Dr Ari Calhoun

I established Wholesome Brain Medicine with an unwavering commitment to addressing pediatric brain-based conditions, a field that resonates deeply with me. The roots of my passion for neurodevelopment and emotional wellness trace back to my childhood, shaped by my role as the daughter of a clinical psychologist. In the face of stigma surrounding brain conditions, treatment options are often limited to therapy and medication. I am dedicated to illuminating the multifaceted “root cause” and multitude of treatment possibilities.

The driving force behind my work springs from a profound empathy for my patients and their families. Being a mother myself, I intimately understand the mixture of guilt, fear, and sheer overwhelm that accompanies caring for a struggling child. As an enneagram type 2, my innate urge to provide support and hope during challenging times underscores my approach.

While empathy fuels my passion, my methodology is guided by logic and analytical thinking. My foundation in research has molded me into an inquisitive learner and investigator. I firmly believe that hidden within the details lie the answers. Deviating from standardized protocols, I am a staunch advocate for personalized medicine as the key to healing. Viewing this journey as a collaborative endeavor, I am eager to guide, educate, and embolden you and your family every step of the way.

A deeply empathic disposition led me to envision a career in a service-oriented field from an early age. My affinity for health and wellness took root during my years as an athlete. Initially drawn to becoming a physical therapist, my perspective evolved during my undergraduate years. I realized that physical well-being constitutes just one facet of our overall wellness, and a comprehensive approach was my aspiration.

While contemplating medicine, I was certain that the conventional allopathic model wasn’t my destined path. Encountering personal disappointment within the medical system due to autoimmune struggles at 19, I resolved to explore alternative avenues. In my junior year of undergrad, my academic advisor introduced me to Naturopathic Medicine. Six hours of relentless research solidified my love for this approach, guiding me to my true calling.

“My daughter had many symptoms that changed drastically after we began working with Dr. Calhoun. She had hyperactivity, uncontrolled rage, violence towards family members and objects, flight tendencies, involuntary physical movements, different speech patterns, thoughts and talk of physical harm and vocal tics.

We began working with Dr. Calhoun and following her treatment plan and within 4 days the bouts of rage, the anger and the violence had stopped. Within 10 days it had all stopped. It’s been like a miracle. She treated my daughter with simple antibiotics and supplements, other mental health professionals just wanted to heavily medicate her.
I remember calling my Mom in tears and telling her “We have our Reesie back!!”

I remember her twin sister saying “Mommy, Reese is acting nice, she wants to play with me again”. This was after months and months of feeling like she’d lost her best friend.
The child we had before we began working with Dr. Calhoun was unrecognizable to us and anyone who knew her. With the sudden onset of PANS/PANDAS, we suddenly felt like we had lost our child as we knew her. She was unable to attend school or play Lacrosse ( her favorite sport), in fact we couldn’t even go out to dinner at a restaurant or even think about leaving her with anyone besides my husband or I.

The child we have now after working with Dr. Calhoun is back to school, back to playing Lacrosse and even can go on sleep over to her cousins house. She’s back to her old life and so are we. She’s had flare ups, some bumps along the way but Dr. Calhoun is right there to adjust whatever she needs and has always been able to get her back to herself within days.

Dr. Calhoun has changed our lives and the life of our Daughter forever. I can’t imagine where we would be now if we handn’t found her. She’s given us our family back and we are eternally grateful.”

“I started working with Dr Calhoun a little over a year ago and it’s impossible to put into words what she has done for my family. When my son was 3 I had him evaluated was beside myself with all these diagnosis’s that were thrown at us – from the A word (that I always prefer not to say) to ADHD and sensory processing disorders, social communication disorder and many other issues such as tantrums, inability to transition, picky eating, extremely hyper, etc. Upon my initial consultation with Dr Calhoun she already knew exactly what was causing all of his symptoms and how to remedy them. She listened so carefully, explained so much to me and made me feel confident that so many of these symptoms are actually caused by things going on in the body such as yeast overgrowth or bacteria in the gut, etc. She was the first person that wasn’t focused on a diagnosis and instead focused on the root cause of the symptoms. She had me alter his diet and started him on different supplementation regimens and within 3 months my child was 80% better. His school was in total disbelief and kept saying they cant believe how he has matured and changed so quickly. Fast forward 3-4 appointments with her and a year later, I had him re evaluated at a neurologist office in person and he does not have any diagnosis’ anymore! Almost all of his symptoms have disappeared and its all thanks to Dr Calhoun’s expertise! She really is a remarkable woman who is clearly so passionate about her job and helping her clients heal to their full potential. My son still has some sensory issues left which we are working on healing, but I finally feel like he is just one of the crew now when he’s with his friends. He plays soccer, basketball, t ball, and mma, he has so many friends, attends every birthday party he is invited to (which used to be a nightmare for us!) Anyone I meet who’s child has any developmental delays, ADHD, ASD, sensory issues, etc. I refer to Dr Calhoun and always make sure to let them know their experience will be LIFE CHANGING.”

“After feeling so discouraged with Nathan’s western medicine providers I wanted a more holistic provider who would look deeper into the root causes of what was happening with Nathan. I wanted someone that would treat Nathan as an individual and not focus on his diagnosis of autism. Which is why I decided to work with Dr. Ari. Calhoun.It has been amazing to see the changes in Nathan since we started to work with Dr. Ari Calhoun. As an autism mom all you want is your baby to need you and ask for your affection. So to have Nathan want me to hold him and tell me “come play with me” was amazing. My husband also noticed the change with Nathan.

The biggest difference has been in his social and emotional behavior. His relationship with his younger brother has truly blossomed. Nathan used to be in his own little bubble with only wanting to play on his own, never really giving any attention to me or his brother Matthew. Now you see them both running and chasing each other and pretend playing with their toys. It’s amazing to see how Nathan now looks for Matthew and myself and is always saying his sweet little phrase “come play with me”.

Nathan used to have daily meltdowns and now they rarely happen. He went through a period where he was stimming all day long and now he maybe stims once every few days if that. He used to be very hyperactive where he couldn’t sit down and focus on one activity and now he is able to sit down and give me his full attention as we pretend play or do a craft.

Dr. Ari Calhoun has been amazing to work with. She listens and validates your concerns and you know she truly cares about her patients”

“Prior to working with Dr. Calhoun, my 8 year old was having extreme mood swings. Most of the time, he would be reasonably balanced, but when he went out of balance, he would have explosive outbursts which included large amounts of negative (and scary) self talk. Dr. Calhoun had correctly guessed he might have had Kryptopyrrole syndrome and she was 100% correct. With some additional bloodwork, she optimized his B vitamins, Zinc and copper and he is a different child now.

After a month of no explosive outbursts, we were just in disbelief. He has no explosive outbursts and no scary negative self talk. On normal occasions when he does get upset, it is not explosive and he recovers quickly. This has been life changing for our son and our family. Outbursts were embarrassing for him if others happened to be around and he felt shame after they passed. Without the support of her, I truly believe someone would have wanted to manage this via medication down the road. While medication is necessary for some, we were hopeful he was just somehow out of balance, and he was!
Dr. Calhoun has been such a gift for our family. She is extremely intelligent and well researched. She is a thoughtful and curious listener. She is thorough in her care plans and follows through. She is always well prepared before each visit. We can’t recommend her highly enough!”