Institute Of Complementary Medicine

Celmer is solid. Treating CFS/​ME she knows what she is doing. Highly recommended.

I used to see Dr. Oberg before she moved away. So, this review is for Dr. Janci Karp. Lightning, it seems, does strike twice. Janci is knowledgeable, thorough, attentive, firm, yet caring, and communicative (always gets back to me via phone call). I am very lucky, or blessed, depending on how you want to look at it.
Some here mention that the service isn’t good. It used to be better. It’s hard sometimes to get someone on the phone; the staff often let it ring. I think they are working on improving the situation, going more web-​based with an internet portal. For example, I was able to see my labs before our visit, so I was already aware of the things I wanted to hone in on and on what Dr. Karp, likely, was going to raise. It got our last visit going right out of the gate. Excellent.
There is always a little wait, 5 – 20 min with an average of perhaps 10 – 15 min. Some of the staff are diffident or surely. That’s unfortunate. But the most important piece is a doctor who is a team member on the project of your wellness. Dr. Janci Karp definitely is that. Judging from several of the other comments here, so are some of the other docs. So, overall: Worth it.

I have seen 3 of the doctors (1 primarily, multiple times, 2 for their specialty). All listen closely, focus on understanding and healing root cause, and take an integrated approach (emotion, physical, mental). They are clearly very knowledgeable. They often give me options so I can use my intuition and preferences to be part of my treatment. They are still learning their new online patient system so there are some kinks (mainly scheduling snafus) but I found it very easy to pay my bills and see notes from my visits. I do wish it was easier to reliably get someone on the phone. Their dispensary prices are all less than I can find online for the same supplements which is reassuring. As compared to western doctors, ICM doctors’ approach and skill and time is far superior. As compared to another natural medicine group I saw for several years, their knowledge is far deeper and business practices more ethical/​accurate.

I am very grateful for the care I’ve received from Dr. Annette Sacksteder. My symptoms kept developing, and each time I visited, Dr. S listened deeply, asked more questions, and took lots of notes. She has been a gem, helping me to consider the possibilities in care and giving me a multi-​faceted set of treatments that support me body and soul. Dr. S, you’re one of my heroes. Thank you for all you do!

Today was my first time seeing Dr. Sacksteder and my experience was so wonderful, I had to immediately write a review! She REALLY listened to me and actually treated me like a person. I am type 1 diabetic and am in and out of physician’s office’s like crazy. I am used to being rushed, but Dr. Sacksteder made me feel extremely welcome and important. She even went WELL into her lunch hour to accommodate me. I was even feeling nauseous at one point because I didn’t eat all morning, and she made me a protein shake for my blood sugar. I truly felt like she cared about me. I would give her 100 stars plus if I could. You can see that she really loves her profession and the people she cares for.

I saw Dr. Celmer for a few months at ICM. My initial appointment was great — she seemed very knowledgeable, she spent time with me, listened well, and seemed focused on working with me to address my health issues. Subsequent appointments were not so great. I always waited at least 15, sometimes up to 30 minutes despite being on time for my appointment. Dr. Celmer always seemed very rushed and distracted. I paid for several tests that did not reveal anything and did not get me anywhere. I finally stopped going after my last appointment when Dr. Celmer had me come in just to receive some test results. When I finally got into the exam room, the test results were nowhere to be found. She said she would email them to me later that day and call me to explain the results over the phone — she never did either. I finally called a couple weeks later to ask about the test (which cost me $ 100 by the way). The only response I got was an email with the results in PDF format attached. No explanation, no help interpreting the results, nothing. While I liked Dr. Celmer as a person, I feel like my whole experience at ICM was a waste of several hundred dollars and lots of time.

The doctors may be fine but the office staff is not. More often than not they do not answer their phones, and the voice mail on the system is misleading/​confusing. They do not call to remind about appointments. When you actually do talk to them in person, they can be quite rude. They spend more time talking to each other than the patients. I stopped going to this group some time ago primarily because of this.

I first started seeing Dr. Stretch, who has since retired, and am now seeing Dr. Bower there. I have chronic health problems, and am dealing with things that are currently undiagnosed. Dr. Bower, and every doctor I have seen there are wonderful. I have been to over 15 doctors in the western medical field and ICM has helped me more than the majority of them. They are also very respectful and honestly care about helping you. Dr. Bower is amazing, and is really on my side and actively helping me figure out the puzzle that is my current health situation. I thank God for these folks. I would feel very lost without them.

ICM is a great clinic with friendly physicians. Dr. Sacksteder does an amazing quarterly group cleanse for 28 days. She hosts weekly classes for the group, providing support for the group, endless amounts of knowledge on topics related to the cleanse, as well as a delicious home-​cooked meal!
I highly recommend this cleanse for any and everyone, no matter where your starting point is. It is truly a whole mind-​body healing experience. Dr. Sacksteder is extremely supportive and really helps guide everyone on their path through the cleanse.

I just had another incredible visit with Dr. Celmer. She is honestly one of the most top notch health care providers I’ve ever encountered. There is always thought given and a great explanation to any health condition I bring to her attention. She offers excellent descriptions of why she thinks the problem is happening and a reasonable solution taking into consideration financial constraints as well as side-​effects. As long as I can I will be her patient! I’ve not felt this great in a long time and no matter what turns up in my body she seems to always have a wonderful solution.

I have mixed feelings about ICM. I suffered from chronic GI problems before giving up on traditional Western medicine and seeking help from a naturopath, and I found a great one in Kim Celmer. After my first visit, I felt that for the first time in years someone had actually listened to my problems & taken a close look at my history, and I felt optimistic. It took a couple tries but we did eventually learn what had been causing my issues and now I have a solid recovery plan. Other doctors never came close, just kept sending me in for different (and invasive!) exams and procedures.
That said, one problem I continue to have with ICM EVERY time I visit, regardless of time of day, is that I’m kept waiting. I usually wait for at least 15 minutes. One morning I was the first appointment of the day and had to wait almost half an hour. Ridiculous. When I called recently to schedule an appointment with Dr. Celmer to go over some test results that had come in, I was told she wanted to meet with me in person. If that was inconvenient (which it was), the receptionist told me I could have a phone consultation and be charged $ 50 for every 15 minutes. Obviously I scheduled an appointment to go in personally, but when I got there I wasn’t even in their calendar! My appointment vanished. Since the other person had not yet arrived the doctor quickly pulled me in and we rushed through the results, she recommended I check out a couple books from the library that would answer more of my questions, and then I was charged the full copay. WTF?
If you are more patient than I am I recommend trying this place out, because when they have time for you they actually do a great job. Just be sure to call ahead and verify your appointment exists before you leave work early and spend 45 minutes on a bus in order to get there.

My wife had a good experience here so I gave it a try for a problem that two MDs had not been able to help me with. The «doctor» did a lot of stuff that had nothing to do with my problem like hitting my knee with a rubber mallet upon every visit. He prescribed some kind of exotic «medicine» that was difficult to purchase and which aggravated my symptom. They tested me for allergies by having me hold bottles of liquid samples while a machine beeped and buzzed. I went with an open mind willing to try anything. Now I feel a fool. What quackery. I went to two more MDs and finally got help from the fourth.

It took me a long time to find a naturopathic doctor that I trusted. I went through several wacky places first, including one woman who said that an ear is the key to all parts of the body and then measured my magnetism and sent me on my way. But thankfully I found the Institute of Complementary Medicine.
I love ICM. I’ve been going for about seven years. I saw mainly Dr. Eileen Stretch for a long time, and she’s wonderful: funny, professional, hard-​working, thoughtful, intuitive, knowledgeable, and full of years of expertise. I’ve also seen several of the other doctors; all are excellent. Today, I saw Kim Celmer and she does what must be the fastest pap in the west (thank god).
What I love most about ICM is that the doctors mix western science and traditional practice and knowledge to create plans for you that are holistic and integrative. They are certainly focused on the preventative, and you will get the requisite herbs, natural pills, and tinctures – as you would from most naturopaths – with the idea that you are maintaining your health each day. But, I’ve also gotten antibiotics and pharmaceuticals from them in acute situations or when the natural medicines aren’t cutting it. I like having that choice a lot.
There’s nothing woo-​woo about the place. It’s very professional, and it is clear that the doctors really know their stuff.
Oh yeah, they also have a nutritionist and an oncologist!

Dr. Kim Celmer is wonderful. She is thorough, intelligent, efficient and the list goes on.
She offers many strategies for improving health, many of which are not expensive.