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Meet Dr. Beth Maly, NMD of Maly Health PLLC

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Beth Maly, NMD.

Hi Dr. Maly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
For as long as I can remember, I had always been curious about the human body, how it worked, and why people act the way they do, and I’ve always been very connected to nature. I used to go to the library and instead of going into the children’s section I would find science books and look at microscopic views of blood cells, or hair. I spent all the free-time I could enjoying the outdoors, and to this day I still love getting out into nature to connect with the earth, listen to birds and soak up the sun. In undergrad I was fascinated with psychology, anatomy, and physiology as well as healthcare, so I focused my studies on public health. I worked as both a pharmacy technician and as a physical therapy technician. While working in the pharmacy I learned a lot about pharmaceutical drugs, and I saw time and time again many patients coming in for opioid drugs, or constantly getting antibiotics; although I loved working at the pharmacy and loved the patients, I felt I could do more to help than just filling prescriptions. I considered becoming a physical therapist because I love how the human body works, however while working as a physical therapy technician I still felt that there was more I could do which could encompass what I had learned at both jobs.

My love for nature played a huge part in my decision to end up where I did. I remember being a month away from graduating with my public health degree and I feeling lost, not knowing where to go. Upset, tears streaming down my face I approached my mom feeling empty and tired and said, “Mom, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to work in the pharmacy forever, and I don’t want to be a physical therapist. I want to be like Sandra Bullock in Practical Magic mixing herbs together and making my own remedies and concoctions”. My mom said, “Did you know you can get your doctorate in exactly that? It’s at a medical school called Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. You learn about both Eastern and Western Medicine”. We looked up the school, and it felt like destiny because that weekend there would be a “Discovery Day” at SCNM where prospective students go and learn about their program and school. We signed up and went. I remember stepping onto the campus and thinking, “this is where I want to be. This is it!” I sent in my medical school application into SCNM the moment I got home in 2013, and was accepted to begin in spring of 2015. Had it not been for my mom mentioning SCNM to me, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I know I’m not the same person now as I was in 2013; medical school changed and shaped me into who I am today, feeling ready to help people holistically. I wouldn’t change that for the world.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would love to say it’s been a smooth road, but medical school is no laughing matter. It is not easy, and I made the personal decision to sacrifice many events revolving around family and friends. I missed out on a lot, however I was committed to my studies and needed to make the conscious decision to study for exams. Due to the stress of school and not practicing healthy work-life balance I struggled a lot with my personal health which got in the way of my classes. I started getting random bouts of anxiety that would persist into panic attacks, I suffered from brain fog, irregular heartbeats, weight gain, and I would be wired at night but falling asleep in class during the day. Terrified my studies were suffering due to my health condition, I sought medical care from the naturopathic physicians on campus and they determined I was suffering from thyroid dysfunction, and was placed on medication. Because of this experience I utilized the modalities (tools) including stress management, nutrition, botanical medicine, counseling, hydrotherapy, acupuncture and exercise. I learned in my program to reset my hormones which allowed me to come off the medication. Due to my personal experience, my main focus in school was hormonal weight loss due to thyroid dysfunction, stress, diabetes, or unbalanced sex hormones. I felt strong after I got my hormones under control, and I was strong in clinic. As graduation approached, I was excited to study for my board exam because I was ready to become a licensed naturopathic medical doctor. Life had other plans however. The infamous COVID-19 pandemic hit, and like many schools, our in-person graduation was cancelled. My dreams of my family being able to watch me walk across the stage to be hooded were crushed.

Then, the weekend before I was supposed to graduate I contracted COVID-19 which took me out for a couple weeks which bled into the time I was supposed to be studying for my boards. This made it hard to study, but I pushed on to prepare myself for NPLEX (Boards). The Naturopathic NPLEX exam is a total of three days, six exams, and over 600 questions in total. On August 5, 2020 I sat for the first of three days of exams. I got out of the first exam feeling as everyone feels, completely numb, having no idea what just happened, wanting to just make it through the end of the day to get home and sleep then do it all over again. I turned on my phone and got a message my husband was there waiting for me after I got out of the first exam, and I thought he wanted to take me out to lunch.

Unfortunately, he was there to tell me the most unfortunate and unsettling news that still haunts me – he wrapped me in his arms and all he could say was “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”. My heart sank. I was confused, panicked, and already raw from the exam. Finally, I heard “it’s your dad; he passed away last night unexpectedly”. My legs buckled; I would have been lying on the burning hot asphalt had my husband not been holding me. I heard screaming, but didn’t know it was coming from me; I came completely out of my body. It all felt like a horrible dream. In shock my first words to him were “I have to finish this exam” and his reply was “no, you have to call your mom”. He was right, I called my mom and hearing the pain in her voice as she just lost her husband of 35 years I knew I couldn’t finish the exam. The NPLEX exam only happens twice a year, and I wasn’t able to take it until February of 2021.

Taking the February exam I felt more prepared, my health was in order, however the nightmare memory of my first board exam was something I had to keep at bay as I re-attempted it. Those three days were some of the most challenging of my entire scholastic career, and it was in March 2021 I received the news that I had passed and was officially a licensed naturopathic physician. I couldn’t have done it without the love and support of my husband, mom, siblings, in-laws, family and friends. My medical school path wasn’t the easiest, but those experiences helped me grow, and I feel incredibly strong and prepared to take on patients.

As you know, we’re big fans of Maly Health PLLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I graduated in 2020 as a Naturopathic Medical Doctor from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and am very proud to announce I have recently opened my practice where I am working out of my home office right now, and offer telehealth and mobile healthcare. I am currently working on an online program called The Advanced Weight Loss Process so that I can spread as much knowledge as I can to those ambitious, highly motivated women who are struggling from stubborn weight loss who just want to feel sexy and confident and need my knowledge and compassion and I hope to launch this program early next month. My main focus is on hormonal weight loss, and getting my patients into a balanced state of being so they can achieve their goals naturally and effectively without feeling unsatisfied by highly restrictive fad diets. Naturopathic medicine encompasses both Western and Eastern medicine which means I can prescribe pharmaceutical medications, and I am also trained in non-pharmaceutical approaches to medicine that help to find the root cause, versus only treating the symptoms.

Naturopathic medicine is not a one-pill cure-all approach, and includes the patient in their health journey by making them the active party in their own health, they are responsible for their efforts and results, while I am there to provide information, give support, and be their cheerleader. Naturopathic is not a “one-size fits all” approach and I strived to treat my patients as the unique individuals they are while giving them a listening ear. I also understand that symptoms aren’t just physical, there are many “invisible” symptoms patients are experience but are told many times “it’s all in your head”; I understand the invisible symptoms are JUST as important as their physical symptoms. As a naturopathic physician I am trained in many different modalities, or tools, which I utilize including: IV therapy, acupuncture & fire cupping, hydrotherapy, botanical medicine, homeopathy, nutrition education, pharmaceuticals (prescription medication including bio-identical hormones), & counseling. I treat many conditions including: Hyper/hypo thyroid (including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease), PCOS, Abnormal menstruation, pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, chronic fatigue syndrome, and digestive/gut disorders.

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