About Dr Bret

Many years ago, I started my education into the health health field by working on a degree in Biology. I wasn't sure exactly where this education would take me, but it seemed like a great starting point. Med school, nursing, chiropractic, physical therapy and sports medicine all seemed like viable options to me, but nothing I felt passionate about. I got EMT certification and volunteered in the ER of a local hospital trying to find which direction I should go, but nothing felt right. So, without a clear idea of what direction to take my medical career I chose the next logic step...bartending! Well, pretty much the opposite of health care at that point.

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It was during my time working as a bartender I met an acupuncturist. We chatted for a a bit and I told him about a nagging shoulder injury I had from from a combination of 2 accidents I had (one while I was in the Marine Corps and one while rock climbing). I was interested in trying acupuncture and went in for some treatments. I was amazed at how relaxing the treatments were, and even found myself falling asleep while the needles were in me. The acupuncturist was great! The part I found frustrating was when I'd ask the acupuncturist why he put a needle in my leg or in my hand, when it was my shoulder that hurt. He would look at me and say "Qi!" pronounced Chi. i wanted to understand what was going on, but the more questions I asked, the less he spoke, which is pretty tough when you're already giving one word answers. So, my interest was piqued and I bought a book about acupuncture that answered some of my questions, but it wasn't exactly in layman terms

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A couple years went by and I had an accident at work where I slipped lifting a keg of beer. I had herniated 4 discs in my low back and my pain and lack of mobility were debilitating. Due to the injury, I lost my job and had to figure out what i was going to do from there. As my mind raced between what I wanted to possibly do and what I would be capable of, due to the injury, I remembered acupuncture! I was able to enroll for the upcoming fall semester and from the first day of class I knew I was on the right track. I spent the next 5 years completing my Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine, and getting licensed by the California Acupuncture board. You may be thinking 5 years is a long time to get a masters! You're right! The program, at 3400 hours, is the longest masters program in the nation, and acupuncturists in California are considered primary healthcare providers. 

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And so my journey as an acupuncture practitioner began. I loved Chinese medicine and I still do. While Western medicine seemed rushed and quick to write prescriptions, Chinese medicine looked for patterns in systems and root-cause healing. The issue I discovered was that so much of the deep-dive into a patient's health was subjective! Asking someone how they rate their pain, sleep, energy level, stress level, etc.... All of these are subjective. The I discovered Functional Medicine!

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In 2010, three years after starting my acupuncture practice, I completed a certification in Applied Clinical Nutrition and started my education and practice implementation of functional medicine. Functional Medicine opened up a door where I could run labs for patients and remove the subjective aspect. I still do deep-dive intakes and look for the root cause, but now I get to add in state-of-the-art labs that let me know what's going on at a cellular level. Seeing exactly what's going on with the gut microbiome, instead of just asking "how's your digestion?" Getting a full adrenal stress profile with cortisol levels 6 times in a day, instead of asking "how's your energy?"

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My process became very methodical and effective:

1. Take an extremely detailed patient intake form, covering all health systems, starting from birth

2. Review the intake with the patient to get a deeper understanding of ailments

3. Using information from the intake, determine what systems are damaged and what lab(s) I need to order

4. Come up with a treatment plan (supplements, Chinese herbal formulas, diet, sleep, lifestyle, exercise/meditation) require for the patient to regain the level of health they want

   • I mention "the level of health they want' for a reason. Sometimes optimal health takes a lot of work and lots of changes. These changes can often be too much for a patient to comply 100%. There need to be an understanding between the practitioner and the patient about what the realistic expectations of a treatment will be. Very often a patient isn't willing to do certain things or give up certain foods/activities. In these cases, they may be content with a 50% improvement. The level of improvement will always be in direct proportion with the compliance of the patient.​

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During this journey I accomplished many things:

• Built a successful acupuncture practice

• Hired several times to be an expert witness for acupuncture malpractice cases

• Recruited by a corporation to run a franchise of acupuncture clinics

  • Ran 11 acupuncture clinics in California from San Diego up to San Francisco/Corte Madera​

    • The financial impact of CoVid19 took out all 11 clinics​

  • Employed, trained and mentored over 120 acupuncturists

• Speaker at Medical schools and education programs for Western medical providers (doctors and nurses)

• Completed my Doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

• Completed Certification as a Functional Medicine Provider

• Worked with 5 drug and alcohol treatment centers, as an acupuncturist

• Been interview for an Orange County news segment about acupuncture

• Completed multiple internships with distinguished functional medicine providers

• And, as a life long learner, I'm currently doing another year-long functional medicine internship

 

Currently, besides running my clinic and working virtually with functional medicine patients from California and Colorado, I also serve as:

1. Ambassador for my local Chamber of Commerce

2. Board Member for a non-profit, Mental Health Alliance for Athletes

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State Licenses:

1. Colorado

2. California

3. National license through the NCBAHM (National Certification Board for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine)

 

When I'm not working, I enjoy working out, reading, singing (sometimes karaoke, always when I'm driving, and sometimes while playing my guitar), and I always love my daily (2 -3 times a day, depending on the weather) dog walks. You can catch some of our dog walk conversations on my YouTube channel! I also love travel and can't wait for another trip to Southeast Asia.

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