My story, so far.

As an athlete, I grew up with a passion for optimizing health and well-being.  

This inspired me to pursue a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from San Diego State University where I was on track to become a doctor of physical therapy.

Shortly after graduating from SDSU, I experienced a complete mental, emotional, and physical breakdown.  The dark side of ambition resulted in me prioritizing work over self-care and waking up in the emergency room with an IV of electrolytes in my arm after an anxiety attack.
I was so disconnected from my body, I didn’t even realize I had all of the symptoms of depression until my first psychiatry appointment.  Desperate for a solution, I was desperate for a diagnosis that I believed would help me feel like myself again.

The stress and worry about appearing like a failure consumed me.  I couldn’t fall asleep or stay asleep.  I didn’t have an appetite or any desire to leave the house and even if I did, I would often times find myself in tears.  Overwhelming feelings from the anxiety of making a simple choice burdened my sympathetic nervous system so much so that a “freeze” reaction was a frequently experienced self-protection mechanism, versus “fight or flight.”

This is when I was prescribed an antidepressant and even though my intuition told me I didn’t need it, I didn’t have the energy to contemplate any alternatives at the time.  

At first, I was so glad that I was falling asleep and staying asleep after averaging about 2-4 hours of rest per night.  
However, after a few days, I began to feel increasingly numb and disconnected from the world happening around me.  Confused, because I thought that this prescription was supposed to help me feel happier, I finally sought out other options to heal.

While I started to wean myself off of the medication, I found my first acupuncturist.  To my surprise, I immediately fell asleep on the table and easily again later that night.  I felt a lightness in my mind and body that wasn’t present beforehand.  I didn’t know how it was working, but I knew something was actually changing.

After a few months and many conversations with my acupuncturist about how Chinese Medicine treats the mind and body as an inseparable unit, I knew that part of my path was helping guide others through their own healing journeys. 

I made it my commitment to reconnect purpose-driven leaders back to the wisdom of their bodies so that they can embody the energy required to better serve their own mission and show up even more for the people they love.

This led to completing a four-year Master's degree from Pacific College of Health & Sciences, a doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, additional training in The Mukaino Method, Esoteric Acupuncture, and additional certification (140+ hours) as a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnosis, and Mental Emotional Release® (MER).

Today as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine,

Master Practitioner of NLP, Mental Emotional Release®, Hypnotherapy, and Licensed Acupuncturist -- Dr. Chloé Hom Bañales is dedicated to helping her clients connect the strength of their mind to the wisdom of their body so they can embody the fullest expression of their authentic self.   

It is her belief that energy can be our greatest asset or our greatest liability.  From her own experience of healing clinical depression and anxiety attacks, Chloe is devoted to expanding how mental health concerns must involve a conversation about physical and physiological health in additional to emotional health.

Throughout her career, she has supported ambitious leaders to end patterns of anxiety, brain fog, and burnout with Human Design, Gene Keys, Mental Emotional Release®, and Chinese Medicine. 

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