Work With Michael

How much will this cost?

Michael finds that different clients require different levels of care for varying lengths of time. He strives to be as cost-effective as possible with each and every client.

Michael will not recommend consults, treatments or procedures he deems unhelpful or insufficient. He knows through personal experience that clients need to continually regard their money as well spent—on their health and well-being, nothing less.

Office Visits:

Michael generally meets with new clients once a week for the first three weeks. During these first several sessions, he carefully assesses the issues presented by the new client. He will then use this information to determine which treatment will best for you. If appropriate, he starts actual treatment during the first session.

After the first three sessions, the repeat rate of sessions can vary. Some clients need weekly sessions for a period of time. Others need a session every other week or once a month. Some clients may require a referral to another qualified healthcare professional that Michael knows has topnotch expertise with your particular condition or problem.

Video Consults:

Additional consults only as needed

Fee Structure:

• Neuromuscular Therapy/ Neurokinetic Therapy: $250, per each 50-minute session
• ZOOM Consultation: $250, per each 50-minute session
• The Safe and Sound Protocol – in office: $2299 for five 80-minute sessions and access Chronic Pain and Illness, Solving The Puzzle course.
• The Safe and Sound Protocol – home program: $2299 Includes five consecutive daily 80-minute ZOOM sessions and access to the Chronic Pain and Illness, Solving The Puzzle course.
• Focus System – in office: $250 per each 50-minute session (with a minimum of three sessions per week), 8 – 16 weeks.
• Focus System – home program: $250 per each 50-minute session (with a minimum of one office session per week in the office and two self-guided home sessions), an additional $250 monthly equipment rental, 8 – 16 weeks.

Please Note:

Michael focuses on finding and treating the root of a client’s problem. Sometimes the help of other experts will be necessary. Other conditions can be treated with complete instructions at home.

His costs per session are very competitive with other functional medicine practitioners’ charges.

Does Michael accept insurance?

• Michael doesn’t accept insurance directly. He is happy to provide you with a superbill for reimbursement.

• Ask your insurance company if they cover you for “Manual Therapy.” This title has a billing CPT code 97140. Some carriers don’t cover it or only cover it for providers who are in-network.

• Michael accepts cash, checks, or credit cards.

How to schedule

Schedule yourself for an initial 50-minute session. You can schedule the appointment online here or by calling 415-924-2323. Press 1 for the receptionist.

Your initial visit – Michael will take your medical history. This usually takes around 15 minutes. The remaining time will be used for treating your pain complaint.

Intake forms

If you a first-time client you can save more time for your therapy in the first session by filling out the your intake form ahead of time.

• Intake form – Everyone must fill out this form before being treated in my office
• BBCSS form for the Safe and Sound Protocol
• MFA form for the focus program

Will be used in accordance with our privacy policy

Michael will be looking for clues to your condition by looking at the following:

• The function of the essential body systems related to your pain complaint
• The history, start date and key characteristics of your pain
• Supplements and medications that you have taken or do take

The goal is to uncover clues to the underlying cause of your pain condition.

During your next follow up visit, Michael will discuss with you how you feel—the same, worse, or better. Then the treatment will be adjusted for maximum benefit

During the third appointment, you and Michael will again discuss how you feel compared with your symptoms at the beginning of the first session. By the end of this session, Michael will let you know how many additional sessions may be needed to alleviate or cure your pain.

Michael will also tell you if, in his opinion, he determines that treatment by a different type of health care professional is called for, either in combination with his treatments or not.

This third follow up visit will include a Report of Findings. In this, Michael will explain:

• What he considers as the cause of your pain
• Which tests would be needed to verify this information
• Who else he recommends to become involved in this process to help you get well. If appropriate, Michael will suggest specific MDs or other types of healthcare professionals.
• An initial self-treatment plan, if appropriate

During ongoing visits, Michael will:

• Monitor your response to the treatments
• Present and explain any new options
• Adjust the treatments based upon your level of feedback
• Continue to work effectively to reduce or resolve your pain and improve your health

Can Michael really help me?

• While it is difficult to make a guarantee in health care, Michael believes he can offer you a unique, definitive path to improved health and reduce your pain.

• Here’s why:
  For the last twenty years, Michael has been dedicating at least eight hours per week to researching topnotch medical literature to stay current with the best treatments available. He’s a member of several study groups consisting of MDs and other professional medical practitioners. The group’s goal is to finding and sharing answers to chronic pain and illness.

• Michael carefully tracks each client’s outcomes to determine which treatments are useful, which ones aren’t, and why.

• Please take a look at the numerous patient testimonials, where you will likely find former clients with complaints like yours whom Michael has helped:

“Michael is constantly studying. That’s one of the things that impresses me about him. He’s always bringing new techniques to bear on his work. Michael is a true professional. He’s a healer with high standards of ethics and integrity. I recommend him without any reservation.” – Bob

Can Michael really help me?

Some clients begin to feel better within days to several weeks, while for others, it may take several months. Response rates are based on each individual’s situation. Michael will provide you with a specific assessment of your progress during or at the end of your first three sessions.

Why do clients choose Michael?

• Simply put, Michael strives to help clients return to health quickly and cost-effectively. Michael strongly believes that care through both integrative and conventional medicine’s options have become extremely expensive and often involves unnecessary testing and treatment. He knows this doesn’t have to be the case. This inevitably wastes a significant amount of a client’s time and money.

• Additionally, he is concerned that the testing and treatment often may be based on dogma rather than solid science. He researches peer-reviewed, reputable studies, not blogs or infomercials.

“As a dancer, I’m very prone to injuries, so trying to find someone to help prevent those injuries was very important to me. Michael was the best fit for me. He helped me learn more about when my muscles were working, and when they weren’t, and how I could better help myself in fixing my own issues with my body.” – Zoe

• Michael considers your previous care by your MD or other health care practitioners as valuable pieces of the puzzle. Your previous tests, treatments, and medications that may have felt like failures to you can be helpful for him as he works to identify solutions for your pain. 

• Michael keeps track of his patient’s outcomes because he wants to know what techniques are helpful and which are not.

Private, Secure & Confidential. We store client records on a HIPPA compliant cloud server, and Protonmail encrypts all our emails.

Michael Westgate cares about answering your questions and sharing his knowledge with you.

Michael can’t answer your personal medical questions outside of his office.

For general questions, please post them in the comments section of a relevant blog post or post on social media or email, no name necessary.

Michael will do his best to respond, and he might incorporate it into his next article just for you!

Note: The information on this website is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease.