Bianca Potenta

Bianca has been involved in the Natural Health Industry for over 8 years. After falling ill in her late teens Bianca experienced the benefits of Natural Healthcare and immediately found her career, passion and calling.  She studied at Endeavour College of Natural Health Melbourne under a part scholarship and graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor in Health Science (Naturopathy) and Certificate IV (Massage).

Bianca has always enjoyed the freedom, creativity and responsibility of working for herself and from a young adult was self-employed, working in various industries and developing her knowledge of small business.

In 2013, Bianca launched The Health & Wellbeing Studio as a solo practitioner. In a short period of time Bianca built The Health & Wellbeing studio into a multidisciplinary Natural Health Clinic located in Camberwell, Victoria. Today The Health & Wellbeing Studio has a team of 10 practitioners, all focused on providing a collaborative and integrative health care model for their patients. Bianca’s role as clinic director involves creating an environment where both patients and practitioners can thrive. Bianca also practices Naturopathy specialising in Weight loss, Cardiovascular Health, working predominantly with middle aged men and women.

Over the years Bianca has seen many business owners, including health practitioners, resort to career changes due to the difficulties of self-employment. Her passion to help practitioners be successful in practice evolved from the lessons she has learnt along the way. She believes in sharing her experience and helping to provide practitioners with the business tools they need for growth. Bianca met Judie in 2014 and immediately saw that their passions and goals for the Natural Health Industry were aligned, and as they say the rest is history.

Bianca spends time in charity work and was on the board of Hearts4heart, a not-for-profit organisation for 2 years. She is also a lecturer at Endeavour College of Natural Health.  When Bianca isn’t in clinic, or working on Natural Business Tools, she enjoys getting back to nature, spending time outdoors, exercising, gardening and cooking.

If you would like to contact Bianca please use our CONTACT form.

Judie Curtin

Judie has been involved in Natural health care for 25 years. She graduated Southern School of Natural Therapies, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1989, with a Diploma in applied science, Naturopathy. She was lectured by some greats in the natural health care industry, Sue Evans, Judy Jacka, Assunta hunter, and Mark Wells.

She is a dedicated mother, wife and business owner, living in Melbourne Australia with her husband and three grown children. She runs her own natural therapies clinic in Wantirna, Melbourne, and has worked as a self-employed naturopath since 1990.

When not researching and writing for NBT, Judie also enjoys reading, cooking, listening to music, doing Yoga, and spending time at the beach.

In the 1990s Judie saw the difference the ‘power of the printed word’ could make with her patients following through on instructions and advice for their health, improving her clinical outcomes. She researched books and text to find accurate information, as the web was not yet available, typed them up and handed them out. She realised this not only allowed patients to ‘take away’ and read in their own time but saved her countless hours repeating herself with advice for each patient, and delivered a consistent message.

In 2006 Judie felt a desire to give back and share what has helped her build a successful, albeit small clinic for 16 years; After designing the ‘tools’ to increase her effectiveness with patients and business efficiency, she was inspired to create a website for other Natural therapists to come to for a range of business ‘tools’. It was her mission to assist others to achieve what she had been able to do, but in a much shorter time, and with much less effort and cost. A few years later Bianca Potenta come along, a perfect partnership was formed, and the website was relaunched to what you see today.

Having personally experienced the health benefits of natural medicine and natural living, Judie has made it her lifetime goal to educate people about health improvement strategies and disease prevention, and loves inspiring people to change for the better.

If you would like to send Judie suggestions or comments about the articles on NBT, please use our CONTACT form.

Rebecca Stevens

Rebecca Stevens has a long history of interest in human biology beginning with biological sciences degree (BSc (Hons)) at Flinders University, South Australia, 20 years ago. She then deviated from her passion and spent a number of years travelling, eventually falling into a career as a corporate executive assistant.

Soon she began to notice the health damaging effects that a high pressured, stressful career can have. It really hit home when she saw photos of some of the investment banking executives with which she worked and saw many had aged 10+ years in less than 4. She decided to come back to her original passion and belief in the benefits of a balanced, natural, healthy diet and lifestyle. Having grown up in the fresh air of the Adelaide Hills eating farm direct and home grown fresh fruits and vegetables, it was almost like coming full circle back to her roots. The benefits of being true to your passion and being part of something in which you truly believe have certainly paid off.

In 2013 she was fortunate enough to meet Judie Curtin and has worked closely with her ever since, learning from Judie’s wealth of knowledge and 23+ years clinical experience. In turn, Rebecca’s experience in the corporate world allowed her to assist Judie with writing and production of handouts and diagrams for the Natural Business Tools. She understands the journey of change required by patients to embrace wellbeing. Rebecca is passionate about helping other people take back the power and control over their own health, and is committed to educating and empowering people through small, achievable changes in diet and lifestyle.

Rebecca has greatly enjoyed being involved in helping create this fantastic tool for practitioners and enjoys using the products of their joint hard work in her own growing practice as a qualified naturopath. She holds an Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy (Adv Dip Nat).

Bree Jenner

Bree is a qualified Naturopath whose interest in natural health arose from seeing a naturopath for her own health in her early 20’s, which resulted in her enrolling into a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) degree at Endeavour College and a career change. Bree joined the team at The Health and Wellbeing Studio at the beginning of 2015.

Bree celebrates food as medicine and loves developing and sharing her delicious and balanced recipes that fuel body, mind and spirit, helping her clients to shine as their best self. Her recipes can be found on The Health and Wellbeing Studio website, and as a member of the Chief Active Tribe, she regularly contributes articles and recipes to their online wellness hub.

Bree has a special interest in natural and holistic healthcare for children and families. Her passion lies with educating children about wholefoods and making better food choices for a healthy future having developed ‘The Simple Lunchbox’ program to help parents navigate delicious and nourishing lunchboxes that help to fuel growing kids.

Bree supports an Australian not-for-profit charity, Shoes for Planet Earth, where she collects pre-loved shoes to redistribute to disadvantaged communities, both locally and internationally.

In her spare time, Bree’s idea of meditation is having her hands in the soil of her garden or her toes in the sand at the beach. She also enjoys travelling, writing and cooking.

Click here for more information about Bree.

Vanita Dahia

Vanita Dahia is an internationally-recognized integrative medicine expert and author. Her career has been guided by balancing body chemistries in mental health and chronic complex health conditions. Vanita is in the vanguard of neurochemistry research which has led to the publication of Alchemy of the Mind and Alchemy of Amino Acids books with online masterclasses.

She provides functional pathology, clinical training programs and educational initiatives to Dr’s and allied health practitioners world-wide.

Vanita earned her Board-certified fellowship in Anti-ageing and regenerative medicine, and qualifications in pharmacy, naturopathy, nutritional mental health and Ayurvedic medicine in Australia and abroad.

Vanita’s research explores previously uncharted territory of compounding pharmacy with evidence based natural medicine and is a prodigious innovator in targeted therapy with many patients and health practitioners under her tutelage.

Vanita website is: https://vanitadahia.com/

Christine Barnes

Christine Barnes M.Well. ND., has been involved in the delivery of health services for over 40 years covering the fields of Wellness, Yoga, Meditation, Clinical Naturopathy, et al. She has also been a successful business women prior to The Body Guard Clinic in a variety of fields including (but not limited to) real estate, tourism, property development, retail, manufacturing and importing.

Christine is widely regarded as a mentor, and for her abilities in coaching students, new graduates and new “again” practitioners in the art of clinical practice and creating flourishing healthy businesses. She is committed to helping naturopaths connect to and sustaining patient relationships, advancing existing skill sets to optimize patient health outcomes, and producing optimal return on investment for all practitioners.

In addition to her clinical practice with complex cases, Christine has developed the “My Mentor” hub where she nurtures future Elite Naturopaths.

To find out more visit www.thebodyguard.com.au
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Nissa Lee Phillips

After an early life diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Nissa went on to study naturopathy in an effort to heal her body and brain. With medicinal herbs, the Wahls neuro-protective diet and stress management Nissa is now in good health, and has been drug and relapse free for five years. Her success story has been published in Dr Terry Wahl's new book on using therapeutic diets to recover from M.S.

Whilst sick Nissa started her studies in Naturopathy at WEA Academy of Complementary Health in Newcastle. She went on complete her Naturopathy qualification as well as Remedial Massage therapy. During her studies she was lectured by naturopath Mark Hinchey, and trained with integrative Dr Stuart Glastonbury. She identifies as having had two health educations; one learnt in books, and one in the real life challenge and experience of living well with multiple sclerosis. Understandably, her passion is in brain food diets and nutritional methods to repair the nervous system.

Nissa works as a consulting naturopath at Mayfield Medical Connection in Newcastle, alongside fellow naturopaths, GP's, dieticians and integrative Dr Stuart Glastonbury. She also works at Inspirational Health naturopathy clinic with fellow naturopath Tammy Guest. Her treatments are a fusion of herbal medicine, therapeutic foods, meditation, body work and stress management. She understands that journeys to health can be deeply challenging and most importantly that good health is a gift to cherish, nurture and enjoy.

Alongside an evidence based approach, Nissa is passionate about the practice of making health a habit. She coordinates community health programs, runs cooking classes and teaches people how to use food as medicine. As well as a cook, Nissa is a medicinal gardener and passionate herbalist who can often be found tending a herb patch with her dog Coco.

Sonia McNaughton

Sonia is a registered naturopath and medical herbalist passionate about evidence based naturopathy and providing scientifically valid natural solutions. She has a special interest in thyroid conditions, menopause, women’s health and acne.

Sonia had a successful career which she loved as the National Sales and Training Manager for Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy when she found she was increasingly exhausted, irritable and forgetful. She was gaining weight, losing her hair, constantly sick and permanently injured by the easiest of exercise.

Sonia was eventually diagnosed with 5 autoimmune diseases and began the search to regain her quality of life meeting with the very best of the medical profession to the most extreme alternative therapists. Feeling overwhelmed and confused by conflicting advice she went back to school to study, ended up winning awards for academic excellence and graduated with a double qualification in naturopathy and medical herbalism.

A large part of Sonia’s clinical training was spent working alongside Dr Stuart Glastonbury in his integrative medical practice honing her ability to thoroughly investigate the cause of illness and work alongside GPs and specialists.

Sonia practices at an integrative medical practice with GPs, a nurse, dietitians, psychologists and audiologists

Sonia loves concocting natural makeup alternatives, hanging out with her husband and puppy Lavinia, relaxing at the beach staring at the ocean and planning overseas holidays.

For more information about Sonia visit soniamcnaughton.com

Jeff Shearer

Conscious that practitioners in the ‘alternative’ spectrum of health care are more at risk of failure in business than other healthcare modalities, Jeff was inspired to create Ethical Practice – an information-based business assisting healthcare practitioners to develop success with integrity.

Jeff has been in private health practice since 1995, running a successful remedial massage, and then acupuncture clinic – from mobile, to renting a room from a multi-modality clinic, to running his own multi-practitioner natural therapy clinic. He made a lot of mistakes along the way but learnt so much in the process. His last 3 practices have been highly successful so he did learn a few things and aims to assist practitioners avoid common mistakes. Jeff is a national and international presenter.

To find out more check out www.ethicalpractice.net and www.evolvenaturalmedicine.com.au