Welcome! Shannon Widderick, MS, PA-C: Certified Physician Assistant, Integrative Medicine & Allergy

Shannon Widderick M.S., PA-C graduated from Springfield College in 2007 with a Master’s Degree in Science and Physician Assistant studies. She began her career in trauma surgery before moving to inpatient medicine and geriatric care. Shannon is also an adjunct faculty member of the Physician Assistant program at Bay Path College.

Through these experiences Shannon says she has gained an appreciation for both the delicate balance of life and the body’s resilience through times of illness. This respect for the human capacity to heal led her to the field of Integrative Medicine and Northampton Wellness Associates, where she can guide people along the path of self-healing.

 With a special interest in asthma, allergy, women’s health and chronic illness, Shannon hopes to help people gain an improved quality of life. She feels that NWA provides the optimal setting for patient centered care by fostering the collaborative relationship between practitioner and patient. Shannon states, “Through partnering with patients, I am able to address the concerns most important to them and have a real impact on their quality of life, thereby improving patient wellness.”

She believes our natural curiosity drives us to uncover new aspects of health and wellness. As a trusted member of our patients’ healthcare team, Shannon is committed to continuing her education.  She has observed, “Each patient is a new opportunity to learn. Every person has a unique story; by honoring this story I gain new insights into caring for people.”  In her own life, Shannon embodies the sentiment of self-healing through the regular practice of yoga and meditation, which she says helps to ground her as she raises a young family.

Back to top of page

Barry D. Elson, MD: Physician, Medical Director, Integrative Medicine & Allergy

Barry D. Elson, MD is the founder and Medical Director of Northampton Wellness Associates. He has practiced Integrative Medicine for 30 years, specializing in finding the safest and most effective treatments for chronic illness and allergies.

Dr. Elson graduated with honors from Yale University, then received his MD degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of British Columbia in 1979. After working in remote parts of British Columbia, he lived in India and Nepal, where he studied indigenous healing methods.

Dr. Elson practiced family medicine in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. He served as a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Clinical Medicine training program at the Pacific College of Naturopathic Medicine. He then served as Medical Director of the Commonweal Health Center in Bolinas, California, where he provided care for chronically ill patients from all over the country. He practiced allergy and primary care in Florence, Oregon, and then worked as an Emergency Physician in Ware, Massachusetts.

In 1985, Dr. Elson returned to New England for good, and founded Northampton Wellness Associates. Here, he has recruited a team of outstanding practitioners to join him in providing high quality, multidisciplinary, integrative medical care.

He is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the American College for Advancement in Medicine, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine,  the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy, the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (and the Special Committee on Food Allergy), and the Pan American Allergy Society.  He is an Adjunct Clinical Faculty member of Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Elson is an avid biker, swimmer, cross country skier, and sailor. He and his wife Vicki have three grown children and two amazing grandchildren.

Back to top of page

Darren Lynch, MD: Physician, Integrative Medicine & Allergy

Darren Lynch, MD joined Northampton Wellness Associates in January, 2004, following completion of an Integrative Medicine Fellowship at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing in New York City. There, he received training in a wide range of complementary and alternative healing modalities. He has published research articles in Alternative Medicine Alerts and Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

Dr. Lynch received his MD from Georgetown University, followed by a 3 year family practice residency at York Hospital. During the next 2 1/2 years in private practice, he became increasingly frustrated by the limitations of conventional medicine. He began his journey into integrative medicine by incorporating herbal remedies and osteopathic manipulative techniques, providing his patients with greater therapeutic choices.

Dr. Lynch practices from a Body/Mind/Spirit, patient-centered model of healing. He treats therapeutic relationships as partnerships in which doctor and patient decide together the path by which each patient may find optimal health. He seeks to find the underlying cause for illness and in doing so, embrace wellness. He treats patients of all ages and welcomes the opportunity to tackle any medical problem.

Dr. Lynch is board certified in Family Practice and Integrative Medicine. He is a member of the American College for the Advancement of Medicine, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, and the Pan American Allergy Society.  He is an Adjunct Clinical Faculty member of Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine.  He plays and coaches soccer, and enjoys hiking and spending time with his family.

Back to top of page

Alice Prescott, DO: Physician, Integrative Medicine, Allergy, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine & Women's Health Care

Alice Prescott, DO has come to us from Austin, Texas. She has a broad background in family medicine. She has been practicing functional and integrative medicine since 2009. Prior to that, she worked in various locations, including New Zealand and the Indian Health Service.

In addition to her medical skills, she practices osteopathic manipulation as a supportive healing modality. She believes that good mental hygiene, a sense of humor, and trust in the body's innate processes are essential to healing.

Outside the office, you may see her hiking, doing yoga, snowboarding, and reading dense volumes of recent integrative medicine research.

Back to top of page

Michelle Goulet, MSN, FNP: Nurse Practitioner, Integrative Medicine & Women's Health Care

Michelle Goulet, MSN, FNP is a family nurse practitioner, specializing in integrative medicine.  She is especially skilled in women's health care, preventive medicine, nutrition, chronic illness, and allergy.

Michelle received her BSN in 1994, and her Master's degree in Advanced Practice Nursing in 1999, both from the University of Massachusetts.

After 3 years as an ICU/CCU nurse at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Michelle became interested in integrative medicine while working as an RN at Canyon Ranch Health Resort in the Berkshires. She then spent 6 years as a Family Nurse Practitioner providing primary care at a private practice in Springfield before joining us here at NWA.

Michelle says, "I like having enough time with each patient to better understand their needs. NWA is a wonderful place to practice integrative medicine. People feel really cared for and listened to."

Michelle lives with her husband and their young son. She and her family enjoy outdoor sports, especially hiking, snowshoeing, and canoeing. She also enjoys cooking, gardening, and jogging.

Back to top of page

Lisa Hall, BSN, RN: Office Nurse and Patient Educator

Lisa Hall, BSN, RN is our Office Nurse and Patient Educator. She is also certified in Jin Shin Jyutsu as both a practitioner and a self-help instructor.

Ms. Hall received her BS in Nursing from Washburn University, in 1998, and worked as a floor nurse in several hospital departments.

She went into nursing with a background in massage therapy and alternative approaches to healing.  She says, "I was looking for a way to bridge the gap between complementary and conventional medicine. Northampton Wellness Associates is one of a handful of integrative clinics in New England, and it is great to be working with Dr. Elson and the other practitioners.  I feel that we are able to do a better job of listening to our patients here, and we can address their health care from a holistic perspective. All of this makes my job the most satisfying one I can imagine in nursing."

Back to top of page

Steven Tenenbaum, LICSW : Stress Management Counselor, Psychotherapist

Steven Tenenbaum, LICSW provides stress management counseling and psychotherapy. He practices cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic and interpersonal therapy techniques. He offers individualized training in Mindful-Based Stress Reduction and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which are techniques especially helpful for alleviating anxiety and stress-related disorders. He helps our patients with a wide range of psychological and emotional problems, including depression, anxiety, trauma, chronic pain, adjustment to medical illness, life transitions, grief/loss and relationship issues.

Steven is a graduate of the Columbia University School for Social Work. He has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1985. He has worked in hospital, out-patient clinics, and private practice settings. He is a firm believer in a person's capacity to face and endure the ongoing emotional, psychological and physical challenges of living, whether compromised by illness or overwhelmed by the stress of everyday life.

Back to top of page

Vicki Elson, MA, CCE: Certified Childbirth Educator

Vicki Elson, MA, CCE is a Certified Childbirth Educator offering classes for expectant parents. She was certified to teach prenatal classes by Informed Homebirth/Association of Labor and Childbirth Educators (IH/ALACE) in 1983, and she has been training childbirth educators locally and nationally for the past ten years. Her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Massachusetts focused on childbirth anthropology.

Vicki's classes are appropriate for parents planning either a home birth or a hospital birth, with an emphasis on cultivating confidence, strength, and joy. Topics include nutrition, exercise, physiology of pregnancy and birth, relaxation and other tools for a fearless labor and birth, understanding and preventing complications and interventions, postpartum care of the mother, newborn care, breastfeeding, becoming parents, birth in cultural perspective, and responsible health care consumerism.

Vicki lectures on childbirth in cultural perspective, and on the portrayal of childbirth in the mass media.  She serves on the Board of Directors of MotherWoman, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering mothers.  Vicki enjoys gardening, singing, scuba diving, hiking, and playing with her grandchildren.

Back to top of page