Deirdre Walsh – Integrative Health Coach

For some reason Mother Nature has been particularly indulgent of us this year.  The sun is our companion almost daily and at every window is a burst of green never seen before in March.  The arrival of spring brings out my giddy excitement about changing our weekly menu.  I pull out all the cookbooks and dream of all the delicious meals with all the new bounty. There’s something life-affirming about putting away the stews, squashes, brown rice and roasted vegetables.  Not to mention visually appealing. Good bye, brown.  Hello, emerald! Read the rest of this entry →

Integrative medicine puts the patient at the center of their health “story”. The difference between conventional medicine and integrative medicine is illuminated in the difference between treating and healing. A medical treatment plan includes the types of diagnostic testing, surgical or drug interventions and some options for self-care. An integrative plan looks at the physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental factors that affect a person’s health. It treats each person in a holistic manner with needs of mind, body and spirit at the heart of the plan.

The Bravewell Collaborative is a force to be reckoned with in this area. A philanthropic organization, they live and breathe to stimulate a widespread conversation about  prevention and patient-centered care – and the public-private collaborations that will make that a reality. To quote Dr. Oz: “They passionately want medicine to return to its soul, the altruistic call to service that treats the whole person in the context of one’s community”. Read the rest of this entry →

After taking a few turns through the healthcare system with family young and old, I found myself more and more disheartened with the whole process.  We didn’t see the positive results we hoped for from the rounds of doctor visits, hospitalizations and changes in meds.  This wasn’t because of poor care or lack of commitment, though.  We met a lot of incredibly dedicated and caring doctors and nurses that we will always be profoundly grateful for.

It’s just that none of the medical teams we met ever worked like a team.  Read the rest of this entry →

Welcome to my Health Design blog.

I’m blogging about my experiment to design my life for optimal health – more vitality, more engagement, and less stress.  I’ll be using the tools I learned at Duke Integrative Medicine this year, while I finished my certificate in Health Coaching.  Tools like designing my personal vision of health using the ideas and values that are important to me.  Making a plan, setting the goals and taking the actions to get there.  Figuring out what is healthy for me and for my family.  And, of course, sharing it all here. Read the rest of this entry →