Functional & Integrative Medicine

Dr. Christine Schaffner, ND

Dr. Christine Schaffner is a board-certified Naturopathic Doctor who has helped thousands of people recover from chronic or complex illnesses. Through online summits, her Spectrum of Health podcast, a network of Immanence Health clinics, and renowned online programs, Dr. Schaffner goes beyond biological medicine, pulling from all systems of medicine and healing modalities–helping patients reclaim their wellness and reveal their brightest light.

Dr. Schaffner completed her undergraduate studies in Pre-medicine and Psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and went on to earn her Doctorate at Bastyr University.

With her diverse skill set, Dr. Schaffner seeks to improve access, outcomes, and speed of recovery for patients struggling with chronic, complex, and mystery illnesses. Patients travel from all around the world to reclaim their wellness using her EECO methodology.

WHAT IS EECO™?

EECO™ captures the complete picture: your body’s internal environment, how it interacts with the world, and identifies the personal obstacles interfering with healing.

Most modern medicine practitioners see and only treat symptoms. This is why it fails.

EECO™ uncovers the root causes of illness and reveals the interdependencies of our biosystem, energy, and environment.

By pulling from multiple systems of medicine, Dr. Schaffner is able to develop individualized treatment plans that focus on addressing the underlying cause of complex chronic illness.

Dr. Schaffner is passionate about educating patients, as well as other practitioners, bringing the most advanced medical protocols to all, as well as creating spaces for healing and rejuvenation.

Establishing the Good Living Health clinic has been the culmination of decades of my passion, commitment, and experience practicing medicine and improving healthcare.

I founded Good Living Health because I want to make a real impact on improving my patients’ lives through Functional & Integrative Medicine. I believe that Functional Medicine and addressing the root cause of illness is the future of patient care. Considering the body as an interconnected whole–physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, environmental, lifestyle, genetic makeup–is necessary in understanding and treating any illness.

For me, doing right by those I serve means taking the time to listen. I know what it’s like to not feel heard. I will continue to give people the attention they need and deserve, validate their feelings and frustrations, and help find the true cause of their ailments.

My colleagues and I share the same core values. They are as passionate as I am. We are healers, educators and thought leaders, joining forces and combining our expertise to lead and deliver the new future of healthcare.

My introduction to integrative and plant-based medicine came during my childhood in Thailand, where we had a more integrated way of living with the natural world. I remember outdoor ceremonies where we would all give thanks to the earth and the rivers that nourished us. I was in awe and filled with pride for my grandmother who helped women with their home births. I can still smell the herbal remedies that she prepared for the new mothers’ natural healing.

I pursued my passion for medicine and nursing, completing my undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts. For much of my 30+ year career, I have worked as a family nurse practitioner in world class hospitals, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto. My work spans both in-hospital and outpatient clinic settings. I’ve worked in the ICU and preoperative anesthesia, as well as in primary care for children and adults, treating both acute and chronic conditions.

On a personal note, I live with my husband, son and dog in San Carlos (the “City of Good Living”), California. Along with my ongoing research in Functional Medicine and innovative treatment approaches, I love to cook creatively, share healthful meals with friends and family, hike, ride my bicycle, dance tango, and create art with plants.

– Sutida Majarone, FNP, MSN
   Founder, Good Living Health

Erna Wenus, L.Ac.

My path to Traditional Chinese Medicine was through my training as an MD specializing in Anesthesiology. I worked at a university hospital in Germany, where I was looking for a form of pain management with less severe side effects than what I was working with. This is where I first came across acupuncture. When I came to the US, my focus was on raising my toddler, but “on the side” I attended the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. The interaction with the teachers there drew me in, and when it became clear I would be staying in the US, I started building an acupuncture practice. Now, two decades later, I find myself delving ever deeper into the ancient wisdom of TCM. Working with all kinds of illnesses, I got to appreciate the viability of a true holistic approach to human suffering. Learning about advances in medical science, especially in neurophysiology, complemented my understanding of TCM and helped me develop a model that explains stress and how we respond to it. By understanding the dysfunctions created by stress and applying TCM principles and these findings about how the brain works, I’ve developed methods to help my patients respond to stress and restore function. This has led me to focus my practice increasingly on working with patients who struggle with stress and its most cruel form, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

A crucial push in that direction came from my experience with the Acupuncturists Without Borders. I was part of our mission to offer stress relief treatment in a post-disaster setting, in my case in Nepal. What I found was that, even a year after the disaster, people were still heavily impacted by the stress of the disaster, and the non-invasive interventions we offered brought tangible, visible relief.

For years now, I have been bringing presentations to my community on the practical applications of TCM to everyday life, from cooking with Chinese herbs or developing recipes for personal health to understanding personality types according to the TCM Five Element theory. TCM can be beneficial in your everyday life. It was great fun to do classes on how to cook with Chinese herbs or how to gear your food towards the seasons or one’s personal health circumstances. For the acupuncturist community, I am an approved provider of continuing education units and have presented my work on stress management at several conferences.

I am also a proud herbalist who loves to tailor herb formulas to the immediate need of a patient so they can be adapted to a patient’s progress. Outside of work I like to go to classical music concerts, contemporary art exhibitions, or go sailing on the Bay.