Based in Long Beach, our holistic pediatrician clinic provides compassionate, whole-child care for families across the coastal and inland communities of South Los Angeles and North Orange Counties. We also support families from San Pedro through Seal Beach and beyond.
In our Long Beach community, we often receive many questions about holistic pediatrics. The following are the most frequently asked questions from parents seeking a holistic pediatrician:
Our holistic pediatrician clinic accepts most major PPO insurance plans. Visit our insurance page to see a list of health insurances accepted. The list is not exhaustive. If you don’t see your plan listed, please give us a call and we’ll check for you.
If you don’t have health insurance (or have health insurance we don’t accept) visit our services and costs page to view our prices for paying with cash methods.
We also offer an optional Concierge Plan for families seeking elevated access, extended appointment times, and direct communication options with our care team—whether you are using insurance or paying out-of-pocket.
At Growing Healthy Together Pediatric Clinic, we help families make informed decisions on healthcare. Our goal is to ensure you are well-informed of both the risks and benefits of vaccinations. We do not judge a family’s decision regarding vaccinations, and we respect vaccination decisions as a private, personal choice. To generate thoughtful discussions with our holistic pediatricians, we recommend reviewing the CDC’s “Immunization Requirements for School Entry”.
For answers to other frequently asked questions, please click on the links below:
A holistic pediatrician identifies and treats the root causes of disease rather than just managing symptoms. Holistic pediatricians care for children’s health by looking at the whole child—body, mind, emotions, and environment—rather than just treating isolated symptoms or illnesses. This type of pediatrician is one who:
The holistic approach is generally structured around ten core principles:
1. Optimal Health is the primary goal of holistic medical practice. It is the conscious pursuit of the highest level of functioning and balance of the physical, environmental, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of human experience, resulting in a dynamic state of being fully alive. This creates a condition of wellbeing regardless of the presence or absence of disease.
2. The Healing Power of Love. Holistic health care practitioners strive to meet the patient with grace, kindness, acceptance, and spirit without condition, as love is life’s most powerful healer.
3. Whole Person. Holistic health care practitioners view people as the unity of body, mind, spirit and the systems in which they live.
4. Prevention and Treatment. Holistic health care practitioners promote health, prevent illness, and help raise awareness of disease in our lives rather than merely managing symptoms. A holistic approach relieves symptoms, modifies contributing factors, and enhances the patient’s life system to optimize future wellbeing.
5. Innate Healing Power. All people have innate powers of healing in their bodies, minds, and spirits. Holistic health care practitioners evoke and help patients utilize these powers to affect the healing process.
6. Integration of Healing Systems. Holistic health care practitioners embrace all safe and effective options in diagnosis and treatment. These options come from a variety of traditions, and are selected in order to best meet the unique needs of the patient. The realm of choices may include lifestyle modification and complementary approaches as well as conventional medications and surgery.
7. Relationship-centered Care. The ideal practitioner-patient relationship is a partnership that encourages patient autonomy, and values the needs and insights of both parties. The quality of this relationship is an essential contributor to the healing process.
8. Individuality. Holistic health care practitioners focus patient care on the unique needs and nature of the person who has an illness rather than the illness that the person has.
9. Teaching by Example. Holistic health care practitioners continually work toward the personal incorporation of the principles of holistic health, which then profoundly influence the quality of the healing relationship.
10. Learning Opportunities. All life experiences including birth, joy, suffering, and the dying process are profound learning opportunities for both patients and health care practitioners.
The holistic physician may choose or recommend from a variety of both conventional and “alternative” treatments for your child. Together, the physician and parent work to develop an optimal course of treatment. This partnership is a powerful approach to healing and is the cornerstone of the holistic philosophy.
The benefits of holistic medicine are:
Unconditional love is a way of being that is always supporting the health, wellbeing, and growth of a person or system for the highest good of all concerned. The love is not contingent on any attitude or behavior of those being supported. The most important person for one to love unconditionally is oneself. The rest flows from there.
A holistic pediatrician will work with you to develop a holistic treatment program designed to assist your child in healing. Other holistic practitioners may also be recommended, but the idea that anyone else can “fix” the problem is not a part of the holistic model. Most illnesses and disabilities are the result of a complex interaction of events, habits, and choices and are not amenable to Band-Aids or “sweeping things under the rug”—approaches that do not address underlying causes.
Informed consent is the process by which a physician helps a patient arrive at an informed decision regarding treatment options. Sometimes this is simple and straightforward, such as the decision to apply a cast for a broken bone. Other times it can be extraordinarily difficult, like choosing among cancer treatments.
The physician must help the patient understand the disease he/she faces and the risks and benefits of the various treatments. The patient’s hopes and fears must be addressed, as well as psychological factors and family expectations. The patient must be aided in coming to an understanding of what this disease means in his/her life at this time. The physician should proactively call on other sources of support and expertise and the patient should be encouraged to seek other opinions and points of view as well.
The physician should help the patient realize that there is often no “right” answer, but only multiple trade-offs, and then help negotiate these complex decisions together.
Reimbursement for visits with a holistic pediatrician will depend on what type of insurance plan you have. Most holistic physicians cannot practice under the HMO model; however many PPO or POS plans will reimburse some percentage of the physician’s fee. Be sure to check with your plan and with the physician’s office before your visit.
Don’t let dependence on an insurance plan keep you from getting the help you or your child need. If you have recurrent or chronic health problems and are not happy with the care you are receiving in the current system, don’t limit your thinking to what your insurance company will cover.
One option to consider is increasing the deductible on your policy (keeping your coverage in the event of serious illness) and using your premium savings to cover the cost of preventive holistic healthcare. If you participate in a Health Savings Account (HSA), several alternative and complementary treatments are eligible covered expenses.
Insurance companies are slow to change. However, asking if they cover holistic services will at least serve to notify them that you, the customer, are interested in something different.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies are those not yet considered mainstream. Therefore, they are not normally offered by conventional medical providers. “Complementary medicine” refers to use of CAM, together with conventional medicine and usual care, to help lessen pain. Most use of CAM by Americans is complementary.
“Alternative medicine” refers to the use of CAM in place of conventional medicine. “Integrative medicine” (also called integrated medicine) refers to a practice that combines both conventional and CAM treatments for which there is evidence of safety and effectiveness. CAM treatments include, but are not limited to:
The list of what is considered complementary and alternative therapy is constantly changing as more research becomes available. As they demonstrate efficacy and safety, these therapies become part of conventional medicine
Holistic medicine is a term that is inclusive of the connection between the mind, body and spirit in healing. The belief system, lifestyle, social, cultural and environmental choice, as well as the relationship between patient and practitioner, are considered to be important components in the healing of illness. Correction of imbalances in any of these areas will bring relief of symptoms. Illness in this model is viewed as an opportunity for personal spiritual growth.
Integrative medicine is a practice that starts with the conventional Western model of disease, and encompasses other healing methods, such as use of herbal preparations, biofeedback, acupuncture, and other “systems of treatment”.
Complementary medicine is those other “systems of treatment”, in relationship to the central model of conventional medicine of drugs and surgery.
Alternative medicine systems (unrelated to Western medicine) as stand-alone options include Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.
As parents and caregivers, embracing a mindful, supportive lifestyle for your family is a vital part of working with a holistic pediatric practitioner. In holistic pediatrics, we often view a child’s symptoms or illness not just as a problem to be fixed, but as a gentle messenger—a sign that some aspect of their environment, nutrition, routine, or emotional well-being may be out of harmony.
Our role as holistic professionals is to serve as a supportive guide, partnering with your family to explore these signals and helping you navigate the journey toward long-term, vibrant health for your child.
As with all other services, the cost of holistic treatment will differ from one practitioner to another. It also depends upon both the diagnosis and prescribed treatment. Feel free to ask about costs prior to making your child’s first appointment. You may also choose to check with your insurance company to see what will be covered and explore financial arrangements that suit your individual needs.
Research has proven that the investment made in prevention, not only protects health, but is much less costly than the costs of chronic disease.
Our pediatric care clinic follows a holistic nursing model that treats the whole child rather than just isolated symptoms. Care plans emphasize nutrition, lifestyle factors, root-cause resolution, and parental support.
Our clinic is located at 3835 E. 7th St, Long Beach, CA 90804.
At GHTKids, primary care is provided by Nurse Practitioners (NPs). The nursing model focuses heavily on health promotion, disease prevention, patient education, and a collaborative partnership with parents.
GHTKids offers well-child visits, sick care, developmental screenings, wellness coaching, lactation support, and guidance on lifestyle and nutrition. Learn more about our offerings on Our Services page and our Pediatric Concierge Plan page.
Yes. The practice offers 1:1 lactation support, tongue-tie evaluations, and guidance on organic infant formula supplementation for mothers who need alternatives.
Yes. Wellness coaching sessions assist parents with tailored nutritional strategies, sleep hygiene, and holistic lifestyle adjustments. Full details are available on our Wellness Coaching page.
New families can begin by filling out our online intake forms. Forms are accessible on our Patient Forms page.
Appointments can be booked online or by phone. Visit our Appointments page to request a visit.
Parents must complete the Pediatric Patient Form prior to the initial consultation. These can be submitted online via our Patient Forms page.
Well-child checkups at GHTKids are designed to be thorough, unhurried, and holistic. Rather than rushing through a quick physical exam, the care team dedicates time to look at your child’s overall well-being across physical, emotional, and environmental factors. These include growth and physical health, developmental milestones, nutrition and lifestyle review, and open parental discussions.
If you have additional questions, or need more information than what is provided here, please contact us by phone at (562) 473-4441 or by email at ght@ghtkids.com. You can also submit an inquiry through the form on our Contact Us page.