Erica Zelfand, ND
Naturopathic Physician
Portland OR
I provide online health consultations, life coaching, and psychedelic/mystical experience integration sessions to clients all over the world.
In these web-based sessions we will dive deep into the colorful layers of your physical, psychological, and spiritual health. I may draw upon my knowledge of herbs, homeopathy, nutritional supplements, clinical nutrition, lifestyle coaching, and various counseling tools to support you. I am also trained in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), a gentle therapy similar to EMDR that’s great for breaking old patterns of thinking. If you have blood test results, I’m happy to talk you through those as well, and may even suggest some further testing, depending on your ailments.
I joke that I’m more of a detective-teacher than a doctor. As a detective I listen to the body’s clues to gain insights on what it truly needs to thrive, and as a teacher I dedicate myself to educating you on what’s happening so that you can be empowered to make the changes you need to heal.
We talk about how the mind can affect the body, but the body, too, can affect the mind. Sometimes mental/emotional struggles are best handled in therapy, but sometimes they have their origins in organic imbalances that can be detected in the blood. For example, hypothyroidism is the number one organic cause of depression, yet most people living with depression never have their thyroid health *properly* assessed. Nutritional deficiencies, sex hormone imbalances, and food intolerances can all derail mental and emotional well-being as well.
I am a family doctor specializing in integrative and functional medicine and the mind/body connection. After graduating with honors from of the country's few naturopathic medical schools, I completed a CNME-accredited residency in family medicine and then went on to complete four more additional years of post-doctoral mentorship in pediatrics.
Psychedelic science was for a many years a side curiosity, but has now blossomed to become a greater focal point in my work. In addition to volunteering as a sitter and medical lead with the Zendo Project, I’ve also co-taught their day-long trainings in Oregon and Washington. I've also done MAPS' training in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, Polaris' training for ketamine providers, and spent a winter working as a psilocybin facilitator for group retreats with MycoMeditations in Jamaica.
I'm now in the position of teaching the trainings and workshops. I am a lead educator at Inner Trek in Oregon, the first school approved by the Oregon Health Authority and HECC that trains psilocybin facilitators. I am also the creator of ScienceofPsychedelics.com, a course designed for healthcare providers to get caught up on what they need to know about medicines like psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, ibogaine, ketamine, MDMA, and microdosing (scienceofpsychedelics.com)
I also often write about psychedelic science and present at medical conferences/medical school grand rounds on the topic of mind-body-spirit medicine and how psychedelics can help.
In my years in private practice I’ve come to understand the utmost importance of both mental health and spiritual well-being on physical health, and how psychedelics can often – but not always! – support that process.
In my practice I work with people who are ready to start using their bodies to heal their minds, as well as people who are ready to use their bodies and minds to start healing their souls. I do mostly tele-appointments through Zoom, and work with people in all states and corners of the planet. Trained in western medicine, natural medicine, and counseling, I'm here to help you connect the dots.
My 8-hour psychedelic seminar is now available online, on demand. CME and CE are available for practitioners, but you don't have to be a therapist or clinician to join us!
Please visit https://ScienceofPsychedelics.com to learn more and sign up!
I also have a FREE online crash course in tripping, trip-sitting, and psychedelic harm reduction, at:
https://ScienceofPsychedelics.com/Psychedelic-Harm-Reduction