Sophia Gerontakos

BHSc (Naturopathy) Hons
Dip. Remedial Massage

Since becoming a qualified Naturopath I have been supporting people in many different areas including digestive health, fatigue, menstrual irregularities, skin complaints, headaches, endocrine disruption, nutritional support, general health, wellbeing and healthy living. I use herbal medicine as an excellent tool for rectifying imbalances within various different body systems, and they often work on multiple systems at the same time, gradually bringing the body to a state of homeostasis, rather than treating or suppressing individual symptoms. I also spend time educating my patients about the important role of food as medicine and harnessing our lifestyle to live well and feel well, with the goal of reaching a place where we can maintain good health without any prescription or supplement.

I find naturopathic and herbal medicine plays a particularly wonderful role in mental health, especially anxiety, depression, mood swings, and acute and chronic stress. Sparked by my interest in the role of herbal medicine in this important area I went on to complete an Honours post-graduate degree by research in the field of Adaptogens – herbal medicines used to offset the detrimental effects of stress and improve physical and mental health. My knowledge and experience of adaptogens, combined with holistic underpinnings for health mean I am well-versed in the area of stress management and assisting with the management of mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety (often co-jointly with other medical practitioners).

Personally, I have much experience supporting people in my life who have suffered with mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. I also have a personal history of depression and anxiety and now successfully (mostly) maintain my mental health with a variety of strategies including herbal medicine, food, yoga, exercise and lifestyle approaches. These experiences have given me a deep insight into mental health and illness, as well as the public mental health care system and the needs and challenges of people suffering, recovering, and healing from these conditions.

Prior to becoming a naturopath, I began my journey in wellness as a massage therapist many years ago, which I still practice with great enthusiasm and am an advocate of self-care and relaxation as essential components to maintaining good health, which are often neglected in our fast-paced modern lifestyles. For more info on massage therapy at HotH please see our massage page. Please note massage and naturopathy appointments need to be booked separately (although you could book one after the other if you wanted to do both).

I currently divide my time as a naturopath/massage therapist and researcher. I am a PhD candidate in Public Health at UTS, working on the integration and accessibility of naturopathic medicine. My goal is to increase the accessibility of naturopathy by investigating new models of delivering this type of care that minimise financial and social barriers and encourage more integration of naturopathic medicine into public health care.

In addition to private consultations, I run a community session on Thursdays between 12.30 and 2pm where you can drop in without an appointment and at no cost, to chat to me about any niggling health concerns you may have and possible options for you to manage your health or access care moving forward. This is designed to make naturopathic medicine more accessible to the local community and is a way for us to connect in a more flexible way than a formal consultation and will be much more brief (therefore is not a direct substitute for a full consultation). Please see our community medicine page here for more information on the community sessions.

I am currently available in clinic on Thursdays.