Meet Dr. Speirs

My Practice Philosophy (Please Note:  Dr Speirs is on sabbatical for 2023)

Health is a state of being where physical ease and a deep sense of well being allow us to adapt to life’s challenges with strength, ease, and resiliency. I am here to support you in finding this place of health.
The human body is an incredible organism with the ability to heal itself, if we understand what it needs. By listening carefully to the messages from your physical body, emotions, and spirit, we can choose approaches and tools to help you change the underlying factors that may be causing a pattern of illness. Healing from a longstanding illness will come from within you and your body’s natural ability to heal. I help by working with you to explore, educate, and provide options so that you can make the choices and changes that are right for you.

My Approach

My approach is to listen first, then evaluate, then educate, suggest, and empower. We will develop your treatment program together. By addressing biochemistry, hormones, digestion, structure, movement, stress levels, emotions, and deeper belief systems, we can unlock the body’s innate ability to heal – and then miracles can occur!

My Background

I grew up in Portland, Oregon in a family of medical providers. As I grew older, I wanted to practice medicine, but I yearned to find a form of medicine that would allow me to connect with patients on a deeper level and to work on positive, health-promoting change. I explored many forms of alternative and conventional medicine, learning everything I could about nutrition, botanical medicine, yoga, exercise, and meditation. When I found Naturopathic Medicine, I knew it was the perfect fit. It satisfies my desire to understand the medical sciences of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and clinical evaluation, while having at its core a deep respect for nature and the use of gentle, non-invasive forms of therapy.
I have been in clinical practice since 2007.  I completed a post-gradutate naturopathic integrative medical residency in Portland Oregon where I worked and studied along side Naturopathic physicians and Medical doctors.  This lead to my initial naturopathic practice in an integrative rheumatology clinic where I worked for 3 years. This foundation working along side medical doctors gave me a deep appreciation for the importance and value of collaboration and communication between the fields of alternative and conventional medicine.

I currently live in the beautiful and quiet town of Kaslo, BC with my husband and two young sons.  I am grateful to be able to commute to Nelson for work using public transportation so that I can serve the Nelson area without the environmental impact of driving regularly.  We home school our boys, are passionate about our garden and local food, we are building a simple and beautiful natural home from the ground up and we are passionate about community involvement in protecting the beautiful planet that we live with.  In addition to my naturopathic practice I also currently volunteer on two local non-profit boards and teach courses regularly at the Kootenay Columbia College of Integrative Health Sciences (formerly ACOS).