FAQ
GENERAL
Functional Medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional Medicine practitioners spend more time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions between environmental, lifestyle, and genetic factors which influence health. The Functional Medicine practitioner will consider multiple factors, including:
Environmental inputs: The air you breathe and the water you drink, the particular diet you eat, the quality of the food available to you, your level of physical activity, and toxic exposures or traumas you have experienced all affect your health.
Mind-body connections: Psychological, spiritual, and social factors all can have a profound influence on your health. Considering these areas helps the Functional Medicine practitioner see your health in the context of you as a whole person, not just your physical symptoms.
Genetic makeup: Although individual genes may make you more susceptible to some diseases, your DNA is not an unchanging blueprint for your life. Emerging research shows that your genes may be influenced by everything in your environment, as well as your experiences, attitudes, and beliefs. That means it is possible to change the way genes are activated and expressed.
I am a Registered Dietitian (RD) with a Master’s in Clinical Nutrition (MSc) who is practicing through the scope of Functional Medicine. I am NOT a Medical Doctor (MD). Functional Medicine is not considered a standalone area of medicine and is reliant on conventional medical education and licensure. It is outside of my scope of practice to diagnose conditions or prescribe medication. I will gladly work with your medical practitioners to bring my perspective when appropriate. My tools of working with you are nutrition, lifestyle changes and quality supplementation.
The Functional Medicine Timeline is a tool that allows me to visualize your story chronologically by organizing important life events and health issues from pre-conception to the present.
The Functional Medicine Matrix is the graphic representation of the functional medicine approach, which displays the seven nodes of clinical imbalance, as well as antecedents, triggers, mediators, modifiable lifestyle factors, and mental, emotional, and spiritual considerations. I use the matrix to help organize my thoughts and observations about your health and decide how to focus therapeutic and preventive strategies.
CONDITIONS I WORK WITH
I have worked with people for the following chronic health concerns (but not limited to):
Acne
Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
Arthritis
Asthma
Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD, ADHD
Autoimmune Diseases
Cancer Prevention
Chronic Fatigue
Chronic Sinusitis
Depression and Anxiety
Detoxification and Healing
Diabetes
Digestive Disorders (IBD, IBS, GERD/Reflux)
Eczema/Psoriasis
Elevated Cholesterol
Environmental and Food Allergies
Fatigue
Female Disorders (PMS, Menopause, Infertility, PCOS)
Fibromyalgia
Healthy Aging
Healthy Weight and Metabolism
Heart Health
Hormone Balance
Low Testosterone
Metabolic Syndrome, Pre-Diabetes, Insulin Resistance
Migraines and Headaches
Multiple Sclerosis
Obesity
Osteoporosis
Parkinson’s Disease
Restless Leg Syndrome
Sleep/Insomnia
Thyroid and Adrenal Disorders
Yes, I work with clients who have Autoimmunity and have seen great improvements using my Functional Medicine approach.
As stated above, I am not a medical doctor (MD) and I cannot treat or diagnose disease. I can work with cancer patients to help create an environment in their body where cancer is less likely to grow. For those who are in treatment I can work with the oncologist team and focus on nutrition and lifestyle modification to strengthen the immune system, enhance detoxification and support the patient through their treatment. Post treatment, I work to decrease the risk of recurrence.
I have worked with children of different ages, together with their parents when necessary, helping them to create optimal internal and external conditions for growth and health.
BECOMING A CLIENT
The first step to become my client, is to schedule your free 15-minute Discovery call in which we will discuss about your main symptoms and health challenges and how working together can help you achieve your health goals.
I am committed to helping you reach optimal health and vitality no matter where you’re located. I work online with clients all over the world. Remote Consultations are available via your personalized Client Portal using your computer’s, tablet’s or phone’s camera and microphone.
If you are located in Athens, Greece, we can do our appointments from my office in person.
I am determined to provide you the best experience in your health journey, so I use Practice Better, an online platform in which you will have your own unique Client Portal from where all our communication will take place (diet and lifestyle recommendations, supplement recommendations, bookings & payments, tracking of your progress, form and food journal submission, lab test organization, online video calls). You can see here how your Client Portal will look like if you work with me.
Your Client Portal is easily accessible from you computer, android or iOS.
After our free 15-minute Discovery call you will gain access to your personal Client Portal, in which you will have to fill out the health history forms I will provide you and gather and upload your past medical records and lab tests.
Review of your health history questionnaires
Review of your ATM’s (antecedents, triggers, mediators)
Completion of your Functional Medicine Timeline (your health organized in chronological order)
Completion of your Functional Medicine Matrix (your health’s map including your story, your physiology and your lifestyle)
Assessment of conventional or functional medicine lab testing, if applicable
Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis, if applicable
Fully individualized nutrition and lifestyle plan
Targeted high quality Functional Nutrition Supplementation program, if appropriate
Recommendations for conventional or Functional Medicine Testing, if appropriate
Reassess your nutrition and lifestyle plan
Optimize your Functional Nutrition Supplementation program, if appropriate
Talk about any remaining symptoms
Counseling around your health goals
Expand your Timeline and Matrix
Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis, if applicable
Recommendations for conventional, Functional Medicine or Genetic testing, if appropriate
I see most people once or twice a month, until their goals are achieved and their symptoms are resolved.
A 3 to 6 month time frame most of the times is enough for someone to feel major differences in their health and vitality.
After that, we meet once or twice a year so I can support their ongoing healing journey, assess their progress and also analyze any available new testing.
CLIENT PORTAL
Click the “Client Portal” link on the top of this page or log into the mobile app using your email address and password you set up on the activation page.
You will need to activate your account before you can access your client portal. Once accepted as a client, you will receive an email with a subject line asking you to join me on Practice Better.
You will receive an email with a subject line asking you to join me on Practice Better.
In the email, you will see a button to activate your account.
After clicking on the activation link, you will be taken to a page where you can set up a password to access the system.
Enter and confirm your password, accept the terms and click the Sign up button.
After activating your account, you will then have access to the Client Portal and the resources I have provided you.
You can submit your form in two ways:
COMPLETE AND SUBMIT YOUR FORM THROUGH THE CLIENT PORTAL
If you have access to the Client Portal, you can access your new forms by clicking on the Complete button on the Pending Forms banner or My Resources> Forms and selecting the form that you want to work on.
When you have filled in all the fields of your form and you are ready to submit it, click on the Save and Submit button on the bottom right of the screen.
If you need to step away from your form but you’re not ready to submit it you can save your progress by clicking on the More Options button and selecting Save progress.
COMPLETE AND SUBMIT YOUR FORM DIRECTLY FROM YOUR EMAIL
You also have the option of completing your forms directly from the Practice Better, forms notification emails.
You can do this by clicking on the link to the form.
In your Documents section, you now have the ability to upload and share files with me. To get started, click on My Resources > Documents from the main navigation menu.
In the bottom right corner of your Documents page, click the red Fast Action Button.
On the Upload Files page, click on the Select files button to select one or more files from your computer. You can upload up to 10 documents at once. Each document must be less than 120MB in size.
To add additional items, click the Add another button to the right
You can also change the destination folder for your upload if you’ve already created a new folder(s) in your My Uploads section. Click Upload to upload your documents.
Invoices
Click Download then print downloaded PDF.
Session Notes attachment and Files in Documents Folder
Click on attached document to download, then open downloaded document and Print.
Protocols
Click Download, open downloaded document, and Print:
From a specific protocol, you can also print by clicking the Download button in the top right corner.
STEP 1: ACTIVATING YOUR PRACTICE BETTER ACCOUNT
All Telehealth sessions are securely conducted within your Client Portal. You are required to activate your account and set up a login/password before the time of your session.
You can activate your account by clicking the Activate your account link at the bottom of your telehealth appointment email or in the Invitation email sent by me.
After clicking on the activation link, you will be taken to a page where you can set up a password to access the system:
Enter and confirm your password, accept the terms and click the Sign up button. After activating your account, you will then have access to the Client Portal and the resources I have provided you.
STEP 2: CONNECTING TO YOUR TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENT
You will receive an email confirmation and reminder email for your telehealth session.
Once you have activated your account, you can simply use the “click here to join the session” link in the email to directly join the session from your computer or mobile browser.
You may be prompted to log in first, after which you will be automatically redirected to the video session waiting room.
Alternatively, you can log into your Practice Better account from your computer or your mobile device to join your video session.
Click the video icon next to your session in Upcoming Sessions on your homepage.
Your Web Browser
The latest version of Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox is required to conduct video sessions in Practice Better. Using an outdated or unsupported browser (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer / Edge) may result in failure to join your session.
Joining from the Mobile App version of Practice Better
If you are joining from your mobile device, you can click on the video icon from your Home screen under the Upcoming Sessions.
If you are viewing the Session Details, you can click on the Video icon at the bottom to join the session.
STEP 3: ENSURING THAT YOUR CAMERA AND MICROPHONE WORK PROPERLY FOR THE TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENT
Practice Better requires access to your camera and microphone so other participants can see and hear you in your video sessions.
Firefox and Safari typically ask you to enable permissions for each session. If you’ve accidentally clicked on Don’t Allow or dismissed the popup without allowing access, you can simply close and re-open the Telehealth session.
Google Chrome will prompt you the first time you join a session. Click Allow to enable access to your camera and microphone. If you click Block or close this popup without allowing access, you may need to manually enable permissions.
In the following link you can find instructions on how to best use your journal and its tools:
https://help.practicebetter.io/hc/en-us/sections/360010428192-Journals-for-Clients
You can cancel an appointment in a couple of ways:
CANCELING FROM YOUR CLIENT PORTAL HOME PAGE
If the session is displayed under the Upcoming Session panel on your home page, click on the session name. This will take you to the appointment details page. The appointment can then be canceled by clicking the Cancel session button on the left.
Optionally, you can click the 3 dots next to the appointment in the Upcoming Sessions panel and select Cancel from the options provided.
CANCELING FROM YOUR MY BOOKINGS PAGE
If the session is not displayed in the Upcoming Sessions panel, go to your My Resources > Bookings page.
Then click View details next to the session.
This will take you to a page where you can cancel the session. Optionally, click the 3 dots to the right of the Reschedule button and select Cancel from the options provided.
RATES & POLICIES
The following rates are for all my international clients:
Initial Consultation (120 minutes) – 220 €
Follow-up Sessions (50 minutes) – 120 €
I understand that there are times when you must miss an appointment due to emergencies or obligations for work or family. However, when you do not call to cancel an appointment, you may be preventing another client from getting much needed assistance. Conversely, the situation may arise where another client fails to cancel and I am unable to schedule you for a visit, due to a seemingly “full” appointment schedule.
For all sessions there is a 72-hour cancellation policy. If you cancel/reschedule with fewer than 72 hours, you will be charged 100% of the appointment fee.
I appreciate your understanding.