They say if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. After the last two years of my life, I can absolutely say that statement is true. About two years ago, I started dealing with a mysterious condition that was causing increasing pain and difficulty walking and moving. Every day seemed worse than the one before. My primary care provider/insurance doctor (let’s just say their name starts with a “K”) basically dismissed me with, “You have arthritis… here are some pain pills.” After several ER visits because the pain kept escalating, they finally ordered MRIs and X-rays, only to come back with, “You have bulging discs… here are some MORE pills.” Fantastic. Apparently, the treatment plan was to eventually rattle when I walked or not walk at all. For an entire year I went through every kind of back therapy imaginable, but nothing was improving. I started wondering if maybe I was dealing with some sort of long COVID issue, so I began searching for a doctor who actually looked deeper instead of just looking for the next prescription pad. That’s when I found Dr. Richard Chen at Focused Wellness. I scheduled a consultation call and I’m so thankful I did. Within about 30 seconds of describing my symptoms, Dr. Chen immediately knew what was likely going on — and it was absolutely NOT what “K” had been telling me all year. Honestly, it was one of those “Whoa… wait a minute…” moments. I booked an appointment, drove from Los Angeles to Petaluma, and started treatment. Dr. Chen set me up on a protocol and I began receiving Neural Therapy once a month for several months. The Neural Therapy helped calm the pain enough that I could finally sleep a little again, which at that point felt like a miracle. I’ve now been working with Dr. Chen for close to a year and I truly have no regrets. My condition is a difficult one and healing takes time, but throughout this process Dr. Chen has been knowledgeable, compassionate, encouraging, and genuinely invested in helping me improve. And let me say this: this Dr. actually checks in on his patients. In today’s medical world, that almost feels like spotting a unicorn. He also has a great sense of humor, which honestly matters more than people realize when you’re struggling physically and mentally through chronic pain. For the first time in a long time, I continue to remain hopeful. Again, they say you have nothing without your health — and sometimes you need a brilliant doctor to help you get it back. Dr. Chen is that doctor. I’m incredibly thankful and grateful that I found him.

Dr. Richard has a fascinating background with training in a wide range of alternative approaches to medicine beyond his long experience as an MD. He listened carefully to me, and I feel confident that I am in good hands.

I'm a physician myself and have seen many physicians in my life. I'm so happy to have found Dr. Chen in my own town. He listens, is compassionate and hopeful about how he can help. AND, he knows about empaths and takes it seriously! In the first appointment I had with him he did neural therapy that helped. I have TMJ and grind my teeth - my jaw feels much more relaxed now after the neural therapy (and my headaches are less intense). I have such gratitude for Dr. Chen!

Dr. Richard is an incredibly kind, compassionate person. His approach is finding the root causes of health issues. My family deals with several underlying issues - I found him from the MAPS site for my son who has Autism. Instantly, Dr. Richard has treated yeast, hyperactivity and currently figuring out oxalate problems. He's very open to current prescriptions other MD's have no knowledge about. Also, has holistic approaches. I look forward to restoring the health my family should have. Thank you for your service Dr. Richard!

Dr R. Chen is someone I've seen a number of times. He is patient and caring. He goes out of his way to answer any questions and offers suggestions which I find very helpful. Some illnesses take more time to understand than mainstream medicine may have the time or background to treat wholistically. Either way, Focused Wellness is a fine option which I recommend.

I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to meet with Dr. Richard. He’s extremely knowledgeable, seems to be well informed in many different modalities of medical care, and is a caring attentive doctor. I’m someone who doesn’t normally like going to the doctor, but I actually told him I enjoyed our first appointment!