Why I got in to integrative medicine

Bob's Story

Like many others, I got into integrative medicine for self-improvement and discovered a new frontier of exciting breakthroughs and opportunities to assist others with their health after hitting a wall in their recovery.

I started taking fish oil (cod liver oil) and vitamin C during middle school in order to improve my personal performance in wrestling while on a restricted diet to keep my weight down. While wrestling in high school and college, I continued to pursue information on the use of nutritional supplements while obtaining degrees in chemistry and then chemical engineering.  

In 1986, I read about the effects of essential fatty acid supplementation.  In 1982 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for the discovery of the essential fatty acid/prostaglandin inflammatory disease metabolism. I continued to explore the research and applications of evening primrose oil and fish oil on health conditions, frequently working with doctors who had given up on medications for their patients.

There was a major shift when I was asked to investigate claims that magnetic products had an effect on the human body. I was surprised by the dramatic improvements some people reported with the use of these products and found no general theory to explain the results from a scientifically consistent basis. After working with over 3,000 people, some with serious health challenges, I was able to summarize the results and start making suggestions on how to improve performance. After a while, a friend showed me how natural energy had similar effects and I studied yoga, Reiki, and qigong. The challenges were always to avoid violations in FDA regulations regarding making medical claims for products and techniques that had not gone through the FDA process and to develop a means to earn a living in this field.

In 2008, I was working with veterans with chronic pain and spinal cord trauma and discovered that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) responded to many of these same techniques. We started using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and then integrated other techniques that were being used by two integrative immersion programs for soldiers with military PTSD at Fort Bliss and Fort Hood. These techniques included energy techniques such as Reiki, qigong, therapeutic massage, chiropractic care, and acupuncture/acupressure as well as calming aromatherapy and relaxing music in conjunction with existing traditional medications and counseling programs.

In 2012, I co-founded a nonprofit called Vet TRIIP, Inc. to provide free integrative services for veterans, service members, their families, and caregivers living with PTS and chronic pain. Since that time, Vet TRIIP has provided over 8,000 individual Integrative Immersion Process (IIP) sessions for over 2,000 veterans. 

—Bob, MS, BA