“People ask me what I mean when I say I’m a holistic practitioner, and I say, 'well I could give you all my credentials, but the long and short of it is I keep people out of the hospital and I listen a lot,'” says Cara Mullen. She explains that her approach and treatments vary on the individual needs of each patient, not just their symptoms.
Since the mid-1990s, Cara has been enjoying a very rewarding second career with Touchstone Health. “It’s wonderfully fulfilling … it’s wonderful to help people be more in balance and to see them happier in their lives. Health is everything; if you don’t feel well, whether it’s emotionally or physically, life’s not fun.”
Cara’s decision to trade in an unfulfilling paralegal career in exchange for her more gratifying journey of becoming a holistic practitioner was a result of Western medicine’s failure to address her own health issues. She had suffered from migraines and sinus problems her entire life. “The last neurologist I saw said 'Get yourself a good painkiller.' So I was just at my wits end,” recalls Cara, who first explored the world of holistic alternatives at the suggestion of a theatre colleague, whom she’d known for many years.
“I had tried everything else, so he suggested I go see his wife, an herbalist, and she put me on some herbs and we talked about eating, lifestyle and everything else. And, of course, my headaches and my sinuses started to get better. So I thought wow, this is very interesting." Shortly thereafter, Cara began taking classes and becoming certified in different areas of holistic health. She saw patients on a part-time basis before happily saying goodbye to the paralegal world permanently following the birth of her last child.
