods with New Harbinger Publishing.

Kristen’s Health Journey

My health journey began in 2014 after a car accident. The pain and fatigue forced me to stop many activities that gave me joy. Aikido and CrossFit were out of the question. Within months, I stopped traveling in a car for more than 30 minutes, and I even had to give up my morning walks. I worked with the top healthcare providers. But as time passed, I was not getting better, and my life was collapsing into smaller and smaller frames. After two years, I started to complain that this was not whiplash. However, by that point, I had recently turned 50. Fatigue, headaches, insomnia, and an inability to exercise were "a normal part of being menopausal."

At every appointment, I would say, "No, something is wrong!" I started to document what I tried and the results I got. I also listed my own questions. In 2017, I started with a new physical therapist. She identified that I had extremely poor balance and my eyes were not tracking together. What everyone had missed, including me, was that I had a traumatic brain injury. It affected my vestibular and visual system and was the cause of my fatigue and pain, not whiplash! With this new information, I could target the therapy that I needed. Slowly, I have been able to return to activities that I love.

As a doctor, I often see fatigued and frustrated women. We work together to identify the underlying causes of their fatigue and other symptoms. With this knowledge, they can better focus on moving toward solutions. In this pilot, I want to give women the tools they need to receive the individualized care they deserve so they, too, can move forward with their lives.

Natasha Duarte has always been curious about different cultures. She has traveled extensively and has consistently found that our differences are far out shadowed by what we have in common. Much of her work has involved developing and supporting community, helping people be at their best, and celebrating uniqueness. Through this work, Natasha developed a communication style and tools that help people achieve their goals. Along her journey, Natasha has faced some health issues that were not easily identifiable or treatable. She put her natural curiosity and “get it done” approach to work within the medical system to find solutions. When her long-time friend, Kristen, invited her to co-create tools to support Kristen’s medical practice, she said yes. This led to co-authoring their workbook, Fuel Your Brain, Not Your Anxiety, released by New Harbinger Publishing in early 2021. Looking for another project to share, this pilot course was an easy next step. It supports their shared goal of helping as many people as possible be at their best so that they can, in turn, positively impact their families and communities.

Natasha’s Health Journey
In 2014, I came to realize that I alone am responsible for my own healthcare. I had lower abdominal discomfort, which I thought was from an intestinal parasite infection from a trip to Asia. At a routine check-up, my doctor ordered an ultrasound which was inconclusive but suggested I had an abdominal mass. I was told that my doctor’s office would schedule a second ultrasound at the hospital. Because I was busy with work, and because I didn’t have a great relationship with my doctor at the time, I didn’t make the second ultrasound a priority. In fact, I didn’t even notice that no one from the hospital had followed up with me until over a year went by. I found a new doctor, who immediately knew something wasn’t right and sent me directly to the hospital for follow-up. By this time, the mass in my abdominal cavity was the size of a melon and I was immediately scheduled for surgery. Thankfully, the mass was benign. In retrospect, had I followed up on my own behalf immediately, the issue would have been identified at a much earlier stage and the surgery could have been simpler. Additionally, if it had been cancer, the lost time could have made a huge difference in the outcome.

What I realized through this experience is that sometimes I don’t engage the healthcare system because I’m too busy, or because it’s not pleasant, or I’ve lost trust in a particular doctor. I expect that doctors are going to take care of me and they sometimes they don’t. Doctors work under a lot of time constraints and stress. What I’ve learned from my work across the world is that all relationships improve with better communication. Protecting my health takes time, and isn’t always convenient or comfortable. But my health still needs to be a priority. Part of why I’m passionate about this pilot is that I think we’ve all experienced this to a greater or lesser degree. We all need support and tools to successfully engage the healthcare system to receive the care we need.

How to enroll: