About Us

If you want the best health, you need the best medicine. But that's not to say you need to choose one approach over another. On the contrary, "the best" medicine is that which blends conventional with alternative techniques.

Southwest Integrative Medicine is a team of naturopathic physicians who are also licensed primary care doctors. Our specialty is in bridging the gap between alternative medicine and conventional medicine while giving accurate diagnoses and effective treatments.

As we've learned from many of our patients, our integrative approach is a welcome change, as many conventional doctors shun the techniques of alternative doctors, and vice versa. Instead, our doctors embrace both Eastern and Western approaches, concerned only with finding the right combination of treatments that work for you.

Three basic principles inform our integrative approach:

1. Medicine as art
2. Reverence for the wisdom of nature
3. Patients at the center of care

In both Eastern and Western medicine, our doctors have completed rigorous medical training at accredited schools, using this training in both modern and traditional techniques to integrate scientific and empiric knowledge. Most importantly, this training is reflected in the quality of care that each of our patients receives.

Dr Robin Terranella

As a naturopathic medical doctor I have learned the value of integrative medical care. From my time in both conventional and alternative medical clinics I learned the effectiveness and usefulness of both.

In my medical training at Bastyr University, I had a gravitation toward western medicine's evidence based methods. During this training I learned how natural based medicine can be delivered with the same precision. My internships in conventional medical clinics I recognized the importance of personalized medicine. The doctor patient relationship sets the atmosphere to treat the whole person. That is why this is so important to me.

The physical aspects of the body are only one part of the whole. There is also the spiritual and mental aspects. My training in acupuncture at Wu Hsing Tao School allowed me to understand how to treat the whole person in much greater detail.

From very early in my training, I took a special interest in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. I used this interest to gain greater understanding of these disease processes. I use both eastern and western medicine to treat my patients. While I do see a lot of patients with diabetes and heart disease, I also see people with other conditions as well.

Dr Christy Cline

Dr. Christy Cline has a strong background in both Eastern and Western approaches to medicine. Her training in Eastern medicine started while living in Asia where she studied Tibetan Medicine during her last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Her trip to Asia solidified her belief in bringing different aspects of medicine together. Her strong belief in natural medicine drew her to Bastyr University, one of the world’s top schools for integrative medicine. Here she earned a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and a Masters in Acupuncture.

During her medical studies she trained with specialists in the fields of cancer, HIV, hepatitis, women’s health, family medicine, and Chinese medicine. Working with both allopathic and holistic doctors, she formed her unique background of integrative medicine.

Following graduation from Bastyr Christy pursued more training in China at the Chengdu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. Here she gained immense exposure and experience in stroke rehabilitation, pain management, arthritis and paralysis.