As a third grader, Dr. Abraham wanted to grow up to be a Chiropractor. In the sixth grade she wanted to be a Forensic Pathologist, just like Quincy MD. Then, while in college Dr. Abraham found herself studying Reflexology. She was, at that time, majoring in Pre-med and Nutrition Science.

It was during this time that Dr. Abraham learned and understood the true innate intelligence of the human body. She realized that allopathic medicine (MD type medicine) didn't have all the answers and it certainly was not changing lives like she wanted to do. It didn't offer a true understanding of what was going on and it certainly didn't seem to address the rise in chronic illness that she was seeing.

Patients were taking medications for the side effects of other medications. "This is CRAZY", she thought..."There must be another option". The clients that she saw for Reflexology for the most part came in as a "last resort"... they had tried just about everything and still seemed to be getting worse.They were looking for a relationship with their doctor and time and time again, they fell short. Although the results the clients got with Reflexology were just short of amazing, Dr. Abraham still felt limited in what she could offer. She still had the desire to put all the pieces together, just like Quincy, but knew that mainstream medical school wasn't the answer.

Dr. Abraham was then introduced to Naturopathic Medicine, which offers the philosophy and the scope of practice to work with people who really want to get well, be well, and stay well. Through her experience with reflexology and her naturopathic education she came to understand that the human body is not a simple piece of machinery that sends out simple messages requesting suppression from pharmaceuticals... it is an advanced system that when out of balance - sends messages asking for help to get back to a state of balance.

Dr. Abraham realized this is accomplished by understanding how the body works through physiology not pathology. She also knew that in order to really know a patient that well, it would require spending significant time with each patient. The underlying principles of Naturopathic Medicine are what ultimately resonated with Dr. Abraham and shifted her focus form western medicine to a more holistic approach.

Ultimately, Dr. Abraham has a deep commitment to try to understand what is actually going on, to treat the whole person.. not just the symptoms, and to make a true difference in the shift from chronic disease to chronic wellness.

First Do no Harm/ Primum Non Nocere - Using substances which minimize the risk of harmful effects to the patient and avoiding suppression of symptoms.

The healing Power of Nature/ Vis Medicatrix Naturae - Recognize the inherent self-healing process in the person. Identify and remove obstacles to healing.

Identify and treat the Cause/ Tolle Causum- Identify and treat the cause of the illness rather than suppress symptoms. Restore function in the person.

Doctor as Teacher/ Docere - Educate and empower patients and encourage self-responsibility for health.

Treat the Whole Person - Consider each patient as an individual with different physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social and spiritual needs.

Prevention - Assessing each person's lifestyle, risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease and education them on how to establish health and wellness.

Establish Health and Wellness - Establish and maintain optimal health and wellness. Increase each person's level of wellness so that they may achieve an optimal state of physical, mental, social and spiritual health.

Dr. Abraham spends most of her free time with her husband Keith and their 2 year old dog, Diesel. They enjoy hiking, walking, singing (Diesel does the singing), eating and laughing. She has also been spotted playing the drums at her wedding, doing arts and crafts, playing cards, and watching re-runs of Charmed. Her favorite movie is Somekind of Wonderful and she is currently looking for a favorite song. She is an East coast transplant from Pennsylvania.

She also teaches cooking classes for The Cancer Project, a non-profit organization offering cooking classes for cancer prevention and survival.

Dr. Abraham graduate from Ithaca College in upstate NY with a major in Biology and Nutrition Science. After graduating from Ithaca she went to nursing school and has practiced as a licensed practical nurse since 1999. She is a certified Reflexologist with over 13 years of clinical experience.

After completing nursing school, Dr. Abraham moved to Portland to attend the National College of Naturopathic Medicine and graduated in 2003. She wrote her thesis on the connection between toxicity and chronic disease with an emphasis on auto-immune hypothyroidism and heavy metal toxicity. (whew... what a mouthfull).

She completed a one year residency in Cardio-pulmonary and family medicine and is Board Certified by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners. Dr. Abraham is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Dr. Abraham has received special training from AestheticMD to perform mesotherapy and lipotherapy and is a member of the International Meso-Lipotherapy Society.

drabraham@lordexpdx.com