Personal Counseling & Guidance Services

Do you want to know how to avoid a diagnosis of serious illness, and allow yourself to experience your health and longevity potentials?

Did you know that only your body can cure you of whatever's ailing you, and that it can do this if you start supporting it with what it needs to heal you and you stop subjecting it to those substances and conditions that interfere with its ability to heal you and that
contributed to your illness in the first place (the causes of serious diseases are known, they're just not common knowledge).

There are a few health improvement modalities to choose from:

A) conventional medical care, which is primarily an ill-health management approach because it isn't able to offer options that allow you to get rid of what's ailing you.

B) alternative healthcare

a) "energy healing", which sounds appealing to some people but doesn't actually get rid of diabetes, asthma, cancer, heart disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.

b) natural approaches that include Naturopathy and raw food diet counseling, but these can fail to fully resolve various health issues when they don't take a reality-based approach, and although you can experience improvement, if the advice given doesn't permit your body to function optimally, there can't be long term thriving, and you wouldn't have the best odds of avoiding a diagnosis of something serious in the future.

c) reality-based natural health restoration, which takes into account the world we're living in today, and is based on the needs of the body and on research that employs the ethos of science: open questioning, no authorities, no biases or personal preferences, honesty, transparency, and reliance on evidence, and this is done with a respect for rational and honest discussion, a desire to peer-to-peer, the ability to change your position when the evidence merits it, an intolerance of distortion and misrepresentation, and above all, a skeptical interrogation of accepted notions. This is the approach I take.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the best health your genetics will allow, if you want to be a 10, then reality-based natural health restoration is the obvious choice.

True healthcare is self-care! Take charge of your health. Talk with someone who has seen how healthful living yields a healthy, disease-free body, and (because of the Body-Mind Connection) a happier disposition. And most important, talk with someone who practices reality-based healthcare, and has been doing so for over 40 years.

There are those who charge less for counseling, but they have less experience, some less than a year. There are also those who charge more yet do not provide some vital guidance that can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving.

NOTE: I am not a medical doctor, so I do not prescribe things like drugs or medical therapies, and I do not recommend any practices that I've found to be ineffective at helping the body to restore health. I practice a FTF™ approach (First-Things-First); I first attempt to make sure your body is getting all of, and enough of, the nutrients it needs to do its job of keeping you in good health. This is accomplished by testing for those nutrients that many people are lacking (the ones that can be tested for effectively), and by making certain recommendations for nutritional complements to your diet to cover the nutrients that can't be tested for.

Please read my disclaimer for a thorough understanding of my policies (this is required reading if you wish to engage my services, and it's also a very educational disclaimer).

Also of note: I do not sell or make any money on the tests or supplements I recommend; you deal directly with the resources I supply you with (labs and supplement resources), and I encourage you to counsel with those who work this way, for obvious reasons.

Click here to read more about Don Bennett

Click here to ask about or request one of the above services

Answers to Questions

How do I start?

Does insurance cover the counseling?

What do the counseling sessions consist of?

I don't live in the U.S., can I still do counseling and testing?

Does Don do Skype consults? Phone consults? Email? How does consulting work?

How is the Problematic Nutrient Testing & Evaluation counseling different from other counseling?

Is the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling $347 for each test?

How does the testing work? Don mails a test, and I send it back to him? Or do I go to a local lab?

Why does the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling cost so much? It seems like it would be pretty straightforward and there wouldn't be much back and forth required.

What if I pay for the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling and find out my levels are normal? Will I get a refund since there would be nothing to counsel?

I only want the iodine portion of the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling. What is the charge for that?

I don't know who to trust anymore. Why should I trust Don?

Why should I consult with Don instead of my Naturopath/ND?

What if after all the counseling we do together, I decide your advice wasn't helpful after all because all my problems didn't get taken care of, do I get a refund?

I think Don's "da Man", and I resonate with everything he's ever said, but what if I follow all of Don's advice and I don't get completely well, what then?

Why do people find Don's counseling so different than other health educators counseling?

I have lots of emotional issues that are no doubt affecting my health, does Don do this type of counseling?

When doing the 30 Session counseling, can I ask as many questions as I want in one email session?

I have a question about counseling that wasn't answered here, how do I get it answered?

I have hypothyroidism, and have been on thyroxine, and would love to find a way to heal and wean off the medication. Your article on iodine was extremely interesting and I wonder if this is the missing piece. Do you think the problematic nutrient testing could help me achieve optimal health?

Q: How do I start?

A: Click a "Sign me up" button above, indicate what service you're interested in, fill out the form entering any questions you have that aren't answered here, and click the SEND button. You'll receive an answer to your questions and a note on what's next (filling out the Health Questionnaire, how to make payment, etc).
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Q: Does insurance cover the counseling?

A: Unfortunately, no. It is an indictment of the so-called healthcare system that insurance doesn't cover counseling if it's not from certain approved practitioners. The fact that you can get great advice that is very helpful from non-approved health educators is proof that there's something wrong with this system. Your insurance may cover some of the test costs though.
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Q: What do the counseling sessions consist of?

A: Like any counseling, counseling with Don is meant to get your questions answered. Some questions you'll bring to counseling with you, and others will come up as you learn more about the art and science of healthful living from Don. And ultimately this counseling is meant to educate you so you can make adjustments to your lifestyle practices and adopt healthful habits that will allow you to live to your health and longevity potentials, and to have the best odds of never getting a diagnosis of something serious. The specifics of the Problematic Nutrient Testing & Evaluation counseling are covered above in its description, and that counseling is meant to help you resolve deficiencies of the three nutrients mentioned.
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Q: I don't live in the U.S., can I still do counseling and testing?

A: Yes, thanks to the Internet, anyone anywhere in the world can avail themselves of counseling, and the only place in the world where testing can be an issue is in New York, but there are ways to deal with this. Some tests must be done through a lab in the U.S., but thanks to international shipping, this is doable too.
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Q: Does Don do Skype consults? Phone consults? Email? How does consulting work?

A: Don does counseling any way you wish, with a few exceptions. Email has its advantages because you have a written record of Don's insights and suggestions that you can refer back to, and this is especially helpful when following recommendations for addressing a nutrient deficiency. The Problematic Nutrient Testing & Evaluation counseling and the 30 Day Coaching Program are done via email only.
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Q: How is the Problematic Nutrient Testing & Evaluation counseling different from other counseling?

A: This counseling just covers the "Big 3" nutrients that most people are deficient in. And in most cases, this resolves the health issues the person had, especially if Don's recommendations for augmenting the diet with a nutritional adjunct are followed (this helps to compensate for the sub-par nutritional quality of the foods most people are eating). And these recommendations are included in this counseling, as well as how to deal with whatever nutritional inadequacies are found through the testing. This is not the same as the comprehensive testing that many practitioners do, but often that testing does not include the tests that Don recommends, which is a shame because common sense dictates you should check the most problematic nutrients first before doing tons of other tests, but this is what sets Don apart from other counselors. If any counseling is needed that the Problematic Nutrient Testing & Evaluation counseling does not cover, Don has other counseling options (and some, like the 30 Session Plan, include the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling).
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Q: Is the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling $347 for each test?

A: No, it is a one time fee for the counseling. Test costs are in addition and are listed here.
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Q: How does the testing work? Don mails a test, and I send it back to him? Or do I go to a local lab?

A: As part of the Problematic Nutrient Testing & Evaluation counseling you will receive resources for having them done at home if possible. Tests done at home are done through their respective labs, with the lab sending you the test kit, and you mailing the test sample(s) to the lab, and you pay the lab directly. You always have the option of getting the tests done locally, through your own physician or clinic, and Don provides you with the names of the tests, and with an explanation of why you want them that you can give to your physician to justify him or her ordering the tests. The iodine tests are not done at every lab in the world yet, so you will need to do them with one of the labs Don recommends. But this can be done through the mail, and thanks to international shipping, tests can be done almost anywhere in the world.
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Q: Why does the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling cost so much? It seems like it would be pretty straightforward and there wouldn't be much back and forth required.

A: You'd be surprised. B12 assessment and resolution can be fairly straightforward, but iodine is at the other end of the spectrum. Normalization of whole body tissue sufficiency of iodine can take anywhere from three months to a year, and Don is with you every step of the way, for $347. And iodine level normalization is also much more entailed than B12. Most people, after having gone through the whole process, discover that they got quite a lot for their $347. And those that shopped around, found that no one does this much in-depth counseling for these nutrients for that low a cost. And although there are some laypeople who hang out a shingle and present themselves as health educators and charge very low prices, they don't have the experience and knowledge that Don brings to the table. Anyone can recommend tests, but are these the most diagnostically revealing tests? And do they really know how to interpret them properly? And most important: are their recommendations for dealing with insufficiencies the best ones that can be made?
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Q: What if I pay for the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling and find out my levels are normal? Will I get a refund since there would be nothing to counsel?

A: Even in the unlikely event that all tests come back A-OK, Don does go over the Health Questionnaire that you are required to fill out, and he does comment on it, making recommendations where appropriate. And some lab results that show "normal" are sometimes not actually in the real-world "okay" range. Just because a test result falls within the lab's reference range, doesn't mean the level of that nutrient is adequate for optimal health, and this is one of the things Don points out as part of counseling. So there is always some counseling done, and Don does spend time on it, and I think you'll agree that he should be compensated for his time. And, unlike many practitioners, if two years later you decide to retest one of the tests, and the result comes out low this time, you can email Don for advice, and he will answer you (and not bill you for a consult).
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Q: I only want the iodine portion of the Problematic Nutrient Testing counseling. What is the charge for that?

The Problematic Nutrient Testing & Evaluation counseling includes testing for D, B12, and iodine, the three most problematic nutrients. Some people have got their D and B12 under control from reading Don's articles and only want iodine counseling. Since the amount of time spent counseling someone on the iodine issue alone is in excess of two hours over the course of time needed to resolve an iodine deficiency, there is no reduced fee for only doing iodine counseling; of the three nutrients covered, iodine is the one that requires the most work, for both counselor and counselee. And keep in mind that other iodine literate practitioners charge way more than $347 for iodine counseling.
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Q: I don't know who to trust anymore. Why should I trust Don?

A: Like most industries, the health improvement industry has its share of charlatans... people who care more about your money than about your health. And although you can't always tell the worthwhile ones from the other ones by looking at their website, there are some red flags that you can look for. If you see tons of products for sale on the person's product page, that's a pretty good indication that they're in business to be in business. In reality, there aren't a lot of things to buy to help you have robust health. If you look at this website you will see very few things for sale, and some of the products on the products page are not even for sale, they're just recommendations (and by-the-way, Don does not participate in any affiliate programs). And if you're wondering why Don doesn't sell the few supplements he does recommend, it's because he wants his recommendations to have the highest degree of credibility possible so the likelihood of taking his advice will be as high as possible, and this is because the products are worthwhile products capable of making a real difference in people's health (unlike most of the supplements sold on websites). And when a health educator doesn't take advantage of a revenue stream, that's a pretty clear indication of their motives. Also, be advised that there are sincere, well-intentioned, health educators who can certainly be trusted, but their knowledge is in accordance with their experience, which is not very much when they are very new to the field. So trust isn't the only thing to consider when choosing someone to work with. If you pour over this entire website (which is advised) you'll get a pretty good idea of Don's credibility and motives.
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Q: Why should I consult with Don instead of my Naturopath/ND?

Many practitioners, including NDs, vary widely regarding their knowledge of iodine assessment and correction. Don't assume that because iodine is a natural element and not a pharmaceutical, that all Naturopaths know what's needed to be known about it. Here's how to tell if your ND knows what they're doing. 1. Ask what iodine testing consists of. If they don't say it consists of two tests, work with someone else. Do not try and educate your ND so that you can work with them; work with someone who already knows what they're doing. 2. Ask, "what are sodium-iodide symporters?" If he/she doesn't know that they are responsible for bringing iodine into the cells, and that some people's NIS (sodium-iodide symporters) don't work well, and know how to test for that, and what can be done about it if that's the case, work with someone else. 3. Ask if there are there any contraindications to doing iodine therapy. If you don't hear about "hot nodules", work with someone else. Now that there's more awareness of the iodine insufficiency issue (a good thing) there are more practitioners and laypeople jumping on the bandwagon, but they're not educating themselves sufficiently or properly (a bad thing). The iodine issue is one where "a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing". And there's nothing wrong with working with various practitioners who specialize in certain areas; with all there is to know about issues of health restoration, no one practitioner has all the answers, and this includes Naturopaths, and Don.
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Q: What if after all the counseling we do together, I decide your advice wasn't helpful after all because all my problems didn't get taken care of, do I get a refund?

A: Don's counseling results in very satisfied clients, and there's a reason for this. But there have been a few instances where people didn't resolve all of their complaints, or decided along the way that this wasn't the path they wanted to continue on. The main reason for not doing well is cherry picking the recommendations that a person is willing and not willing to do. While it is everyone's right to pick and choose what they do from the list of recommendations given by a practitioner, if by not being compliant with all the recommendations, this accounted for not resolving all issues, the practitioner shouldn't be faulted for this. Yes, this may sound like an excuse on the part of the practitioner, but this is what Don's experience has been. Those who get the most out of counseling are those who follow Don's advice (we're not saying it should be "without question" because Don encourages questions). Secondly, if a person furthers their research while counseling, and comes across information that conflicts with Don's advice, and simply decides to stop counseling, this is not "on Don". If you look hard enough, you can always find conflicting information. There is some very rational sounding information that indicates that eating dairy and meat is good for your health, yet this isn't true (unless the dairy or meat contains supplemented nutrients that the plant-based diet you're eating doesn't contain). So if you come across contradictory information while counseling with Don, it's in your best interest to discuss it with Don, as he can provide you with information that explains why you're seeing what you're seeing. If instead you're influenced to believe or otherwise become convinced that Don is providing unsound information, and you choose not to discuss it and to simply stop counseling, then understandably there is no refund. I should add that the general refund policy is: If after signing up and making payment you decide not to pursue this counseling after all, and Don has not yet gone over your Health Questionnaire and provided you with the information necessary to do the testing, you can request a refund. In-other-words, if you've paid but not started the counseling yet, you can get a refund.
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Q: I think Don's "da Man", and I resonate with everything he's ever said, but what if I follow all of Don's advice and I don't get completely well, what then?

A: In the vast majority of cases, when someone gets their "problematic" nutrient levels normalized, and gets some decent nutrition into them to cover their other nutrient needs that aren't being met by the foods they're eating, and pays equal attention to the other equally important requirements of optimal health, their health improves (provided they give it enough time of course), and this is what Don covers in counseling. But there have been rare instances where "the basics" weren't all that was needed. In general, if you weren't born with the health issues you have, and they developed over time, they are resolvable by the approach mentioned at the top of this page. But if there's a genetic component, or there are issues due to an underlying pathology that has gotten way ahead of the body's ability to deal with it, these scenarios would need further investigation and appropriate approaches. Don is very knowledgeable, but he doesn't have all the answers... no one practitioner does. But what Don does have is a good list of recommended practitioners to counsel with if you need counseling that Don feels someone else would be better at. For example, if genetic testing is warranted to see if there's a reason why your B12 status isn't responding to effective B12 supplementation that usually works, there are practitioners who are experienced in genetic testing. Or if you have hormone imbalances that normalizing your iodine and EFAs didn't help, there are practitioners who do extensive lab work that can help with pinpointing the problem. The bottom line answer here is that Don will not simply "leave you hanging"; he will provide recommendations for your continued support.
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Q: Why do people find Don's counseling so different than other health educators counseling?

A: Don had the advantage of being self-taught and didn't learn from others as most health educators have. There's nothing inherently wrong with learning from others (this is what you do when counseling with Don), but if the information a health educator was taught was not 100% accurate, those who counsel with him or her are going to be provided with some inaccurate information. So there's a difference between being taught as a student and learning as a researcher, which is the path Don was forced to take (there was no Internet at the time and public libraries didn't have "alternative health" books). So Don's independent learning journey as a researcher along with his tendency to question what even the most popular health educators teach has allowed him to come to certain understandings that other health educators have not been able to come to. And that's why he gets the results he does. So if it's the popular approach you want, Don is not the person to see. If, however, you want health information that deals with reality, and that respects your body's actual needs, Don is the "go to" guy. Plus, Don's counseling costs less than other health educators' counseling, and provides insightful information that you don't get elsewhere. And it also should be noted that Don is not a Medical Doctor, and this means he has not been taught what medical doctors have been taught, which can be a good thing when conventional recommendations can only manage a condition instead of help the person eliminate the condition if possible. So Don does not "prescribe" anything, he only makes "if it was me in your shoes, I'd..." recommendations in an educational capacity.
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Q: I have lots of emotional issues that are no doubt affecting my health, does Don do this type of counseling?

A: Don is very aware of the Mind-Body Connection, where a person's emotional state affects their physical health, but he is also aware of the equally important Body-Mind Connection where a person's physiological health affects their psychological health. So very often, correcting one's physical health positively affects their emotional health, and this is Don's area of expertise. For those whose emotional issues do not stem from their physical health, Don can recommend a health practitioner who is great at helping people with emotional issues, and who knows a thing or two about how to improve your physical health. And a recommendation from Don, whether for a nutritional supplement or for someone to work with, is one of the best recommendations you could possibly get.
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Q: When doing the 30 Session counseling, can I ask as many questions as I want in one email session?

A: You may, but the email may count as more than one session depending on the amount of time needed to both read and reply to all the questions. Another way to answer this question is, one session cannot contain an unlimited amount of questions. Conversely, if an email has only one question that is very quickly answered, it will not be counted as one session. We strive for fairness for all parties.
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Q: I have a question about counseling that wasn't answered here, how do I get it answered?

A: When you fill out the form here, there's a place to ask your questions.
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Q: I have hypothyroidism, and have been on thyroxine, and would love to find a way to heal and wean off the medication. Your article on iodine was extremely interesting and I wonder if this is the missing piece. Do you think the problematic nutrient testing could help me achieve optimal health?

A: I've found that insufficient nutrients is the "missing piece" for most people for most ill health issues. As I've mentioned above, the "Big 3" are iodine, B12, and D+ (the "+" represents the other nutrients that sunshine makes in the skin). This is why they are the focus of my Problematic Nutrient Testing (PNT) counseling. And when it comes to thyroid issues, since the thyroid is the biggest "customer" of iodine of all the body's organs, and since iodine is the nutrient that is the most insufficient in the bodies of most people, it's pretty much a sure thing that thyroid issues are addressed by normalizing your iodine status (and the pharma industry big wigs know this and have known this for a long time, which is why they've influenced medical schools so that today, MDs don't know this). The only exception to this is if there's a genetic weakness that is causing the thyroid issue, but even here, not having enough iodine just exacerbates the problem. The other exception is a non-genetic one where there's a thyroid nodule that's developed that's "hot"... it produces thyroid hormones but unlike the thyroid itself, the nodule can't be controlled by TSH from the pituitary gland, and this causes a hyper thyroid condition, and here, iodine – even if needed – can't be taken because it would be like throwing gasoline on a fire, and it will just make the condition worse before it could make it better, and that could be life threatening. I share all this so you can have a thorough understanding about the role of iodine in thyroid health so that if/when your endocrinologist challenges you when you inform him/her that you'll need to be monitored to be able to properly lower your thyroxine intake as your condition improves, your endo will see that you know what you're talking about (hopefully), and will work with you accordingly. If he/she doesn't, you'll need to find one who will, or lower your thyroxine on your own by carefully assessing how you feel and taking your basal temperature before getting out of bed in the morning. But working with an "understanding" endo is best. I work with people all around the world, and they do exist... even in the U.S.!
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