Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Rachel Hamel.
Hi Dr. Hamel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was 19 years old, I went from a vibrant young teenager in college to a completely dependent bedridden patient. This began the 8-year journey of healing. After maxing out western medicine and getting sicker and sicker by the day, it was with the help of a naturopath and chiropractor that I started to regain my health.
But this was just the start of the journey. Dr. Rachel decided to go into the alternative healing arts, still very ill but determined for answers. While in graduate school she was introduced to many other brilliant alternative healers, and not only got more answers for herself but led her into the many treatments she now performs in her clinic.
Dr. Rachel is just one of a few handfuls of craniopaths in the US and does many other healing modalities in her practice that are unique and one of a kind. After studying under a craniopath in the bay after for three years, she decided to relocate her practice to San Diego in January 2018. She found through experience and treating thousands of patients, health is accomplished through balancing three phases: mechanical, biochemical, and emotional. By balancing all of these layers of health, her holistic practice has succeeded in finding the root cause for many patients’ ailments.
She believes many need individualized care that finds the root causes and is catered to the patient, not the other way around.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As with any alternative healthcare provider, what typically got us into this field is a struggle with our own health challenges or someone we love, and that is never a smooth road. But the hard things are what make us, and challenges are just trials that keep us questioning until we receive a breakthrough. Nothing worth it ever comes without challenges. Many want quick fixes and answers, and I get that, but you never learn if you get something quick. Pain is an awesome teacher if we allow it to grow us.
I used to view my health history as a curse, but I know now that it was turned into good, because I have such compassion and empathy for those who like myself just wanted to be listened and fully cared for. All of the hardships led me to be the physician I am today. And there are still struggles, but it’s part of the journey. Health is a lifelong journey but needs to be dynamic because each of us is dynamic and unique.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Hamel Cranial Chiropractic and Wellness INC.?
My practice is unique in the sense that we recognize that health is a balance of three phases. I believe that complaints stem from 1 of 3 causes: mechanical (improper movements within the body affecting the nervous system and brain), chemical (toxins, nutritional deficiencies, pathogens), and emotional (traumas, generational or self-limiting beliefs), or a combo of all 3. Her treatments are in phases to address each of these causes at times when they are needed.
I’ve had quite a bit of training in lots of different tehcniques and specialties to try and give my patients the best care. My initial first focus is healing the brain and nervous system. 90% of illness and disease is caused by the brains ability to adapt to stress. Most nervous system doctors only treat/assess the spine which is only 20% of the nervous system, when the other 80% resides in the head! Being a certified craniopath for adults and children allows me to treat the entire nervous system, as well as screen for anything that may be limiting its function such as airway disorders, brain injuries, stressors, or imbalances. There’s only a little over 200 in the US as certified craniopaths so this is definitely a specialty practice. It also allows me to co-manage cases with other medical physicians like dentists, orthodontists, neurologists, and others. In the second phase of treatment, I focus more on any biochemical changes that may be hindering someone’s ability to heal or have vitality. This could stem from genetic reasons, vitamin or mineral deficiencies in the diet, stress, toxins, or pathogens. I will often times do functional lab testing, genetic testing and combine it with kinesiology testing to customize nutritional programs for my patients. We all are made differently so there’s not one perfect supplement/diet for everyone, and this is why customation is so key for nutritional programs. I am a certified wholistic methylation provider, have advanced training in applied kinesiology, craniobiotic technique, functional lab testing, and other skills to help balance this phase of care.
And lastly, we also help patients overcome mindset limitations that may be limiting/blocking their healing.
In 2022, Dr. Rachel wrote a best-selling book Freedom Brain – Unlock the Keys to Transformational Health, that goes really in-depth to all three of those phases I just mentioned. It’s a guide that can help anyone become their own best doctor, figure out the root cause of their ailments and find practitioners more specific to their needs. It’s available on amazon.
She also hosts the Unfiltered Healing podcast, which is available on YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes. There’s so much good information on there as well from some really phenomenal alternative health provoders!
Additionally, we’re working on a couple other projects this year, so stay tuned!!!
I’m very proud of my ability to maintain integrity within my practice and create not just exceptional care, but education and lifestyle changes for my patients that last them for the remainder of their lives.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is that patients feel empowered to live the life they are called to. This requires me to be able to educate them on what health really entails and how to maintain it for the remainder of their life. There’s a lot of corruption within the medical system, and people aren’t empowered to know what’s really going on with them and how to change it. It’s really a sick care system.
We need to reform the medical sphere and alternative medicine is one big part of that puzzle. There’s answers for any health ailment, you just need to have wisdom to know what to search for, and the tenacity of the person to continue until it’s complete. There’s no magic pill. Everyone needs to learn about their body and how it works to some extent to live a healthy vibrant life.
I also have a heart for missions work and recently spent time in various parts of Africa helping to serve and share hope to these often forgotten communities. God still performs many miracles today!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drrachelhamel.com
- Instagram: @_drrachel_
- Facebook: DrRachel Hamel
- Twitter: DrRachelHamel1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@unfilteredhealingpodcast3043
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Brain-Unlock-Secrets-Transformational/dp/B0B1HXV4RF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2K1VGHQLA58YF&keywords=freedom+brain&qid=1676073429&sprefix=freedom+brai%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1
Image Credits
Brooke Preece Photography
