Embracing Western and Eastern Medicine to Form Your Own Third Opinion with Dr. Barbara de la Torre

In this interview, I’m really excited to be joined by Dr. Barbara de Latorre of Third Opinion MD. She is an amazing doctor who leverages her knowledge of Eastern and Western medicine in a brand new way to help people get in touch with their intuition and navigate the healthcare system, using their own Third Opinion. This discussion is all about embracing Western and Eastern medicine to form your own Third Opinion with Dr. Barbara de la Torre.

Form Your Own Third Opinion

In reflecting on this conversation, what I really love is that Barbara is an amazing blend of multi-passionate interests (somebody that has more than one interest in life and more than one passion, and perhaps don’t quite know what they want to do when they grow up). Like many multi-passionates, Barbara has crafted and curated her interests of Western and Eastern Medicine into something new as she works with clients to help them trust their own intuition, and understand how to navigate the healthcare system.

We also discuss the connection between physical and spiritual wellness. As part of her journey, Barbara completed master-level training in medical qigong with a Taoist and Medical Qigong school while balancing traditional clinical work. She found that Taoist and Chinese medical philosophies provided a way to recognize patterns in patients that are often missed by the Western medical lens. These patterns make sense out of what seem to be random symptoms or health problems. And, medical qigong offered a new way for her to understand the energy and spirituality that is part of health.

“Medicine and healing can’t happen without spirit.”

In this episode, Dr. Barbara de la Torre and I discuss:

How she created Third Opinion MD after being in corporate medicine for many years.
The strain that the pandemic put on the medical system, and how it revealed issues that had been present for a long time.
The impact of collectively from small practices to managed practices on health care.
The definition of medical qigong and how it fits in to Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The role her mother played in her journey as a doctor.
A transformative quote from her teacher, Master Liu He.
How you can become your own best doctor, and form your own third opinion.
Cancel culture and how as a culture we’ve become focused on the extremes of yin and yang, and how to balance it.
The shift to balance in the healthcare system.