Jolene Brighten, ND

Oakland, United States

4.4

14 reviews

By Appointment Only

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Telephone:
+1 510-985-4044
Website:
www.jbrighten.com
Address:
3515 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA, 94610
b/t Mandana Blvd & Davidson Way
Lower Hills, Grand Lake
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.9 miVeterans Memorial
1.1 miPark Blvd & Kingsley St
1.2 miPark Blvd & 38th St
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Bussiness info

By Appointment Only
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Oakland) 9:27 AM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday –
Thursday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Voted Best General Practitioner in Oakland Magazine for 2014! Integrative Natural Family Medicine and Holistic Pelvic Care. Dr. Brighten enjoys working with patients of all ages, enabling them to take control of their health, prevent disease and help them achieve their health goals.

She takes an individualized approach in addressing the root cause of a person’s ailments and utilizes conventional and functional labs (including food sensitivity and hormonal testing), physical exams and thorough questioning to determine the needs of her patients. Dr. Brighten offers herbs, nutrition, homeopathy, nutrient therapy and bioidentical hormone therapy to help patients find a better state of health.

Dr. Brighten treats a wide range of conditions, including thyroid disorders (hypothyroidism/​Hashimoto’s), hormonal imbalances, infertility, pelvic floor issues, fatigue, digestive disorders and chronic disease.

As a licensed Naturopathic Doctor, she provides patients with a broad scope of treatment options while educating them about their choices

History

Established in 2013.

Dr. Jolene Brighten relocated to the Bay Area from Portland, OR, where she had been in private practice. A California native, Dr. Brighten is excited to be sharing Naturopathic Medicine with the Bay Area community.

Meet the Business Owner

Jolene B.

Business Owner

Dr. Brighten received her B.S. in nutrition science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she went on to complete graduate coursework in molecular nutrition. She completed her doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon.

Originally from Northern California, Dr. Brighten spent much of her youth hiking in Yosemite Valley, snowboarding in the mountains and visiting the Bay Area.

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14 reviews of Jolene Brighten, ND

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Place rating: 1
San Jose, CA
I can’t say much about her practice, and how well she is as a ND, but she has terrible people working for her.
We tried to schedule an appointment with Dr. Brighten, but have several issues about communicating with the office assistant/​manager, and our questions was not properly answered.
The following incident that I will describe happened around 2 months ago:
Initially, my wife made a 15 minute phone consultation with her. It went really well, and we scheduled an appointment with her.
Then, we had couple of additional questions, and we have sent her an email.
But, haven’t got any answer back from her.
Next, we called the office to request clarification and answers to our questions, her office assistant offered us and additional free consultation, which was very nice.
Then the next day, a guy, the office manager called us back and said that we can’t have a second free consultation.
How come you can take something back you already offered ??
Well, we let that go, and asked the office manager if at least Dr. Brighten can answer our questions that we sent via email.
And this is the office manager’s answer: «No, she cant answer your email, she already spent enough time with you»
Is this the human oriented approach ?
Is this your holistic practice ?
Is this the behavior that you take against the new patients ?
I am very disappointed that this kind of business even exists !!!
Place rating: 3
Berkeley, CA
I was very disappointed with my experience. First of all, I wish that when a Dr can’t help me they would just admit it instead of leading me on for months with various diets that don’t work. Also I get annoyed when I pay so much money to be put on a diet that I have already researched online. I’m just saying, I could have figured it out myself if we are talking cookie cutter internet diets here! However my primary reason for 3 stars is the lack of responsiveness in between appointments. I had some very stressful health issues come up and received little to no response to my questions. When I did get responses it was from assistants that I had never heard of or met, which bugs me b/​c this is sensitive health stuff that I’m talking about with total strangers that just tell me they’ll pass the message along and get back to me and then I never hear from them again. What the heck?! This lack of communication felt unacceptable to me and quickly made me lose trust in her advice. My last gripe is just a pet peeve… She totally hammered me with unnecessary info about her hubby and son, I guess to be chatty, but I’m paying way to much for these appointments to sit there and listen to someone else’s charmed family life. I would rather have calm silence for me to digest the info and come up with any questions. She’s a pricey Doc and I ended up walking away no better off then when I began aside from a few extra vitamin supplements that make my pee neon yellow. Very disappointed.
Place rating: 2
Oakland, CA
I very rarely do these types of reviews, but my hope is that this will help improve the office practices. I started seeing Dr. Brighten when she bought the practice from my ND who moved to the East Coast. At first, I was pretty happy with Dr. Brighten’s care. Starting in winter/​spring 2015 however, the practice started to change. You could no longer book regular appointments online, Dr. Brighten stopped checking her emails personally, and had a front office person check them (this is what she told me), etc. I’d try to email or call, and it would take 2 – 4 weeks to get a response, if I got a response at all. It would also take the office 2+ weeks to authorize refills. It was like her front office/​admin side of practice just fell apart. I ran into Dr. Brighten at a restaurant, and she was friendly and kind, saying she hopes to see me soon, etc, so I tried writing her again to say I was having difficulties even getting a call back, medication instructions, etc. I never heard back.
I just found a different ND who I really like, and when she ran initial tests, the lack of care showed. I have autoimmune disease, and while I couldn’t figure out how to get care, my inflammation levels and thyroid levels got worse. I’m happy to be working with a great ND now, and I hope Dr. Brighten can figure out a better system again for her front office, but b/​c once you see her, she is a knowledgeable doctor.
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
I first started seeing Dr. Brighten in 2013. I’d been having digestive issues for as long as I could remember — all throughout college and into adulthood — and I just chalked it up to heavy drinking and too many burritos. But after a severe gut infection, chronic colds and flus, and painful bleeding ulcers, I decided I should probably look more into the whole situation.
I had health insurance for the first time in years at this point, so I went to several different doctors, all of them insisting there was nothing wrong with me, even though I was suffering from anxiety, major fatigue, and was seeing blood in my stools. The best they could do was tell me to eat more fiber, with no mention of stress management or even possible food allergies.
Dr. Brighten took this amazing approach where she:
1) Addressed the immediate issues surrounding my fatigue (adrenals) and bloody stools by prescribing an herbal blend, supplements, and diet and lifestyle changes that I could implement immediately.
2) Addressed the underlying cause of my maladies by ordering speficifc tests that would tell her more about my condition.
3) Worked with me and my budget when it came to testing so we made sure to only order tests that she really needed.
I love that she offers remote check-​ins via phone or webcam so I can check in from wherever I am (My husband and I travel a lot). This means that I never have to find another doctor, as long as I can see her in-​person at least once per year — THIS is a HUGE perk for me.
Working with Dr. Brighten is sort of like eating the most nutrient-​dense food possible — you get the absolute most bang for your buck. I’ve learned so much from her as we customize my health plan to fit my needs. Highly recommend.
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
After years of struggling with digestion and skin issues I finally decided to see Dr. Brighten. She quickly identified what the problem was and within months all my skin problems were gone. My digestion was better too! I was finally able to figure out what was wrong with me and had a solution to fix it.
I highly recommend Dr. Brighten. She’s knowledgeable and really interested in helping you better.
Place rating: 5
St Helena, CA
Dr. Brighten has completely changed my life and the quality of my life. I was on seven prescriptions a day for rash, hives and itching skin as well as having stomach issues (IBS) all of my life.
Today I have cut all my medicines in half and am getting ready to ditch them all. The way my body processes food has totally changed. After an emergency removal of my gall bladder I am finally getting the nutritional counseling that I need.
A simple blood test revealed that I am highly allergic to eggs, something I consumed in my daily diet. With the simple changes of eating only whole foods and getting eggs off my list as well as taking vitamins and amino acids my body’s immune system is finally on track. Undergoing seven surgeries in four years has taken a toll on my body, but thanks to Dr. Brighten I feel hopeful that I will be making a 100% recovery. I can’t wait to see how good I feel in the next six months. Our monthly phone appointments keep me on track and gives me the support that I need to be my best health advocate.
I have learned so much about nutrition and how the body works.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
I found Dr. Brighten through Unilocal when I was looking to heal pcos, long standing stomach issues, and fatigue. I’ve only been seeing her for a few months and I’ve already made amazing progress! My energy levels are up, my cycle is back on track & many of the textbook symptoms associated with pcos have cleared up.
Dr. Brighten is knowledgeable, compassionate, and thorough — everything you want in a doctor. She listens attentively to your history & goes over every detail before coming up with a plan that is specific for you. I feel like I understand my body & what’s going on with it so much more after only having a few visits. I don’t normally write Unilocal reviews, but signed up for an account to write this one because she is just that awesome!
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
Dr Brighten knows everything. I am continually amazed by her scope of knowledge which allows her to really see the big picture as well as the details of my health. She is incredibly detail oriented and super positive. I feel comfortable coming to her for all my medical needs. I know that when necessary she will refer me to an MD but for the most part Dr. Brighten can take care of me with better results and more possibilities than my MD. I appreciate that she works within the paradigm of body, mind, and spirit all being critical for health and wellbeing. I love referring my friends, clients, and everyone to her. For deep and true healing, for help with colds, sleep issues, and general vitality, see Dr Brighten, your life will be better.
Place rating: 5
Napa, CA
Dr. Brighten was very thoughtful, perceptive, and knowledgeable during the three months she treated me for a digestive disorder. It was a huge relief to encounter a doctor who truly works with the whole person, rather than the rigid and compartmentalized treatments so often offered by alopathic doctors.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
Very kind and listened well. She just gave me a free 15 minute consult and confirmed much of what i had thought about my allergies. I will be following up with her if i need more help!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Brighten is thorough, proactive, knowledgeable, quick on her feet while still taking her time to actively listen and was very considerate of my situation (financially, emotionally, etc.).
I came into her office with the intention of discussing long term stomach issues and have left every appointment armed with more knowledge/​tools on how to improve and maintain my lifestyle (with patience), integrate various areas of the complexities of (my) life ie biological, mental, emotional health.
I made an appointment skeptical of «naturopath doctors» however, being even more skeptical of the «Western medical model» I decided to give it a try.
I did my research, looked into a few naturopath doctors backgrounds as well as asked for recommendations from friends invested in health as well as from my chi nei tsang practitioner, masseuse, acupuncturist and chiropractor.
Dr. Brighten came highly recommended. I would be more than happy to answer questions about her if needs me; send me a message!
Place rating: 5
Alameda, CA
Jolene is great!
Knowledgeable, sharp and caring.
Took my son to her when he was having a virus plus bacterial infection and she got him started on some herbs and supplements. 2 days later he was up and around and 3 days later he was back to school.
Thanks Dr. Brighten !
Place rating: 5
Alameda, CA
I found Dr. Brighten when I was looking to conceive our third child and deal with some ailments naturally. I wanted to be sure I was as healthy as possible before starting with conception.
In the short 2 – 3 months of seeing her I am now off my steroid inhaler for my asthma and my allergies are noticeably better.
Also had tremendous help with conception and care, and helped me recover from an early miscarriage. She has a whole plan for if/​when I give birth that I am excited about.
I saw a naturopath for years in where I am from, and she has a new remedies from my last ND that work! Also she is integrative so will work with you and your GP if you have to be on some pharmaceuticals. So helpful!
I can’t say enough good things about her.
She is very approachable and I’ve left all my appointments feeling like someone cares for my well being and is there for support.
Place rating: 5
Napa, CA
Dr. Brighten is filling in for my Napa-​based doctor while she’s on maternity leave. I found that Dr. Brighten did her homework on my medical background and also asked questions to get the whole scope of what’s going on for me. She followed up with emails outlining the treatment we had discussed, as well as the natural remedies I need to get. When I had some confusion regarding how to take the remedies, Dr. Brighten got back to me quickly (and that was on a Sunday!). Her presentation in person and via email is confident, clear, and informative and she welcomes questions.
I’m happy that my regular doctor found such a perfect doctor to fill in for her while she’s gone for maternity leave.