About the Doctor:
I was raised in New York by my parents, both of whom worked in healthcare. My dad was a general and vascular surgeon and my mom was a registered nurse. Healthcare, I guess, was in my blood.
After I had my first child, I knew I wanted to go into healthcare, but did not want to miss out on those valuable formative years of my son growing up by being in medical school and residency, so I became a registered nurse. I worked as a nurse for 21 years and spent most of my career, 17 years, working in inner city emergency rooms/trauma centers. I loved my career as an emergency room RN. I was mentally stimulated and emotionally fulfilled daily.
Knowing how traumatic it is for patient’s and their families to come to the ER, I viewed my work as one of service. Regardless whether they were in the ER for a minor complaint or a life threatening emergency, my goal was to always expertly care for each patient and their family, keep them constantly informed about their status, while most importantly, making them feel safe and nurtured in the potentially scary environment of the emergency department.
Even though my work as an RN was deeply satisfying, I started to desire to help people in an even more profound way. I experienced through my own health challenges that conventional medicine, even though it is technologically advanced and beneficial in many instances, did not have many of the answers for people that are experiencing chronic health problems. I started reading books on nutrition, alternative medicine, herbology, and homeopathy. I went back to school for a B.S. in nutrition. Through educating myself about proper diet and lifestyle and receiving naturopathic and homeopathic care, my health was restored.
I knew that this is the type of medicine that I wanted to offer to people so that they can get to the root cause of their illness and truly heal, so that they can live the life that they want to live. My children by this time were grown, so I decided it was now time to finally go to medical school, Naturopathic Medical School. This brought me out to Portland to go to school at NCNM, the National College of Natural Medicine, the oldest naturopathic medical school in existence.
While completing my doctorate degree in naturopathic medicine, I also completed a 2 ½ year Shiatsu Certification Program at NCNM.
While still holding a deep respect for conventional medicine, I am impressed and in awe of the power of Naturopathic Medicine to not only heal many of the acute problems that people encounter, but also improve and often reverse many of the chronic debilitating conditions that are so prevalent in our society. The same mindset that I had as an RN infuses my naturopathic practice, I still view my work as one of service. I strive to help my patients with utmost skill and sensitivity, while being present to serve them through every stage of their healing process. I know how frustrating it can be to not feel well, and I always want my patients to know that I am with them on this journey.
Dr. Messinger maintains a general family practice that includes children and adults of all ages. Dr. Messinger employs natural therapeutics to alleviate symptoms thus making patients feel better in the short-term while simultaneously focusing on identifying and addressing the underlying cause of disease, which optimizes long-term health and wellness. He utilizes naturopathic principles to treat a broad range of problems, including, but not limited to diabetes, hypothyroidism, auto-immune conditions, fatigue, allergies, gastrointestinal and neurological problems, men’s and women’s health issues, and cardiovascular disease.
He individualizes treatment for each patient and may utilize homeopathy, botanical medicine, nutrition, physical medicine, Shiatsu, and hydrotherapy to assist a person in restoring health.
Dr. Messinger also see’s clients for long form or short form Shiatsu sessions by appointment. See shiatsu on website for more information.
If you would like to talk with Dr. Messinger before committing to an appointment, feel free to schedule a free 15 minute telephone consultation.
