We are open for new, repeat appointments and for prescription filling services.
If you are looking for a herbal practitioner please see the referral directories of your country or region:
For each of our forms we have provided both a Word Doc and a PDF version for your convenience. Please download, print and mail the completed form to our office: 3636 Trent Rd, Courtenay , BC, V9N 9R4.
I have over 30 years of clinical experience and have dedicated my entire career to helping people obtain optimal wellness with herbs, nutrition and other natural wellness practices. It is my mission to help you feel your best so you can live your best. I provide individualized and personalized attention to your health needs, and combine evidence based traditional medicine with modern science and research. I am committed to offering you a non-judgmental, compassionate environment in which healing can happen. I also believe that for healers to do their best work, they have to be healthy people, walking their talk, so part of the mandate of the clinic is to practice balance in my own life and health, so that I can be the best for myself, my world, and my patients.
I practice an holistic approach which assumes that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and that the patient has an innate ability to heal, which it is my job to activate and support. In a consultation we will address issues of diet and nutrition, exercise, rest, play and laughter, prayer and spirituality. I often prescribe naps, comedy movies, massages and walks on the beach as well as specific herbs and nutritional therapies. I try to foster a sense of wholeness in my clients and to encourage their deep connection to the plant world. I encourage the client to create a healing team around themselves and I expect my clients to actively engage in the healing process and to fully participate with me in seeking optimal health and well being.
I do not practice ‘alternative’ medicine where patients have to choose one thing or another. I do not practice ‘complementary’ medicine where allopathic treatment leads and others take a lesser role. I practice collaborative medicine where a community of wellness professionals supports and sustains the patient in navigating all the complexity of illness and healing. This wellness team may include oncologists, family doctors, massage therapists, psychologists and the herbalist, all collaborating with their best efforts to help the patient achieve optimal well being.
Although I will not diagnose you or prescribe drugs I can offer a thorough and in-depth discussion of your current health-related questions and concerns, including reviewing your health history and laboratory results, and help you to make sense of how you might bring a Collaborative Functional Wellness approach to your health and wellness goals.
Collaboration also requires that the patient become part of the healing team. It is your responsibility to read all the materials I provide you, to ask for clarification or explanation where needed, and to implement as much as you can of all the things in the protocol. The herbs don’t always taste great, you may be asked to get additional blood work or other diagnostic work-ups from your physicians, and you may meet resistance and challenge from friends and family, as well as sometimes from the medical profession.
Please note that I am not acting as your primary care provider but, rather, as a wellness coach. As a result, I do not address urgent care or primary care issues. I recommend that you have a primary care physician. If you have a serious health problem that requires immediate attention, you should call your other doctors(s), call 911, or have someone take you to the nearest hospital emergency room. If you notice an adverse effect from one of the components of your natural health plan as provided by me, you should discontinue it and then call my office to discuss it. You will not be charged for this call unless it requires me to reformulate the protocol substantially in which case 15 minute increments may be charged.
(All fees are in CAD, Canadian clients are also charged GST)
Please note: my services are not necessarily covered by extended care medical plans. We will provide full invoices and tax # and you can submit a claim to insurance but this does not assure you of reimbursement.
Appointments are available in person in my clinic in Courtenay on Vancouver Island and as well as in Vancouver, or by telephone.
The rate is $265 for the first consultation which is 90 minutes duration during which we will discuss your symptoms, health concerns, medical, family, and personal history, your nutrition and diet, exercise and sleep habits, as well as any other information that will help me to understand the factors contributing to your health concerns. We will also review any previous lab testing or medical records. This initial fee also includes 1 – 2 hours of my time afterwards to graph the blood work, review all the medical records and reports in detail and to write a personalized report for you discussing our treatment plan and my herbal and other recommendations.
This initial fee also includes a 10 minute phone call, if required, within 4 weeks of receiving the program, and allows us to discuss any questions or concerns that come up as you get started. This is not a follow up appointment and we will not discuss new symptoms or medical findings – it is purely for clarifying and coaching you on the protocol previously sent.
Follow up appointments are booked every 3 – 6 weeks as needed. These appointments are 45 minutes long and are billed at $120. This includes graphing of blood work, cross referencing of prescription drugs with herbs to check for safety, writing blood work requisitions, and written protocol revisions after the appointment as required.
Shorter appointments may be available for quick questions in between scheduled full appointments and you may also email in questions. If you have questions that require a written response from Chanchal, it is considered a consultation and charged in 15 minute increments.
E-transfer, PayPal, Visa and MasterCard credit cards are accepted for payment as well as personal cheques and, of course, cash. GST is applied for all Canadian patients and all remedies are additional to these consulting fees.
I may use a variety of saliva, urine, stool and blood tests to evaluate your health parameters. Some of these may be requested from your doctor and covered on MSP. Others are ordered through private labs and are paid out of pocket.
Call or email the clinic to book your appointment. When booking, please advise us whether you are an oncology patient or are inquiring about other health concerns.
If you are booking a first time consultation we will need a credit card number at the time of booking to secure your appointment and for payment once your consult is completed.
Nothing will be charged until after your consultation.
If you are booking a first time (new patient) consultation please fill out our New Patient Intake Form and the Informed Consent Form (available for down load from the website) and bring them to the appointment or ensure they are mailed in advance.
You are also asked to bring or send in advance any pathology reports, scan reports and pertinent blood work reports. These must be in chronological order or you may be charged an additional fee to sort them out for you.
Medical records can only be released with your authorization. Please print the Medical Records release document from the website and take it into your physician’s office to authorize them to release a copy of your records to you.
It is important to mail all pertinent prior records to my office to arrive at least 5 days prior to your appointment. If your patient packet is late, it can take up time during your appointment to review your records.
Administrative email: cabreraclinic@gmail.com (booking, changing or canceling appointments, ordering remedies, all payment inquiries)
Chanchal’s direct email: clinic@chanchalcabrera.com (for questions regarding your protocol)
Please note that we cannot guarantee a secure email system; we do not use encryption or other methods in our communication with patients. In agreeing to work with Chanchal Cabrera you are consenting to her using regular email to send and receive your patient information. It is your responsibility to ensure it is as private as you wish at your end.
When you schedule an appointment, time is reserved especially for you and no one else, and to provide the type of care you are looking for, Chanchal limits the number of clients she accepts each week. Also, time goes into preparing for your appointment before the scheduled time. Thus, a minimum of 72 hours notice is required for cancellations or you may be billed for the appointment.
Most patients are recommended customized herbal tincture and tea. These can be ordered directly from my dispensary and will not be found in health food stores or on-line. If you choose to get another dispensary to fill the order it is your responsibility to ensure that the products are exactly the same as what I would have provided.
Other dispensaries that carry the same lines of specialty products as I do and where patients can get also individualized protocols filled:
Patients will be able to purchase most recommended supplement through an on-line dispensary with a huge selection of highest quality products where my patients can obtain a 15% discount on the retail price for any supplements purchased. If patients choose to purchase supplements elsewhere it is their responsibility to ensure they purchase exactly what I recommended.