Lyn Patrick Portrait

Meet Lyn Patrick, ND

Lyn Patrick ND graduated from Bastyr University in 1984 with a doctorate in naturopathic medicine. Doctors of naturopathic medicine are trained in all aspects of family health and wellness, from pediatrics to geriatrics. Licensed naturopathic physicians have attended a 4-year graduate level program at accredited institutions where they receive the same basic science education as their counterparts in regular medical school. In addition, they receive training in holistic, non-toxic therapies and develop skills in homeopathy, clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, acupuncture, and lifestyle counseling. Although Colorado does not currently license qualified naturopathic physicians, they are licensed in 15 states and the District of Columbia as well as all provinces in Canada.

Lyn  entered private practice in Arizona in 1985, one of the states that licenses qualified naturopathic physicians as primary care providers with the ability to deliver children, perform minor surgery, and prescribe medication.  For 17 years, she practiced general family medicine, as well as focusing in chronic hepatitis C, eating disorders and the biochemical treatment of drug,  alcohol, and nicotine addiction. She moved to Durango, CO six years ago and is continuing to support patients in integrative medical approaches to health problems.

She has been a past Medical Director of Mirasol, an inpatient eating disorder facility in Tucson Arizona, where she utilized holistic treatment protocols for anorexia and bulimia. She is currently a faculty member of the Postgraduate Certification Course on Environmental Medicine through Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, a year-long continuing medical education training program for standard physicians as well as licensed naturopathic doctors.

She is also a faculty member of the American College for the Advancement of Medicine www.acam.org continuing medical education conferences, lecturing in the area of environmental medicine and is a consulting member of the Board of Directors of ACAM. She is also a past physician-member of the Hepatitis C Ambassadors Team, a national interdisciplinary team of providers and hepatologists seeking answers to chronic hepatitis C treatment through research in complementary/alternative medicine. http://www.hepcchallenge.org Dr. Patrick is a published author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and is a Contributing Editor for Alternative Medicine Review, a Medline-indexed journal of complementary/alternative medical research.
http://www.thorne.com/alternative_medicine_review.wss She speaks internationally on the integrative medical treatment of chronic hepatitis C , environmental medicine and other topics.

Dr. Patrick speaks about her interest in environmental medicine. “It occurred to me about 10 years ago that I had a number of patients that were improving but were not able to get completely well, no matter how significant their lifestyle and diet changes were or how many medications they were taking or therapies they received.

I started studying environmental medicine and realized that the lifelong exposure we all have to toxic metals, solvents, pesticides and herbicides affects some of us more than others, and in those susceptible individuals, they can create illness. I realized why my patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, and many other conditions weren’t able to get better. I decided that I needed a different approach to these patients.”

 She obtained postgraduate training in environmental medicine and has been utilizing that training in helping patients with environmental exposure using naturopathic approaches integrated with effective Western medical treatment.

Lyn is a small-scale organic farmer on an urban farm in Mancos Colorado where she grows Chinese herbs, fruit and vegetables . She also practices and believes in the healing benefits of meditation and yoga, open-water kayaking, road biking and climbing mountains.