Meet Dr. Anya: Naturopathic Doctor in Bend, Oregon

My journey to becoming a naturopathic doctor and functional medicine practitioner in Bend, Oregon, began back in St. Petersburg, Russia, where I was born and lived until the age of 10. My mother worked as a physiatrist, then turned her focus to natural medicine to help my father with his health struggles. She planted the seeds of my love for naturopathic medicine and healing, and to this day, I continue to draw on the knowledge she shared with me in my early years.

After moving to the United States, we lived in New York City for several years before making Oregon our home. My adult life took me back to the East Coast, then California, and finally back to Oregon, where I now live in Bend with my husband and two children.

Naturopathic education and experience

My childhood dream was to become a professional singer – I never intended to go into healthcare. But a conversation with a friend in college re-introduced me to the concept of naturopathic medicine. The root-cause, patient-centered, nature-focused approach brought back memories from my childhood, and I fell in love with naturopathic medicine and being able to help people. I knew I had found my path and I haven’t looked back. 

At Portland State University, I double-majored in science and psychology, then went on to obtain my Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. I’m licensed by the Oregon Board of Naturopathic Medicine, registered as a dispensing physician with the Oregon Medical Board, and have completed IFS (Internal Family Systems) Level 1 training. 

Since 2011, I’ve worked as a board-certified naturopathic doctor both as a solo practitioner and for various clinics in Oregon, California and Pennsylvania. I opened Wise Roots Medicine in 2022.

Mental health:
The missing puzzle piece

As a naturopathic doctor, I have spent my career helping people with their physical health. But the more patients I worked with, and the more I learned in my own personal journey, the more I began to realize that our physical and mental health go hand in hand.

One cannot be healthy without the other. 

So, if our physical and mental health are interwoven, rather than addressing them in the traditional silos of “doctor” and “therapist,” we must treat them together. 

This realization was like a missing puzzle piece finally clicking into place, allowing me to see the complete picture of how I could best help my patients – and wider community. Filled with a new hope and excitement, I branched out from my naturopathic and functional medicine practice and opened the doors to Wise Roots Medicine.

I’ve been there:
The pain is real, the healing is possible

I’m passionate about mental health work because I’ve been there.

I’ve shouldered that invisible pain, day in and day out. I understand how it feels to try to “push through” or “tough it out.” I have felt the false hope that my struggles will just “go away” if I hide or ignore them long enough. And I’ve faced the cold truth that ignoring them does not make them disappear.

I have also felt frustrated with traditional styles of therapy. Lots of talking, lots of time, but few tangible, lasting results.

It was when I discovered Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, and understood the connection between physical and mental health, that I finally knew that it is possible to heal your mental health - just like it is possible to heal a physical illness - by addressing the root cause.

I found my calling in helping patients get relief from mental health conditions. At Wise Roots Medicine, I am able to combine all of my personal experiences, professional knowledge, and physical and mental health treatment tools to help my patients find that true and lasting healing.

Discovering Internal Family Systems therapy

At Wise Roots Medicine, I use a therapy called Internal Family Systems, or IFS. I discovered IFS on my own personal mental health journey, and found real healing so much faster compared to the other styles of therapy I have tried over the years. 

The more I learned about IFS, and experienced it in my own life, the more I realized how valuable it would be for my patients. I began incorporating aspects of IFS into my care as a naturopathic and functional medicine doctor. The positive changes I began to see in my patients gave me so much hope and joy, I soon realized I wanted to shift the focus of my practice. 

Today, at Wise Roots, I use IFS in tandem with naturopathic and functional medicine treatments to help my patients heal their whole selves – body and mind, together. 

Paying it forward to the women of my community

I believe everyone can benefit from IFS and from a holistic approach that treats both physical and mental health. While I welcome patients of all ages and walks of life, my true passion is supporting the women of my community.

As women – especially mothers – we have so many demands on our energy, emotions, and mental and physical health. Oftentimes, we give so much taking care of others that we end up neglecting ourselves. And while you can run on empty for a while, eventually you will lose the ability to care for others – because you haven’t been caring for yourself. I know this because I’ve lived it.

As a naturopathic and functional medicine doctor, IFS practitioner, and woman/wife/mother, my passion is building up the women in my community. In my personal journey, my providers helped me recover my physical and mental health. Now, through Wise Roots Medicine, I am able to “pay it forward” by being there for other women when they feel their worst – and helping them feel their best.

I love helping people heal

I chose to go into healthcare because I love helping people heal. I love teaching people how to communicate with their body, how to understand what their body is telling them, and how to care for themselves. I love helping people reframe how they think of their body and how they can use nature and lifestyle changes to heal themselves. Specifically when it comes to mental health, I love helping people understand their symptoms and find a path toward healing, where they have space and calm and peace in their mind and their body. 

I especially love seeing a lightbulb come on in a patient’s brain when they make a paradigm shift in how they think about their health and what they can do for themselves without relying on doctors and pills. It may sound counterintuitive, but my goal is to teach my patients how to understand themselves and how to care for their mind and body, so they no longer need me as their guide.