Our Philosophy

At Wholehearted Healthcare, P.C., Gena Foster provides people of all ages
and stages of life individualized, holistic primary healthcare and
specializes in empowering women to take care of and heal their bodies. She
has a special place in her heart for young families and women transitioning
into motherhood because she understands the intimate support new moms need during
the postpartum period, as well as the continued support they crave as they
become confident parents. At the same time, Gena enjoys the challenge of
supporting women through the complex perimenopausal years by using an
integrative approach to help them balance and replace their hormones. Our
clinic also provides a safe place to receive gender-affirming care.

For Gena, a wholehearted approach to healthcare is an integrative one,
meaning she partners with each client to heal their entire being—body,
mind, and soul—with all therapeutic modalities that help them thrive. As a
result, her practice is influenced by scientific evidence, expertise,
compassion, empathy, and intuition. In particular, Functional Medicine,
epigenetics, and soul work infuse the care Gena provides.

Functional Medicine goes below the surface of obvious symptoms to unearth
the root cause of imbalance or dis-ease. For example, if a client says, “I
feel depressed”, Gena explores the numerous factors that may be causing
such a feeling: the loss of a loved one, a stressful work environment,
tension at home, lack of exercise, unhealthy diet, family history of
depression, or inflammation in the body. In other words, depression or any
other state of being can be related to the human condition, one’s
environment, relationships, lifestyle, diet, genes, or a combination of
these. Healing then requires understanding a person’s whole being and
drawing on a variety of interventions, from nutrition counseling and
exercise plans to psychotherapy and mindfulness practices.

Epigenetics, in simple terms, is the study of how genes are switched on
and off. The basic units of life are our cells. Our DNA, composed of
billions of nucleotide bases, tell our cells what to do. And inside of
those billions of bases are over 20,000 genes. When expressed or switched
on, our genes, which we inherit from our parents, are responsible for many
of our characteristics and tendencies — physical, psychological, and more.
Though all humans have genes, each of us has unique gene expression. That’s
why some of us enjoy Brussel sprouts and others don’t, why some are blonde
and others brunette, and why some are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than
cancer. Epigenetics considers how our everyday lives — what we eat, when and
how long we sleep, where we live, whom we have relationships with, what
stage of life we’re in, how often or little we exercise — impact which genes
are switched on and which are switched off. In other words, “bad” genes are
not our fate. We have control over how our genes are expressed. Gena works
with clients to discover what choices they can make to switch the good
genes on and live healthier lives — so you can change your genetic destiny!

Soul work reunites us with our authentic Self by inviting us to look
closely at our inherited beliefs and values, keeping the ones that serve us
and releasing the ones that may be holding us back or keeping us small.
This is the Self Gena refers to when she says, “Be true to you” and
“Self-care is key to wellness.” In the process of soul work, we heal
childhood wounds and “rediscover our loveliness,” as Gena says. This work
gets us out of our psyches and into our awareness as well as helps us
accept and love all parts of ourselves — light and dark. When we accept and
love our entire being, we live authentically or with our whole hearts. When
we live wholeheartedly, we live with purpose and enjoy courageous and
resilient lives. For clients who desire soul work as part of holistic
healing, Gena accompanies them on this spiritual path.

Scientific evidence, expertise, compassion, empathy, and intuition form
Gena’s philosophy of healthcare, a philosophy captured in these seven
words: Intimate healthcare with a holistic artful touch.