Battling Medical Gaslighting for Empowered Healthcare
--
Increasingly, women are being told that their health symptoms are simply “all in their head,” a disturbing trend known as medical gaslighting. Leading the charge against this insidious issue is Health+Plus, a holistic medicine provider pioneering an initiative focused on listening to patients, validating their experiences, and providing comprehensive evaluations.
This has happened to my spouse over the years. She told me that she has had issues she felt were pooh-poohed or flat-out ignored. I did some digging into this with my friend, Dr. David Clark, owner and chief provider of Health+Plus Clinic in Oak Grove, Missouri, just outside Kansas City. He had some strong opinions.
“A recent survey uncovered a staggering statistic: 71% of women have been told by a physician that their symptoms were merely imagined,” Dr. Clark said. “The phenomenon, known as medical gaslighting, is a form of psychological manipulation in which a patient’s symptoms and concerns are dismissed or downplayed.”
“Health+Plus firmly rejects this practice. It has no place in medicine,” he said. Instead, his facility insists on empowering patients, offering a platform where their concerns are taken seriously, and their symptoms thoroughly investigated.
“Your voice matters,” he said. “We approach patient consultations with deep empathy, acknowledging the validity of symptoms and committing to understanding the discomfort they’re experiencing.”
A Chiropractic Internist [DABCI] and a Naturopath [NMD], Dr. Clark has been in private practice since 1975. People from all over the country began to hear good reports of Dr. Clark’s success in treating chronic illness with a natural approach began traveling to his little office in Oak Grove. Since 1999, he more than quadrupled the size of that office to accommodate the needs of his patients who seek a natural, caring health approach to their healthcare.
Dr. Clark is dedicated to conducting comprehensive evaluations for every new patient, performing an array of medical tests to uncover the root causes of health problems. This thorough examination of the ‘whole person’ helps ensure that no potential health issue is overlooked.
