Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
Who Am I:
What kind of practitioner are you? I have been in practice for 35 years, integrating functional medicine, genetics, natural medicine (classical homeopathy and herbal tinctures), psychotherapy and deep transformational processes. I work with individuals, couples and families, from mental health issues, addiction, OCD, anxiety and depression through to eczema in infants. I often work with teenagers and young adults too with everything that comes up for them at those important times of life. I also work with complex cases when patients struggle with multiple medications, and help them understand their health holistically and at root cause level.
Why do you call yourself an "Alchemist"? Because I have been in practice all my life looking after people with their health on all levels, and I use many different tools, processes and natural remedies to alchemise them back into health.
What is functional medicine? Functional medicine looks for the underlying cause of your health problem rather than only treating the symptom. It considers genetics, gut health, nervous system function, and life history together, rather than looking at each of our systems and health issues in isolation.
What is integrative health, and how is it different from conventional medicine? Integrative health considers conventional medical understanding along with natural and functional medicine, genetics, and psychological approaches. As you know, conventional medicine tends to treat symptoms in isolation; integrative practice looks at how our body's systems interact and where the root imbalance sits. Natural medicine is used instead of pharmaceuticals, or to address the side effects of multiple medications.
Genetics, Functional Testing, Natural Medicine:
What is a Lifecode Gx genetic report? Lifecode Gx are genetic testing reports used to understand how your genes influence your nervous system function, methylation processes, detoxification ability, hormone balance, APOE susceptibility, metabolism, thyroid function and more. They help identify inherited tendencies that may be contributing to current symptoms. I use many tools to correct the imbalances and issues I identify. Going through the process with me is an education in itself. I share everything with my patients in detail, and you have that information to draw on for life. It is like a disease prevention road map.
What is a GI-MAP test? GI-MAP is a stool analysis that examines gut bacteria, parasites, and markers of gut inflammation and function. Gut health is closely linked to mood, immunity, skin health and nervous system regulation, so this often forms part of a fuller picture. Healing your gut health influences your entire health. I also work with the hormonal Dutch Test and the Organic Acid Test. All three are very information on how you are functioning. The knowledge gleaned from the tests help you correct your imbalances before they lead to further ill health.
Your Mental Health:
What is Mindscaping? Mindscaping is my process of understanding and working with your inner mental landscape and neural pathways that shape how you feel, respond and heal - integrating mind, nervous system and biology, rather than treating them as separate parts. If you live with anxiety, depression, bipolar, OCD, addiction, emotional dysregulation, neurodivergence, or a sense that nothing has ever fully explained what you experience, you are not alone - and you are not broken. This is mental health understood from the inside out - precise, personalised, integrative, deep and profoundly human.
Is Mindscaping part of your functional medicine work, or a separate approach? It is part of my psychotherapeutic work, so separate. But I often use it if someone comes to me for mental health issues and finds me through genetic testing. We then work on all of it together as a deep transformational and healing process.
Can genetic testing really help with anxiety or nervous system symptoms? Genetic testing can reveal inherited patterns in how we process neurotransmitters, methylate nutrients, or detoxify - all of which can absolutely influence anxiety, mood, and nervous system symptoms. It is a very important tool in how I work.
Am I Right For You:
Do you work with chronic or unexplained symptoms? Yes, all the time and for many years. Many people come to functional and integrative medicine after conventional medicine hasn't found an answer, when symptoms persist despite treatment, or when someone is suffering from multiple medication use. Looking at health in the way I do - using my own clinical observations, functional tests and genetic insights - hopefully allows what is really going on to surface.
Counselling for Individuals, Couples and Families:
Do you offer counselling as well as functional medicine? Absolutely, yes. I offer counselling and psychotherapy as a standalone, and often patients come to see me for only that. Some then ask for genetic testing and natural medicine once they realise I do both. Others come for functional medicine to help with their psychological symptoms, and then I work with them in sessions to address the psychological and emotional patterns connected to their mental and physical symptoms, rather than treating body and mind as separate. The aspects of my work flow into one and other, and complement each other too.
Do you offer couples counselling? I work with individuals, couples and families. So relationship counselling for couples and families.
What's the difference between counselling with you and a standard talking therapy? I offer a warm and non-judgemental environment, and because I have been helping people for decades I have a lot of experience to draw from. I integrate from many different disciplines, including my current training in a Fellowship in Psychiatry Redefined with James Greenblatt. I bring in transactional analysis, nlp, cbt, mindfulness, systemic family therapy and gestalt. And my own mindscaping and timelining.
Do I need to have physical symptoms to come to you for counselling, or can I come for emotional or relationship support alone? No, not at all. I often see people just for counselling. Some people come on their own initially and then they might want to come with their partners and family. I am open and encouraging to wherever the journey takes us. Partners and family members feel comfortable joining the process which is unusual I know.
Do you work with children, or adults only? From babies to the elderly. I work with everyone - from fertility to preventing cognitive decline, and everything in between.
Is what I say in sessions confidential?
Yes, absolutely.
How long does a typical counselling session last?
The first session is always an hour. Follow on sessions are an hour or 45 minutes, depending on your preference.
How often would I see you?
Ideally once a week. Some patients see me every two weeks if their finances are limited. I do my best to be flexible and helpful.
What happens in a first counselling session?
We talk. I help you feel comfortable and I gently encourage you to share with me anything you wish.
Do I need a referral from my GP to come to you for counselling?
No referral needed. You just contact me and I make time for you.
What if I don't know what's wrong, I just know something isn't right?
Those kinds of thoughts and feelings are completely normal. Please do not worry about that at all. Whatever needs to rise out of you, will. You can trust me.
Can counselling help even if I've tried therapy before and it didn't work?
Yes, absolutely. I do work in a different way to regular therapists, so hopefully we will find more answers than you have before.
Will you tell me what to do, or help me find my own answers?
It is very much an alchemical process and one that we co-create together. Everybody’s process is as individual as they are.
How do I know if we need couples counselling, or if we can work it out ourselves?
I can help you work things out in a way that people struggle with on their own. It really helps to have someone hold the space for you both, and your relationship. I listen carefully and often spot patterns that keep indivduals and relationships stuck.
What if my partner doesn't want to come to counselling, but I do?
Let’s start with you and see where the journey takes us. From my experience, the partner generally joins us when they are ready.
Do you take sides in couples counselling?
No, that is not my way at all. I work gentely and effectively and do my best to balance out the process so you both feel heard and trusting of the space.
Can you help a family through a difficult transition, like divorce or a child leaving home?
Yes, I work with couples and families through all of these difficult times, and many others too, including a child going through addiction, trauma and other challenges.
What if my children are also affected by what's going on - do you see them too?
Yes, I do. I work with families with children of all ages and with whatever is troubling them.
Practicalities and Logistics:
Where are you based, and do you see patients remotely? I work online nationally and internationally, and in person in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
What does a first session with you cost? £125.00 for the first session, between £85 and £95 for follow-on sessions.
How do I get started working with you? Drop me an email to helix@shoshannahphoenix-alchemist.com.
What does a genetic test actually involve — is it invasive? Some cells from the inside of your mouth. Very easy to do and totally non-invasive.
Is functional medicine safe to combine with medication I'm already taking? Yes, absolutely. I take the entire picture into consideration and we work slowly together, based on my own observations, functional tests and genetic tests. I never recommend you come off your medications, and I work alongside your doctors. We discuss all of this together in our sessions.
How long does a typical course of treatment take? It depends what you are coming to see me for. Always expect a process. It is the best way to experience deep healing, and good health on all levels.
I am right here. Ask me anything.
Who Am I:
What kind of practitioner are you? I have been in practice for 35 years, integrating functional medicine, genetics, natural medicine (classical homeopathy and herbal tinctures), psychotherapy and deep transformational processes. I work with individuals, couples and families, from mental health issues, addiction, OCD, anxiety and depression through to eczema in infants. I often work with teenagers and young adults too with everything that comes up for them at those important times of life. I also work with complex cases when patients struggle with multiple medications, and help them understand their health holistically and at root cause level.
Why do you call yourself an "Alchemist"? Because I have been in practice all my life looking after people with their health on all levels, and I use many different tools, processes and natural remedies to alchemise them back into health.
What is functional medicine? Functional medicine looks for the underlying cause of your health problem rather than only treating the symptom. It considers genetics, gut health, nervous system function, and life history together, rather than looking at each of our systems and health issues in isolation.
What is integrative health, and how is it different from conventional medicine? Integrative health considers conventional medical understanding along with natural and functional medicine, genetics, and psychological approaches. As you know, conventional medicine tends to treat symptoms in isolation; integrative practice looks at how our body's systems interact and where the root imbalance sits. Natural medicine is used instead of pharmaceuticals, or to address the side effects of multiple medications.
Genetics, Functional Testing, Natural Medicine:
What is a Lifecode Gx genetic report? Lifecode Gx are genetic testing reports used to understand how your genes influence your nervous system function, methylation processes, detoxification ability, hormone balance, APOE susceptibility, metabolism, thyroid function and more. They help identify inherited tendencies that may be contributing to current symptoms. I use many tools to correct the imbalances and issues I identify. Going through the process with me is an education in itself. I share everything with my patients in detail, and you have that information to draw on for life. It is like a disease prevention road map.
What is a GI-MAP test? GI-MAP is a stool analysis that examines gut bacteria, parasites, and markers of gut inflammation and function. Gut health is closely linked to mood, immunity, skin health and nervous system regulation, so this often forms part of a fuller picture. Healing your gut health influences your entire health. I also work with the hormonal Dutch Test and the Organic Acid Test. All three are very information on how you are functioning. The knowledge gleaned from the tests help you correct your imbalances before they lead to further ill health.
Your Mental Health:
What is Mindscaping? Mindscaping is my process of understanding and working with your inner mental landscape and neural pathways that shape how you feel, respond and heal - integrating mind, nervous system and biology, rather than treating them as separate parts. If you live with anxiety, depression, bipolar, OCD, addiction, emotional dysregulation, neurodivergence, or a sense that nothing has ever fully explained what you experience, you are not alone - and you are not broken. This is mental health understood from the inside out - precise, personalised, integrative, deep and profoundly human.
Is Mindscaping part of your functional medicine work, or a separate approach? It is part of my psychotherapeutic work, so separate. But I often use it if someone comes to me for mental health issues and finds me through genetic testing. We then work on all of it together as a deep transformational and healing process.
Can genetic testing really help with anxiety or nervous system symptoms? Genetic testing can reveal inherited patterns in how we process neurotransmitters, methylate nutrients, or detoxify - all of which can absolutely influence anxiety, mood, and nervous system symptoms. It is a very important tool in how I work.
Am I Right For You:
Do you work with chronic or unexplained symptoms? Yes, all the time and for many years. Many people come to functional and integrative medicine after conventional medicine hasn't found an answer, when symptoms persist despite treatment, or when someone is suffering from multiple medication use. Looking at health in the way I do - using my own clinical observations, functional tests and genetic insights - hopefully allows what is really going on to surface.
Counselling for Individuals, Couples and Families:
Do you offer counselling as well as functional medicine? Absolutely, yes. I offer counselling and psychotherapy as a standalone, and often patients come to see me for only that. Some then ask for genetic testing and natural medicine once they realise I do both. Others come for functional medicine to help with their psychological symptoms, and then I work with them in sessions to address the psychological and emotional patterns connected to their mental and physical symptoms, rather than treating body and mind as separate. The aspects of my work flow into one and other, and complement each other too.
Do you offer couples counselling? I work with individuals, couples and families. So relationship counselling for couples and families.
What's the difference between counselling with you and a standard talking therapy? I offer a warm and non-judgemental environment, and because I have been helping people for decades I have a lot of experience to draw from. I integrate from many different disciplines, including my current training in a Fellowship in Psychiatry Redefined with James Greenblatt. I bring in transactional analysis, nlp, cbt, mindfulness, systemic family therapy and gestalt. And my own mindscaping and timelining.
Do I need to have physical symptoms to come to you for counselling, or can I come for emotional or relationship support alone? No, not at all. I often see people just for counselling. Some people come on their own initially and then they might want to come with their partners and family. I am open and encouraging to wherever the journey takes us. Partners and family members feel comfortable joining the process which is unusual I know.
Do you work with children, or adults only? From babies to the elderly. I work with everyone - from fertility to preventing cognitive decline, and everything in between.
Is what I say in sessions confidential?
Yes, absolutely.
How long does a typical counselling session last?
The first session is always an hour. Follow on sessions are an hour or 45 minutes, depending on your preference.
How often would I see you?
Ideally once a week. Some patients see me every two weeks if their finances are limited. I do my best to be flexible and helpful.
What happens in a first counselling session?
We talk. I help you feel comfortable and I gently encourage you to share with me anything you wish.
Do I need a referral from my GP to come to you for counselling?
No referral needed. You just contact me and I make time for you.
What if I don't know what's wrong, I just know something isn't right?
Those kinds of thoughts and feelings are completely normal. Please do not worry about that at all. Whatever needs to rise out of you, will. You can trust me.
Can counselling help even if I've tried therapy before and it didn't work?
Yes, absolutely. I do work in a different way to regular therapists, so hopefully we will find more answers than you have before.
Will you tell me what to do, or help me find my own answers?
It is very much an alchemical process and one that we co-create together. Everybody’s process is as individual as they are.
How do I know if we need couples counselling, or if we can work it out ourselves?
I can help you work things out in a way that people struggle with on their own. It really helps to have someone hold the space for you both, and your relationship. I listen carefully and often spot patterns that keep indivduals and relationships stuck.
What if my partner doesn't want to come to counselling, but I do?
Let’s start with you and see where the journey takes us. From my experience, the partner generally joins us when they are ready.
Do you take sides in couples counselling?
No, that is not my way at all. I work gentely and effectively and do my best to balance out the process so you both feel heard and trusting of the space.
Can you help a family through a difficult transition, like divorce or a child leaving home?
Yes, I work with couples and families through all of these difficult times, and many others too, including a child going through addiction, trauma and other challenges.
What if my children are also affected by what's going on - do you see them too?
Yes, I do. I work with families with children of all ages and with whatever is troubling them.
Practicalities and Logistics:
Where are you based, and do you see patients remotely? I work online nationally and internationally, and in person in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
What does a first session with you cost? £125.00 for the first session, between £85 and £95 for follow-on sessions.
How do I get started working with you? Drop me an email to helix@shoshannahphoenix-alchemist.com.
What does a genetic test actually involve — is it invasive? Some cells from the inside of your mouth. Very easy to do and totally non-invasive.
Is functional medicine safe to combine with medication I'm already taking? Yes, absolutely. I take the entire picture into consideration and we work slowly together, based on my own observations, functional tests and genetic tests. I never recommend you come off your medications, and I work alongside your doctors. We discuss all of this together in our sessions.
How long does a typical course of treatment take? It depends what you are coming to see me for. Always expect a process. It is the best way to experience deep healing, and good health on all levels.
I am right here. Ask me anything.
Connect with me
You are most welcome to send me an email and ask me anything at all about how I can help you...