Conscious Body Natural Medicine of Westborough

Nov 2023

I wanted to like this place, because I needed it. I had treatments here that helped (one in quite a miraculous way) and many more that didn't (but at least she was trying). Ultimately, it was communication that drove a stake through my trust for Karen Clickner and her practice. Payment structure was never made clear with many additional treatments and supplements being added during the course of the appointment and the total only tallied at checkout, often $600-800 over the original price of the appointment. There was no attempt at transparency, and no openness to any kind of process to consent or negotiate about which treatments I was actually choosing to go ahead with or take home. When supplements gave me side effects, Karen was incredulous and told me to push though and keep taking them anyway, telling me that side effects were impossible. Ultimately, I think she trusted her muscle testing a little too dearly. 'The supplements must be right because the muscle testing chose them!' But I think they may have been right in smaller doses or perhaps for a shorter duration of time (a temporary imbalance that week or day that wasn't really that meaningful for treatment in the larger picture). For example, one week I was trying to eat less salt. The muscle testing showed I needed some salt and she prescribed a $100 bottle of special salt drops. I took one and it made me dizzy and stopped. But I did get the message and went back to eating salt in my diet. The next appointment, even though she told me I shouldn't have stopped taking my "medicine", the muscle testing showed I no longer needed it or had a salt problem, showing that it all could have been taken care of much more simply. The dependence on muscle testing also went the other way, with my most important health issue never showing up on it. Karen worked on all the littler pieces around my health, which she told me would give my body more space to heal, but when that was done, and my muscle testing showed nothing, she just said to me, "there's nothing wrong with you!" It was exactly what the doctors had been saying, but I was, on that same day, struggling to walk into the office from the parking lot outside. I was eventually diagnosed with ME, which I hope naturopathy is working on tackling as many new people have it as part of Long Covid. My miraculously helpful experience was the very first time I went to her several years earlier after a concussion. She gave me her Holistic Assessment questionnaire and from my answers, identified that I was having blood sugar issues. So instead of treating my brain, she treated my blood sugar regulation - (though one of those things, turmeric with fenugreek, was to bring down inflammation and could pass the blood-brain-barrier and may have had a more direct impact too). The result was amazing! Overnight, I could suddenly read from a book, cross a street, and walk up a hill - all things I had been stuck not being able to do for 3 months. It wasn't the end of my recovery from that injury by far, but it was, in a very real way, the beginning. Perhaps it's noteworthy that the best help I received from Karen was when she asked questions (the questionaire) and listened to the answers and based her suggestions on what she learned. So often, in her appointments, she had the briefest of questioning of me, asking just how I was and interrupting me after about 2 or 3 sentences to move on to muscle testing. Muscle testing can tell a lot, but I don't think it is a substitute for a patient-doctor relationship and all the things that can be learned by talking and getting to the specifics of what a body is going through and doing. It's in the patience to truly know the details that answers can emerge, in concert with each other. A doctor providing their expertise and a patient providing theirs - their knowledge of their own body.

Oct 2019

I found Conscious Body Natural Medicine, & in particular Dr. Karen Clickner & Iris Stowe, a year into my journey through breast cancer. I was on the other side of conventional treatment, deeply depleted, & ready to turn my focus towards healing my unique body. I began with European Regulation Thermography which gave Dr. Clickner information regarding the priorities to begin peeling back layers towards wellness. She became my fifth Naturopath in a single year & we have now been working together for nearly two. This work is not quick or linear or easy or inexpensive. I could say the same for holistic healing in general. It has required trust & patience & commitment. The Conscious Body staff has met me every step of the way. Karen has utilized whole food, herbal, & spagyric supplements in response to my scans & my symptoms, & chosen carefully in collaboration with my body through muscle testing. Iris works magic with her Decongestive Lymphatic Therapy treatments, which have not only supported my healing but brought a great deal of comfort to my experience. I love both offices & now travel down from Downeast Maine for the unparalleled approach, wisdom, & support. The Conscious Body Virtual Receptionist, Andrea, handles my appointment inquiries with grace & the Customer Service Receptionist, Cheryl, is on hand to help me to stay on track with my supplement orders. I am grateful to have them all on my team & to have found Conscious Body Natural Medicine when I needed them most.