Meet Meghan Van Vleet | Naturopathic Doctor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meghan Van Vleet and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meghan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As a naturopathic doctor, there are not many work options in the state of Colorado besides starting your own business. There are very few truly integrative clinics. I have always wanted to do patient care, so working for a lab or nutraceutical company was not something I was interested in, although I have colleagues who have found this rewarding. And so…I found myself setting up shop.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have a general naturopathic practice. I work with all ages, genders, identities. I started out mainly working with perinatal women after doing a post-graduate OB/family practice internship. After struggling with my own mental health postpartum, I began focusing more on mental health. In this capacity, I am a partner provider at the Postpartum Wellness Center – Boulder. My work with mental health led into learning more about cognitive health. While I treat, as a naturopath I am always interested in prevention. There is so much that can be done to prevent in these areas of mental & cognitive health, and additionally, the brain is the pickiest organ in the body, so if we are making the conditions ideal for the brain, we are most likely addressing hormones, blood sugar, cardiovascular health, etc. My practice is unique in that I aim for optimum mental and cognitive health knowing that we touch on all the other aspects of health along the way.

The business aspect of my practice is what is the hardest for me. If I could work for someone else and maintain the freedom and flexibility I have right now, I would, even after building up my own practice. Coming to that understanding has been helpful for me, so that while I continue to work to grow, I don’t have to be attached to anything but my work. I love continuous education, investigation and patient care. Running a business is hard, probably because it is not “fun” work for me, whereas the rest of my work is. I was taught not to hire out in the beginning of practice, and while in theory that may be ideal, for me I found trying to do all of the business myself wasn’t worth it. I hire out help with bookkeeping and marketing, and this helps a ton.

Asking for help and business advice from others has been very rewarding for me and I could not have gotten as far as I have without asking for help. As a sole practitioner, I found myself working in a vacuum. It really helps to step outside and find out what others are doing that is working for them and what isn’t, and to gain some fresh perspective.

And ugh, self-promotion is not something someone like me is comfortable with. But you have to be if you are in my business. Naturopaths are not part of the established medical system or covered by most insurance, so there is no established structure sending patients my way. It is up to me to fill my practice. It took me a while to get more comfortable with self promotion, but once I was clear on what I have to offer and how important it is for the people who need it, I don’t feel like I am promoting myself anymore – rather supporting others in finding the resources and help they need. Additionally, as I have honed my expertise over the years, my confidence has naturally grown, so discussing what I do and offer has just become easier.

Mental health and cognitive issues are part of being human and are shameless. There is much research continually emerging right now – some of it shedding light on tried and true naturopathic approaches and some of it cutting edge and novel. It is a very exciting field. Impacts include environmental exposures (such as mold & heavy metals), infections (such as HSV & Lyme), physical trauma, nutritional status & diet, genetics, hormones, oral health, and more. This field of medicine fully utilizes my broader knowledge base as a general provider as well as my functional and integrative training. And research shows integrative approaches to mental and cognitive health issues have the best outcomes/successes!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would take an ebike tour! It is so easy to tour and explore the fabulous town I live in by bike. I have done this with visitors before, and essentially do a modified version of the Boulder 180 or Boulder 360.

Likely we would take a hike in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Post hike treats at Moxie as we roll back into town. Maybe bring home something for dinner from Moxie too.

I love to take visitors to Boulder to Chautauqua – for a hike, a picnic or eating at the dining hall, maybe a show in the auditorium. Chautauqua is a rare gem.

People visiting Boulder all want to walk the Pearl Street mall, and so we would too. In addition to shopping, we might do an art walk and take a look at any number of murals. There are so many good places to eat down there – it would depend on the hankering of the guests where we ate.

For sure we would end up at one of my kid’s xcountry meets, baseball games, or basketball game in a weeks time.

We might take an excursion to Salida or BV for some trail running and soaking in some hot springs.

Breakfast at Lucky’s Diner, coffee at Logan’s where we may run into any number of friendly faces, dinner at my favorite place, Santo. Daily walks around Wonderland Lake with the dog, and occasional hikes up into the foothills. Maybe hit Sanitas one day.

We would eat in a lot. I have a CSA so cook all throughout the week to make sure none of that awesome food goes to waste. Breakfast and tea/coffee on the front deck, dinners on the back.

The best part about where I live is the outdoors.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Just one? I can’t. My parents, who as a child, told me I could do whatever I wanted. Professor Tynan from Colorado College who encouraged me to look at my bedside table reading and consider new careers based on what I found there (at that time it was Andrew Weil and Dean Ornish). My husband, who followed me to school and supported me financially. My classmates and colleagues who navigated education & practice along with motherhood before me and alongside me. My state professional association, Colorado Association of Naturopathic Doctors (https://coloradond.org), whose members have always taken time and given advice when I needed. I hesitate to list individuals or I may forget someone, but Steve & Mary Rondeau, Jodi Shevins, Charley Cropley, Adam Graves, Kelly Parcell, Julie Neal, Shelese Pratt, Roanne Houck have all been generous and supportive with regards to practice building. Those that have offered clinical support and collaboration are some of the same plus too many more to name. Lastly there is my practice home, the Postpartum Wellness Center and Kate Kripke, who have supported me and my work since I joined the group in 2017.

Website: www.harmonyfamilymed.com

Instagram: @dr.meghanvanvleet

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/meghanvanvleetnd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harmonyfamilymed

Image Credits
Maria Levitov David Frick Susie Van Vleet