NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR
Dr. Sarah Goulding ND
Hormones + Gut Health + Burnout
Dr. Sarah Goulding ND | she/her
Naturopathic Doctor with a focus in women’s hormonal health, digestion, and stress/burnout.
Dr. Sarah Goulding is a health nerd. She loves hearing the elaborate story of how you got to this point in your health, and geeking out on your lab results to determine the root cause of your concerns.
She has a BSc in neuroscience and biology from Dalhousie University (2004), and did her 4-year naturopathic training at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (2010). She’s since accumulated over a decade of clinical experience, and refined her practice to focus on women’s health and digestion. She is licensed and registered as a Naturopathic Doctor in Ottawa Ontario by The College of Naturopaths of Ontario (CONO) and is a member of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND) and the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OAND).
Dr. Sarah Goulding blends science and compassion, and acts as a personal health researcher to help you navigate your health. Tools that she uses include nutrition, supplements and botanicals, bioidentical hormones, and lifestyle modifications. The closer you get to the root cause, the gentler the therapies needed to resolve the issue.
Do the deep investigations. Be truly heard. Get well.
See Dr. Sarah Goulding for:
- PMS, PMDD
- Painful and/or heavy periods
- Stress, burnout
- Insomnia
- Hormone imbalance and hormone testing
- Menopause and perimenopause (hotflashes, mood changes, irritability, insomnia, weight gain)
- Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (menopausal hormone therapy)
- Low libido
How I Practice
Most of my patients are as curious as I am. They’re frustrated with their symptoms, and even more so, they’re often frustrated with their health care team and the lack of answers they’re receiving.
I help them to gather all relevant information, then I structure it to make sense, and translate it in language and images that are tangible to them.
Often at the end of the first visit a patient says “this has been so great”, even before we’ve rolled out the treatment plan. They so very much value being fully listened to.
They also love learning the mechanism of why their body is behaving as it is. I draw them pictures of their organs, maps of their hormones, and zoom-ins of their cell receptors so that they understand why the elements of our treatment plan are important. Once they understand the “why” they are motivated to do the work necessary to get well.
Visit Structure
The first visit is up to 1.5 hours. We review your medical history, your stress sources and levels, your diet, your movement/exercise, your sleep, and really all aspects of your health, big and small. At the end of that visit you will have a structured holistic view of your health architecture, where your body needs help, and how we’re going to address it. You’ll also receive a simple initial treatment plan, a nutrition calculation tool, and likely requisitions for lab testing. As lab testing via a naturopathic doctor is not covered by the public health care system in Ontario, you will be given the specific costs of the lab tests prior to agreeing to them, and most extended health care plans will cover them under your naturopathic benefits.
The second visit is usually 2-4 weeks after the first, once the lab test results have come in. In this 30- to 60-minute visit we put together the full plan and answer any questions you may have remaining. I reserve the creation of a full treatment plan for the second visit as it allows me the time to really analyze the full case and create a precise plan, which may include supplements, herbs, dietary guidelines, lifestyle suggestions, links to video/programs/other resources, and whatever other tools best suit your specific case.
All follow-up visits after the second are 30 minutes, and allow us to tweak the plan as needed.
After the chief concern is resolved (usually within the first 3-5 visits), we can redirect our focus to long-term wellness strategies, and draw in other practitioners to grow the patient’s care team, including counsellors, holistic nutritionists, personal trainers, acupuncturists, etc.
The goal is that you’re feeling so well, that you just need to check in once per year to repeat some lab testing, and level up your health to the next notch, but that you are well fueled through your diet, moving optimally through your exercise plan, and are well supported with the practitioners within your circle of care team.
Naturopathic Care Options
Good news! You can access care with Dr. Sarah in multiple ways.
Your Doctor: Meet Dr. Sarah Goulding
As a child and young adult I knew nothing of naturopathic medicine. Coming from a scientific family (physics professor for a father, and anthropologist for a mother) my academic direction was towards research and my chosen field was neuroscience. But after completing my Bachelor of Science in neuroscience, it became apparent that a career in this field of science was very likely to centre around animal research in a laboratory, which wasn’t extremely appealing to me.
At the same time, I was having some menstrual, digestive and skin symptoms that were inadequately being addressed by my health care team. They were offering bandaid solutions and not even nearing a decent explanation of the root cause. I could suffer the symptoms, but I wanted to understand the underlying mechanism so that I could resolve the cause and reverse the course of disease. One side of my family is rampant with inflammatory bowel disease, and I was motivated to NOT follow in those footsteps.
I essentially stumbled upon naturopathic medicine when trying to determine my next step in life. I was looking for a postgraduate program that covered my interests (and truthfully, the courses that I did really well in during my undergrad) like anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, etc. Medical school wasn’t a good fit for me because the education just wouldn’t allow me to dig down as deeply as my inquisitive mind needed to go. I needed to find a career where I could be a health researcher, and case-by-case investigate until the true solution was found. I came across a program in Toronto, which required an undergraduate degree (which made me feel it was legitimate), and which was an additional 4 years, including clinical rotation. It had all of my cherished topics (anatomy etc), but also had courses in herbal medicine, nutrition and physical health. It was a perfect confluence of my scientific side, but also my faith in our bodies’ evolved capability to heal. I knew that our current medical knowledge paled in comparison to the complexity and brilliance of the human body, and therefore a program that focused on identifying and eliminating the external obstacle so that the body can return to equilibrium and heal itself was very much the blend of what I needed to hear. I was accepted into the naturopathic doctor program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, and worked very hard to do well and learn as much as possible.
The tricky thing about naturopathic college is that when you graduate you enter the business world. There isn’t the security blanket of a medical degree and endless employment opportunities. You need to create your job, and actively educate potential patients about what the heck naturopathic medicine actually is. It’s a slog. But I was fortunate enough to do well, and started a successful multidisciplinary clinic in Sudbury, Ontario (Nickel Ridge Natural Health, now Nickel Ridge Physiotherapy). And it seems, once you start one business, it’s hard not to start more. I then went on to be involved with a few other blossoming businesses (Brownroots Baby, ARC Climbing Yoga Fitness and the Yoak), and now run two clinics (Sante Health Beechwood as co-owner, and Sequence Wellness a virtual clinic).
I am the mother of two very cool kids. I’m a yogi, a runner, a blossoming outdoor enthusiast, and truthfully a recovering stress addict perpetually working towards calm.
I am a registered member of the College of Naturopaths of Ontario, the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors, and the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors.
I am not afraid to do the hard work to achieve my goals. I have been fortunate enough to have had 2 natural unmedicated births, I’ve been a treeplanter for many years, I have done extensive education and solo travel. I can reframe things to make the impossible seem doable, and I want to help you do the same.
Having a hard time finding a time slot in my schedule?
No worries! I work with amazing colleagues that may be able to see you sooner. Dr. Elizabeth Miller ND has a focus in hormones and gut health, and Dr. Midori Barker ND has focus in PCOS and thyroid health. We have a regularly scheduled clinic cases review where we can brainstorm solutions for our more challenging cases, in order to collaboratively approach your care plan and therefore improve your rates of success. So feel free to book in with whichever practitioner best aligns with your schedule and we’ll take care of the rest 🙂
