For the past 15 years, Jamé Heskett, M.D., a specialist in non-invasive, anti-aging therapies, has made it her mission to empower women.
On the surface, the weight-loss and anti-aging treatments make women look better, but Dr. Heskett’s goal is that each client also feel more vital and confident, which is not necessarily a given after cosmetic procedures.
Key to calling forth this confidence is the relationships she builds with patients.
When Dr. Heskett went to medical school in the 1990s, she was trained to use the managed-care system, which means spending 15 to 20 minutes with as many patients as possible every day. But she wanted to care for people more holistically, so she studied homeopathy and naturopathy, and eventually built her Upper East Side practice, The Wellpath, to allow her to get to know her patients more intimately.
“I’m just like their best friend, but I’m also the doctor,” she said. And in some cases, clients also become an extension of family.
Fundamental to this relationship is understanding as much about a client as she can. So instead of starting with the premise of just fixing the particular physical problem that brought someone to her office, Dr. Heskett first tries to understand them more holistically, learning about any psychological factors that might be affecting them, as well as their lifestyle, goals, family history, beliefs, and finances.
For example, when someone wants to lose weight, she doesn’t just put them under a machine. She also helps them figure out a diet that pleases their taste buds.
“I always work within a person’s natural palate,” she said, “I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all dietary regimen.”
In her new book, “The Well Path: Lose 20 Pounds, Reverse the Aging Process, Change Your Life,” Dr. Heskett recommends small changes to help weight loss, such as replacing one meal a day with soup.
During consultations she also talks about fitness and how to approach it in a fun way. For any who are interested, she also gladly shares her own fitness passion: hiking.
When pregnant with her third child at age 42, Dr. Heskett didn’t exercise for fear of losing the baby. After the birth of her son, she found herself totally out of shape and carrying an extra 60 pounds.
Being a mom and a doctor, frequent gym visits were not feasible, so she started walking the trails near her home with her children. A year and many trails later, all of the weight came off and she was hooked on hiking.
