Looking for a Practitioner to Help with Copper Toxicity?
These are important considerations and questions to ask...
Since launching the www.coppertoxic.com website in 2014 and being at the forefront of bringing copper toxicity education, training, and support to the world over the past decade, it's great to see the increasing number of practitioners now talking about copper toxicity and adding copper toxicity support to their services. However, like with any profession, experience matters!
Having helped personally train many hundreds of today's HTMA and copper-literate practitioners, this is, of course, the work I specialize in (my HTMA service menu is available here). However, as I run an extremely busy practice with clients in addition to all my additional time committed to advocacy, research, and education projects, I'm happy to help people find other qualified practitioners. (I receive countless patient cases landing on my desk each week previously under the care of someone else who were, unfortunately, not properly helped, or in many cases patients who simply ordered the wrong type of HTMA because they assumed all hair analysis was the same. I care that people receive qualified support and guidance from the start. There is, sadly, so much 'nonsense' promoted online, especially when it comes to HTMA and addressing copper toxicity).
No matter who you choose to work with, whether myself or anyone else, this page provides basic yet important considerations to keep in mind (and to ask) when choosing a practitioner.
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Do they use HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis)?
- If so, are they testing through one of the top labs that specialize in HTMA, either TEI or ARL? (not all hair analysis services are the type needed for understanding copper toxicity. Frequently, people order the wrong type of HTMA, assuming all hair analysis is the same. It is not, and this ends up adding to people's confusion.)
- What is the practitioner's training in HTMA interpretation? Who did they learn from?
- How many HTMAs have they interpreted? (HTMA interpretation is highly complex and takes years of experience and practice to master. Simply being ‘certified’ in HTMA is not qualification enough. Have they worked on 100's of HTMAs? Anything less than 100 could still be considered apprenticeship/practice).
- Are they able to interpret HTMA data from a wide range of labs & formats? (A qualified practitioner will be able to answer yes)
- Is their service focused more on passing along automated reports? (An HTMA chart and an automated report offers a most basic place to start, but the real value comes from professional interpretation that looks at each person as an individual. Relying just on an automated recommendation can also lead to great confusion).
- When reviewing charts, does the practitioner consider mineral loss patterns? If so, what factors do they use to assess those patterns? (Some practitioners, if not properly trained, will simply read an HTMA chart at face value, assuming a high level means "high in the body", or a low level always means low. This is not how HTMA works!)
- How is the practitioner addressing the effect of medications on a person’s mineral chart?
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If they don't use HTMA, how are they assessing the stored tissue level of copper and other metals???
- Remember that copper is stored in tissue, and blood does not reflect stored tissue levels!
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How many years experience?
- How many years of experience do they have specifically working in practice with other copper toxicity patients?
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Are they looking beyond just copper?
- How are they measuring and addressing the other mineral imbalances that excess copper leads to? (Some practitioners are focused on just "detoxing copper". However, even with copper toxicity, it is never just about trying to detox copper by itself. This is why HTMA is so useful, as we can see the various other imbalances that are also occurring.)
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How personalized is their protocol and their attention to each person's bio-individual situation?
- Are they promoting a one-size-fits-all protocol as opposed to one designed specifically for a person’s unique symptoms biochemistry and health history?
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Do they have significant conflicts of interest?
- Are there any conflicts of interest with the products they promote? (If the majority of the program/protocol a practitioner creates for you pushes one brand / product line, there is likely a strong commission incentive for them to sell those products. This adds a degree of bias, and limits you (the patient) from other products in the marketplace which might actually be better suited. It's common in the HTMA industry for practitioners to tell their patients they need to take certain supplements only to then recommend a catalog of products from either their own company or a brand with which they are affiliated with. While an occasional incentivized recommendation may certainly be valid and fair, the bulk of any protocol ideally should not be profit driven in favor of the practitioner).
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Are they able to explain the mental health connections to HTMA patterns?
- Are they well versed in how mineral imbalances such as a calcium shell, zinc deficiency, excess copper, high Na/K ratio etc can affect mental health? What is their training in this regard? Who were they trained by?
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How do they adjust recommendations between overt vs hidden copper toxicity?
- Are they recognizing, and then customizing their treatment protocol accordingly between hidden copper toxicity and overt copper toxicity, and if so how?
Said another way, watch out for these red flags:
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Reliance only on the blood level while ignoring or dismissing HTMA (cell and tissue levels)
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A focus on just trying to "detox" or lower copper without considering the body's complete mineral profile.
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Product recommendations that come mainly from the same company or are $ incentivized (conflict of interest).
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Reading HTMA chart results at face value, or relying solely on lab recommendations without considering individual symptoms, medications, health history, etc.
Specializing in copper toxicity for over a decade, I’ve worked across thousands of patients and have also trained many of today’s HTMA and copper literate practitioners. While I continue to work with new clients, there are certainly other excellent practitioners out there for you to choose from as well. I am familiar with most of those who’d be considered as qualified. However, I am also aware of several (especially in copper support groups) who are making claims of their healing or HTMA expertise that I think warrant a lot more caution. I've dedicated my career to advancing education on copper toxicity and mineral-based health, while also advocating for industry integrity of authentic HTMA (www.htmavirtualsummit.com). I therefore care deeply that, no matter who a person chooses to work with, they receive correct advice and qualified guidance.
Whoever you work with, make sure they are truly experienced. How they answer the above questions will tell you a lot. Also remember, most HTMA practitioners are well-equipped to work remotely. In that sense, more important than geographic location is working with whomever you feel most comfortable with.
Wishing you success in your healing journey!
Rick Fischer
Founder of www.CopperToxic.com
Author of The Complete Copper Toxicity Handbook
Leading Copper Toxicity Researcher, Nutrition Instructor, Clinical HTMA Practitioner, HTMA Instructor
PS: You can explore our various HTMA Service Advantages and what sets us apart, at www.mineralsandhealth.com/advantage
While You're Here... Grab the Free eBook on COPPER TOXICITY
This free eBook, written by one of the world's foremost experts on the topic, includes an introduction to copper toxicity and how to detox, addresses important misconceptions, and provides a basis for getting the support you need for healing.
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