Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

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Energy Sessions

  • Centering sessions are designed as a live, guided meditation to help you be more fully in your body and reconnect with the present moment. You just show up and drop into meditation, similar to how a lunch-time yoga class offers you a chance to pause and reconnect with yourself. These sessions are great for those who don't need a full energy healing session but would like personalized support to find their center amid busy schedules.

    Clarity sessions are directed by your intention and require your active participation: sharing what you sense, voicing your questions and choosing how to proceed based on the information that arises. These sessions are suitable if you want to explore an issue or a theme, or have been feeling out-of-sorts but can't put a finger on the cause, for example.

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  • At this time, all sessions are held over the phone, and instructions are included in your booking confirmation email.

  • It depends entirely on the topic or issue you would like to work on, your capacity for energy work and how deep you're willing to go.

    One session is usually enough to address one or two issues (eg, physical discomfort in a part of the body, or difficulty sleeping). If you would like to go deeper, eg, looking at relationship contracts with the key people in your life, clearing the imprints of past trauma, or an in-depth diagnostic and clearing of the main chakras, then I would recommend doing so over multiple sessions, spaced at least a week apart.

    We will discuss the need for multiple sessions (or not) during our Discovery Call or after our first session.

  • No, I only work on a 1:1 basis with individuals.

  • Ensure that you're in a quiet, comfortable space where you will be undisturbed (by humans and pets) for the duration of the session and a few minutes after.

    Turn off all notifications on your devices. Bring in whatever you need to feel comfortable and supported, such as: pillows, blankets, soothing scents, a cup of tea.

    It can also be helpful to have a box of tissues nearby and a pen and notebook to journal your reflections after the session.

  • Due to the highly individualized nature of this work, it is not possible to generalize how one may feel after a session.

    Depending on the focus of the session, you could experience a range of emotions from relief and inner calm to grief and vulnerability as fragmented parts of the Self are healed and integrated. Past clients have reported feeling more grounded and spacious, more like themselves, self-assured, refreshed and relaxed, and lighter in their heart after their sessions.

  • It is important to give yourself the space to transition back to your regular activities after a session. I recommend taking at least 10 minutes after the session to just be with yourself in a quiet space to journal and reflect on what came up for you.

    For the following 24 hours after a session, it is recommended to hold yourself with alot of grace and gentleness to allow the energetic shifts to land. Drink lots of water. Get as much rest as you can. Be mindful of the environments you are in and the media that you consume.

  • No. At least not in the conventionally-held understanding of these terms as they are used in the medical profession.

    As an Intuition Medicine® practitioner I scan and share the information that arises in our session to support your journey of self-discovery and personal healing. This may include information about the current state of a specific energy anatomy system and possible actions that would ensure the optimal functioning and vibrancy of this system. If needed, the "prescription" usually arises from your own insight into the underlying patterns and causes of the issue, I merely facilitate the connection to your own inner wisdom.

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Intuition Medicine®

  • Intuition Medicine® is a certified practice that equips practitioners with a set of tools to support an individual's vitality. Developed by Francesca McCartney PhD, this model is grounded in the study of the body's subtle energy systems and their connection to physical anatomy. The practice applies intuitive insight to identifying the energetic basis of emotional, mental or physical discomfort in order to deepen alignment of one's body, mind and spirit. It is a protocol of deep intuitive listening and sensing, enabling clients to connect with their innate knowing so that they can make informed choices to restore balance and greater alignment with their truth.To learn more about Intuition Medicine®, check out the following resources:

  • No. An Intuition Medicine® session is intended to support and enhance the effectiveness of conventional medical diagnoses and treatment, not to replace it.

  • This work can be supportive for individuals:

    • Navigating change, grief, or uncertainty

    • Who feel disconnected from themselves or their gut instinct

    • Who are highly sensitive or perceptive requiring additional support

    • Seeking healing modalities outside of talk-only approaches

    • Longing for a deeper relationship with their internal world and seeking to understand how it shapes their relationships

  • Not at all. A proficient Intuition Medicine® practitioner will offer a supportive container for you to show up just as you are, guiding the session in alignment with your stated intentions, sharing what is showing up in your field and inviting you to share what arises for you.

    Come as you are. Your curiosity is enough.

  • Conventional therapy methods tend to rely on mental models of processing and analyzing feelings, events and relationships as a means for resolution. With Intuition Medicine®, resolution occurs through insights received while in a state of expanded perception, transcending the mind. While you will dialogue with your practitioner throughout the session, the focus is on sharing impressions and insights that arise, and the shifts in understanding which unfold from that, rather than engaging in analysis of the information.

  • This methodology is spiritual in the sense that it can prompt an awareness and curiosity of who you are beyond the identity constructs that many of us take for granted, such as job titles, relationship status, sexual orientation, schools you attended, country of origin, etc.

  • While intuitive/energy/alternative healing methods are regarded as a "fringe" area within the field of modern science, there is an array of research organizations and peer-reviewed journal publications which focus on the intersection of scientific processes with the effects of intuition and energy work. Here are some recommended resources to learn more:

    Ultimately, reading and analyzing articles will only get you so far. The most compelling evidence of whether energy healing is real comes from your direct experience.

  • In the words of one of my favorite authors, Samuel Sagan, "There is nothing to believe, therefore, there is nothing to doubt". 

    This work is all about supporting you, the client, in having a direct experience of connecting with your own wisdom and, where necessary, clearing what stands in the way of this connection. The effects of a session vary across individuals but the key ingredients are the client's trust in the practitioner and their openness to the possibility that there are other ways of knowing.

    If you're curious about working with me but you're not ready for a full-on session, consider these options:

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About

  • Birdsong Apothecary began as "Temple Of The Spirit", my final project for the Master Certification in Intuition Medicine® (MIM) program at the Academy of Intuition Medicine®. I created a body and spirit care kit featuring 13 different botanical formulations designed to help us become more of who we really are: Divine, Sovereign and Embodied Spirits fulfilling our soul purpose. Along with a set of suggested affirmations, each element of this toolkit - from body butters and anointing oils to tinctures and herbal teas - supported the application and integration of various Intuition Medicine® concepts taught in the program.

    Simply allowing myself to acknowledge my passion of working with medicinal plants - without fear or judgement - reflected my deep transformation through the program. Daring to dream it into being as Birdsong Apothecary, and weaving it with my MIM training, required me to truly step into my power and creativity, apply what I had learnt, trust my intuition and approach this project in a radically different way compared to previous projects.

    My MIM journey was an integration of an Ayahuasca retreat I attended six months prior where I met an Alumna who shared about his teacher and the Academy. Intrigued and following a series of synchronicities, I enrolled to learn more about grounding techniques, thinking it would be a helpful skill for whatever I wanted to do next. I signed up for a six week class and ended up staying for 18 months.

    Basically, Ayahuasca led me to the Academy of Intuition Medicine.

    That retreat in the Peruvian Amazon was a much-needed course correction from the trajectory I was on and the community I was in. I was ready to level up and to connect deeper with my own inner wisdom.

  • I received my Master Certification in Intuition Medicine® (MIM) in 2025 from the Academy of Intuition Medicine®.  Currently, my studies continue as a returning student and I am part of the Mentoring team for the Academy's weekly Practicum sessions for current students and Alumni.

    I also studied at the California School of Herbal Studies (CSHS) in 2025, receiving certifications from their Handcrafted Herbalism and Body Systems programs. These studies trained me in the techniques of medicine-making, plant growing, identification and harvesting techniques, an understanding of the body's major organ systems and herbal support for these systems, alongside a materia medica of medicinal plants.

    The bulk of my work and learning with plants has occurred outside traditional educational programs - in the field and garden, volunteering with the Sonoma County Herb Exchange and immersing myself in South American plant medicine traditions that involve embodiment, deep listening and attunement to the energetics of specific plants. This journey is less a formalized course of study and resembles more an ongoing relationship of listening and responding.

    Please note that I am not a "licensed healthcare provider," as defined by the Medical Board of California, the California Department of Health, the California Department of Consumer Affairs, or any other healthcare licensing agency.

  • I believe that all of us are already perfect, just as we are, warts and all. We live in a time of speed and instant gratification, forgetting that healing isn't instant, linear or a destination. Rather, it's a constant process of unfolding, a journey of deeper awareness to the heart of who we are as souls on a human journey. At the heart of the healing process, regardless of modality, the most powerful, alchemical ingredient is self-compassion, self-love and the ability to shift into a neutral acceptance of all life experiences, positive and negative.

    Love truly is the answer, and our healing journeys are fundamentally about finding what that answer looks and feels like deep within ourselves.

  • My personal experience with intuitive energy work offers compelling evidence of this modality in facilitating deeper and longer-lasting change and healing.

    Working at the level of intuition and subtle energies requires transcending the busy mental mind, the modern person's most used tool and ally which is inherently limited and can become a trap, hindering one's spiritual journey.

    Through my training and practice in intuition-based work, I have experienced and witnessed in others, powerful transformations leading to a more fulfilling and holistic experience of the Self. This is part of what I am here to do and I have a deep knowing that this is something I will offer others for the rest of my life.

  • Birdsong Apothecary reflects the integration of two fields I am most passionate about: energy medicine and working with medicinal plants. Being a part of both communities, I have observed how each modality can be greatly enhanced by introducing elements of the other field (bringing energy medicine into herbalism and vice versa) and my offering is a way to explore this possibility.

    By offering formulations that anyone can use in personal rituals to strengthen their energetic boundaries, return to center and express and affirm self-love, my hope is for clients and customers to discover the joy of embodiment and how easily it can be integrated into daily life. Inner peace and self-love are accessible to all of us, every moment, every day, it is only a matter of paying attention and realizing that we can choose to cultivate practices, attitudes and rituals that support our flourishing.