Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacqueline Griffin.
Hi Jacqueline, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Where Healing Becomes Personal
By Jacqueline Griffin, FNP-C
I was twenty years old when my father took his life.
For ten years before that, I watched him disappear—slowly and painfully—under the weight of a medical system that treated symptoms but never truly saw him. He lived with severe rheumatoid arthritis, decades of gut issues, and a deep, unrelenting depression. Over time, his pain was managed with escalating medications, including opioids. Eventually, those medications led him into rehab—twice. This was a man who barely drank alcohol, a devoted father whose life unraveled not because he lacked strength, but because he lacked answers. He was living in pain and could bend his fingers. The doctors offered medicine. What else would he do? He was barely able to get out of bed and provide for his family -a diesel mechanic doing heavy labor.
In 2006, my father died. His name was Mark Griffin. His loss shaped every single choice I made going forward in my life and from that moment forward, every choice I made—big and small—carried the imprint of his absence.
In the years that followed, I did what many children of loss do: I tried to make meaning out of pain. I went into medicine. I became a bedside nurse. I worked in oncology. I spent six years in cardiothoracic surgery at institutions like Yale, Penn Medicine, and Johns Hopkins. I pursued graduate school and became a Nurse Practitioner. I believed deeply in the promise of modern medicine—and I still do.
But by my late twenties, something unsettling happened.
I became my father.
By twenty-eight, I was battling crippling gut issues, inflammatory arthritis, PCOS, severe acne, ADHD, and mounting anxiety and depression. After routine vaccinations—mandated in the nursing profession—my symptoms worsened dramatically. I was exhausted, inflamed, and unrecognizable to myself.
For over a decade, from ages eighteen to thirty,I was told I had “IBS.” I was never ever talked to about diet or food… but rather given medications like antispasmodics, reassurance, and dismissal. What no one found was the truth: severe SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and undiagnosed celiac disease. Both were treatable. Both were missed. For years.
It took over ten doctors and seventeen years for me to finally receive answers that should have taken months.
Even when I turned to functional medicine, desperate for help, it wasn’t a straight line. There were five to eight more years of incorrect protocols, incomplete frameworks, and well-meaning guidance that still missed the root cause. Healing was not a miracle moment; it was a slow, often lonely process of discernment, education, and relentless self-advocacy.
Eventually, I healed.
I was thriving—physically, mentally, professionally—when COVID hit. Like many others, I developed post-viral complications: mast cell activation, histamine intolerance, neurological symptoms that affected my cognition and nervous system. Once again, I found myself on the patient side of medicine. Once again, there were few answers.
I sought therapy. I sought specialists. I sought colleagues with advanced training. And when those paths fell short, I returned to what I had learned the hard way: listen to the body, zoom out, go deeper, and never assume the first explanation is the right one. I also crawled even deeper into my Functional and Integrative Medicine knowledge, devouring information, conferences, continuing education trainings, every spare moment I was not working.
I healed again.
Today, I practice Functional Medicine because I have lived its necessity—not as a trend, not as an alternative, but as a missing layer of care. This work is slow. It is nuanced. It does not fit neatly into fifteen-minute visits or insurance billing codes. It requires time, investigation, pattern recognition, and partnership. It requires seeing the human before the diagnosis.
I am trying to build a practice rooted in this depth of care, even as I navigate a healthcare culture that struggles to understand why true healing cannot be rushed or reimbursed like a prescription. Many people want answers—but few have been taught why those answers require investment, commitment, and a different model altogether.
My father never got that chance.
Everything I do now—every patient I sit with, every system I question, every protocol I refine—is done in his memory. Not in anger, but in reverence. His story lives on through my work, through every person who is finally told, “You’re not broken. You’re not imagining this. And there is a way forward.”
Healing, for me, was never just professional.
It was personal.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. The greatest challenge has been navigating a medical system that excels at managing symptoms but often overlooks root causes—something I experienced both as a patient and as a clinician. I spent over a decade misdiagnosed, seeing more than ten doctors, while living with severe gut disease, autoimmune symptoms, hormonal imbalance, and neurological issues that were repeatedly minimized or mislabeled. Even after turning to functional medicine, healing was not linear; there were years of incorrect guidance and trial-and-error before I truly understood my body. Professionally, one of the hardest obstacles has been building a practice rooted in depth, time, and individualized care within a healthcare culture that prioritizes speed, insurance billing, and quick fixes. Choosing to practice outside that model requires constant education, advocacy, and resilience—but it is also what allows real healing to happen.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Sankalpa Health was created for people who know—often deep down—that something in their body isn’t right, even when they’ve been told otherwise. Have you been to countless doctors and told “Your blood work looks great!” But you are feeling horrible? This work is for you.
We specialize in complex, chronic health issues that are frequently dismissed or oversimplified in conventional care, including gut dysfunction, autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, hormonal imbalance, fertility challenges, post-viral illness, and mast cell and histamine disorders. These patterns often affect far more than one system, influencing mental health, energy, weight, and overall quality of life.
What sets Sankalpa Health apart is depth. We take the time to listen, investigate patterns, and connect dots across systems instead of chasing isolated symptoms. This work blends evidence-based functional medicine with a deep respect for the nervous system and lived experience, recognizing that healing is rarely linear. Many of our clients have seen multiple doctors, tried “everything,” and still feel unheard. We work with people who are ready to understand why their body is reacting the way it is—and what to do about it.
Our care is intentionally designed as focused, longer-term work with a clear endpoint. Most people don’t need lifelong management; they need a period of consistent, in-depth support to stabilize the body and address root causes. For many, meaningful healing takes about four to six months, sometimes closer to eight, depending on complexity. One to three appointments simply aren’t enough to create lasting change.
This level of care isn’t possible under the insurance model, which is built around brief visits, limited follow-up, and diagnosis-based billing. To do this work well, we need longer appointments, ongoing adjustments, and the ability to stay closely connected as the body changes. That’s why Sankalpa Health operates outside insurance and offers committed care packages rather than one-off or monthly drop-in visits. This allows for regular one-on-one coaching, frequent check-ins when needed, and true partnership throughout the healing process. Once stability is reached, most people don’t need ongoing care—and that’s the goal.
What I want readers to know is this: there are answers, even if they haven’t been found yet. Sankalpa Health exists for those who feel overlooked by the system and are ready for a different kind of care—one that sees the whole person, asks better questions, and stays in the process long enough for real healing to unfold.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People local and far can work with me primarily through Sankalpa Health by entering one of our committed care packages, which are designed for those ready to engage deeply in their healing process. We are strictly remote tele health and all labs are sent to your home and shipped out. It’s extremely convenient in a day and age where we are busier than ever.
I work best with individuals who are curious, open, and willing to partner in understanding their body rather than chasing quick fixes. Referrals from patients, practitioners, and trusted colleagues are always welcome and deeply appreciated.
Collaboration is important to me, especially with other clinicians, therapists, and practitioners who value root-cause, patient-centered care. I believe the best outcomes happen when we work together across disciplines, and I’m always open to thoughtful, aligned partnerships that support the whole person.
The most meaningful way to support this work is by helping shift the conversation around health—sharing resources, amplifying education, and encouraging people to ask better questions about their bodies and their care. Simply believing patients, honoring complexity, and making space for slower, more intentional healing is how real change happens.
Pricing:
- this: • Discovery Call: Complimentary initial call to assess fit, complexity, and goals • Care Model: Structured, time-limited care packages (typically 4–6 months, sometimes up to 8) • Investment Range: Packages vary based on complexity and level of support • What’s Included: Ongoing one-on-one care, frequent check-ins, plan adjustments, and direct access throughout the healing process If you want to be slightly more transparent, you can add: • Note: This work is an investment in resolution, not ongoing management or one-off visits
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.sankalpahealth.org
- Instagram: Sankalpa_health
