Services & Treatments

“Integrative Health Care”

incorporates the best of our scientific knowledge from a wide range of sources. We use innovative and expanded diagnostic approaches to figure out what is going on “beneath the surface.” Our aim is to provide you with a treatment program that will address the causes of your illness, allergies or pain, leading to lasting relief of your symptoms.

Northampton Wellness Associates is an interdisciplinary team of specialists. We offer our patients innovative medical services and therapies that may not be available elsewhere.

We are committed to providing you with information about your health care choices, and we help you choose the safest and most effective treatment options. In this way, we serve as educators and facilitators, so that our patients can learn to heal themselves as partners in the healing process. (Click here for Dr. Elson’s article on Healing and Self-Healing.)

When conventional medications are required, we will prescribe them -- but only as a last choice if safer, more effective remedies are available.

For Illness

Dietary counseling

helps you make positive changes in your dietary habits to cure and prevent a wide range of chronic conditions, such as: obesity, chronic fatigue, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, bowel disorders, arthritis, asthma, and food allergies.

“Candida control has helped me lose weight, lessen toxins, think more clearly. Now I have more energy.”

- William A.

Nutritional and herbal (“nutriceutical”) supplement therapy

provides you with specific recommendations for safe and effective natural healing. This can make dangerous medications unnecessary. It is based on scientific literature which the drug salesmen won’t show your doctor!

Related Article: Nutrients with Possible Therapeutic Applications

“Vitamin C IV therapy was the most important ingredient in my recovery from Chronic Fatigue. ”

- Dea S.

Intramuscular and intravenous nutrient therapy

delivers healing nutrients directly to the cells in your body. In difficult cases, these nutrients need to go directly into the bloodstream, to help jumpstart sluggish biochemical processes and bypass impaired intestinal absorption—often producing a dramatic healing response.

“When my doctor gave up on me, I came here for IV’s. It’s the only thing that is helping. It’s nice knowing people who really care that the atmosphere is always positive – the IV people are just a great team.”

- Sarah

Chelation therapy for heart and vascular diseases

is a therapy that can open up blocked arteries in people with heart disease, or blockage in the blood vessels which feed the brain (causing strokes) or legs (claudication). It is considered “experimental” by some, but is supported by a significant body of medical literature. It is currently being researched for this purpose by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but is available now at our office.

“...the IV Dept. has continually provided me with excellent customer service for the past year. The care they provide is always 'patient focused'. The team work demonstrated is one of a kind. Bravo!”

- Deb L., 53 y.o.

Chelation therapy for heavy metal toxicity

helps your body clean out excess mercury, lead, arsenic or cadmium. This can reverse problems with mental function, memory, balance, hyperactivity, autism, chemical sensitivity, fatigue, neurological disorders, and other conditions.

Natural hormone therapy for aging and menopause/andropause

uses “bio-identical” hormones (just like you had when you were younger) and plant-based therapies to reverse: bone loss, impaired sexual function and reduced stamina which often affects women and men later in life. This can be a natural remedy for osteoporosis, night sweats, hot flashes, mood changes and fatigue after menopause. It is very different from conventional hormone replacement therapy, with a far superior safety profile.

Currently, this safe and natural therapy is under threat from the FDA, working in concert with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. They want to take away your right to hormone replacement containing estriol from a compounding pharmacy. Estriol is produced by the human body, and has been shown to reduce your risk of breast cancer. The FDA has admitted that no adverse event involving compounded bio-identical estriol has ever been reported!

For more information on this issue, click here.

To contact your Senator and Congressperson regarding this important issue, please click here.

Trigger point injection therapy

uses tiny doses of sterile salt water or a local anesthetic to break up muscle spasm and relieve pain in the muscles and surrounding tissues. This technique is especially helpful for patients who have fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, or chronic muscle strain.

For Allergies

Food allergy diagnosis and dietary avoidance

starts with blood tests and/or elimination/rechallenge diets to help you figure out your food allergies. Some of these symptoms might not appear until several days after you eat the food, making it difficult to figure out what you’re allergic to without blood testing. In our own laboratory, IgG RAST tests help us figure out these delayed sensitivities; IgE RAST tests determine your more immediate reactions. Special medical foods (UltraClear and UltraCare for Kids) are available to make elimination diets much easier. We can provide treatment for underlying bowel conditions, allergy therapy, and advice regarding meal planning and preparation. Fixing food allergies can provide relief from a wide range of troubles, including headaches, arthritis, asthma, congestion, bowel symptoms, and fatigue.

“I have gained insight into the complex interactions of gluten intolerance, malabsorption, dehydration, and pancreatic insufficiency.”

- David D.

Optimal-dose neutralization therapy

is based on individualized testing in our allergy laboratory (which is actually a fairly relaxed and comfortable place!). We use the results of this testing to produce customized allergy therapy, which consists of a tiny dose of the substance you are allergic to. It comes in two forms for you to choose from:

sublingual drops (placed under the tongue) for use at home;
allergy shots, which you can receive weekly at our office or in the office of your local primary or urgent care physician;

The correct dose of antigens will just “match” your level of reactive antibodies, and eliminate allergy symptoms when taken regularly. Generally, your level of reactivity will gradually decrease over the course of therapy, until the point where treatment becomes rarely needed, if at all.

“Dr. Elson was instrumental in helping me battle longstanding chronic allergies.”

- B.K.

For Preventive And Behavioral Medicine

Childbirth preparation classes

help you to have a healthy pregnancy and birth experience, and a good start in parenthood. Our small, friendly classes emphasize confidence, strength, joy, and making informed choices about your health care.

Stress management and counseling

might include various methods, tailored to your needs:

Mindfulness-based stress reduction, which utilizes the moment-to-moment awareness of breath, bodily sensations, and mental activity
Psychotherapy
Eye-movement-desensitization (EMDR), a psychotherapeutic technique that teaches an accelerated form of information processing. It utilizes aspects of cognitive therapy along with bilateral stimulation of the eyes or ears to foster healing from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Strategies for coping with illness or other life transitions

Weight loss programs

are medically supervised diet plans and exercise programs, with the support you need to make permanent changes which will last. We offer specific nutritional supplementation, metabolic support (including thyroid therapy, if needed), hypnosis and self-hypnosis training, and food allergy management to enhance your body’s ability to loose weight quickly and safely.