About

Fran Sussman has been in holistic care since 1988 and in private practice since 1993.  She has studied with some of the foremost thinkers in holistic medicine today, including endocrinologist and author Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. (with advanced training in GI Issues), neuropsychiatrist Daniel Amen, and Dietrich Klinghardt, M.D., PhD on Lyme, Autism, and Chronic Disease, as well as JJ Virgin, PhD in her program The Art of Losing It.  Fran is also a graduate of the professional training program of Carolyn Myss, PhD and Norm Shealey, MD, PhD; and both trained and taught at Jason Shulman’s 4 year program for healing professionals.  Fran is also a certified Reiki Master.

Apart from one-on-one consulting, Fran is sought after as a speaker, workshop leader and meditation teacher. She writes a column on Holistic Health for The Times Herald Record, and has been featured frequently in Natural Awakenings magazine. She also offers an e-newsletter, is an active blogger and can be found on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Fran works with babies, children, adolescents and adults from around the United States, conducting sessions in her office in Orange County, NY in person, by phone and by webcam.  Her specialties include Healthy Weight Loss, GastroIntestinal Issues, Allergies and Food Sensitivities, Lyme Disease, Healing the Metabolism for Anti-Aging, and ADD/ADHD and Autism. Fran’s passion is to help people become their optimal selves: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

In addition, she has learned extensively from her own life: her own problems, and her children’s. In her own life she has learned to address food issues, depression and anxiety, as well as Lyme disease. The health issues her children experienced when young motivated her to dive deeply into learning about nutrition and finding solutions that contributed to them being the happy healthy young adults they are today. Fran is so glad and grateful to be able to take all the knowledge and understanding she has gained and put it at the service of others.

Why I’m Eclectic

Eclectic: selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles; selecting what is true, excellent or best in various doctrines.

When I first studied homeopathy, I had the privilege of sitting in on sessions with several experienced homeopaths. It struck me as strange and limiting that in every session, regardless of the individual client’s unique circumstances, they were bound to come up with and supply a homeopathic remedy. I knew homeopathy could be a powerful and effective means of changing a person’s physical, emotional and mental condition, and I also knew that giving even the right remedy at the wrong time could be a mistake. I had experienced it first hand with a disturbing incident in my own family. But the homeopaths, being honor-bound to do their job and earn their fees, had no choice but to continue to give out remedies at each appointment. For me, this suggested the cautionary adage that to a hammer, everything looks like a nail. I certainly did not want to be a hammer in my practice!

For that reason, I studied not only homeopathy, but nutrition, supplements, herbs, kinesiology, psychology, energy healing, sound healing, meditation, healing with essential oils, and many other modalities from the conventional to the obscure.

My objective is to meet each individual exactly where they are, and support them in making the kinds of changes they desire in a way that is gentle, safe, and effective of course, but also respectful of their beliefs, their preferences, their current health, and their overall goals. This means that if someone is uncomfortable with one modality, or an aspect of it, there is always another way to work. I think of it as a much more flexible and inclusive way to practice.

Being eclectic also helps me work on more than one level at once. For instance, while we are trying to achieve long-term changes with one modality, we can work to bring about short-term symptomatic relief with another. I love having a variety of tools at my disposal, a deep reservoir on which to draw in order to support my clients’ continuing improvement. I continue to study and add to that broad base of knowledge each year. I hope that it is your experience, as well, that my eclectic background helps me to help you effectively, compassionately, and comprehensively.