Greetings! I’m Dr. Kathryn Cranford, ND. My private practice has a strong focus on family medicine.
My training and passion for herbal medicine, homeopathy and nutrition flow into the individualized treatment plans which I design based upon each client’s needs and preferences. I have a great deal of experience with women’s health and pediatrics because of my 15 years as a home-birth naturopathic midwife. However, over these years in practice I have also treated gastrointestinal
and digestive issues, depression, anxiety and fatigue, hypertension, diabetes and thyroid disorders, toxicity and dermatology among many other conditions. Coming to Naturopathic Medicine with a BA in Psychology and years of working in the mental health field, I am also committed to the idea of listening and counseling as a path to increasing health. In 2015 I decided to focus primarily on naturopathic clinical practice and less on pregnancy and birthing, primarily because as I near my 5th decade, I find that sleeping at night is an important thing.

I tend to work according to what is known as the “hierarchy of therapeutics”. This means that anything that can be treated with dietary and lifestyle adjustments should be. If this level of intervention is not enough initially, we may add some natural modalities such as homeopathy, herbal medicine, and nutritional supplementation. If this level is insufficient there may be some application of pharmaceuticals, hopefully in a temporary manner while we work on the lower levels of intervention to lessen the need for conventional drug therapies. Less is more, and clarity is everything.

I also feel strongly about the idea of “informed choice”. Your life and your body are yours, and so the decisions to be made about your health are also yours. However, you need to be sure that you have all the information you need in order to make wise and responsible choices for yourself. I will work with you to educate you and answer your questions to the best of my ability so that you feel confident in the testing and treatment decisions that you make. When you go home with the responsibility of implementing the modalities we have designed together, you know what you are doing and why you are doing it. This invariably increases your follow through and success with treatment plans. I also tend to recommend introducing changes in a clear order so that you may observe for efficacy and also for reactivity.

I hold a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine and a certification in Naturopathic Midwifery, both from Bastyr University. My first four years in practice were spent as one of two NDs at Northern Sun Family Health Care in Topsham, Maine. Upon relocating to NH in 2005, I opened my own private practice, Whole Heart Healing Arts in Meredith. In 2012 I moved that practice to our current home based location. My intention is to help you to feel well educated and wholly empowered to take action in your own life to build ever-increasing levels of health and well-being.

On a more personal level, I am mother to an active 13 year old daughter (who’s needs sometimes cause my office hours to be a bit varied), an avid maker of art, be it knitting, crocheting, needlework, jewelry and metalwork, and I have been singing and playing guitar for most of my life (I have recently added a mandolin). Tending to herb, vegetable and flower gardens and chickens as well as kayaking whenever possible keeps me busy outdoors in the summer months.