What to Expect at Your First Integrative Medicine Visit

By Dr. Melissa Casden, MD  ·  Casden Integrative Women’s Health

If you’ve never seen an integrative medicine doctor before, you might not know what to expect — or how it’s different from a typical doctor’s visit. The short answer: it’s longer, more thorough, and more collaborative. Here’s what your first visit at Casden Integrative Women’s Health will look like.

Before the appointment

You’ll complete an intake form that’s more detailed than what you’re used to. We ask about your symptoms in depth, your health history, your family history, your lifestyle, your goals, and what’s brought you here. This helps us make the most of your time together.

The visit itself (90 minutes)

Your new patient consultation is 90 minutes. We’ll spend that time going through your full health history, discussing your current symptoms in detail, reviewing any labs or records you bring, talking through your goals, and beginning to build your personalized care plan. You’ll have time to ask every question you’ve been sitting on.

What we look at

Integrative medicine looks at the whole person — not just the chief complaint. We consider hormones, nutrition, sleep, stress, gut health, movement, relationships, and environment. We use conventional labs and evidence-based diagnostics, and we also consider factors that conventional medicine often overlooks.

What you’ll leave with

A clear care plan. Not a list of vague recommendations, but a specific, prioritized roadmap: what we’ll investigate, what we’ll start, and what we’ll monitor. You’ll know exactly what comes next.

Many patients tell me this is the first time a doctor has actually listened to them. That’s what this practice is built on.