Dr. Sachsman’s approach to natural and integrative medicine is shaped by decades of clinical experience and extensive education across a wide range of disciplines. Her training reflects a commitment to understanding the connections between nutrition, the immune system, neurological health, environmental illness, chronic disease, and whole-person care.

• Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Communication — University of Maine at Orono
• Licensed Speech Pathologist — Practiced for multiple decades and maintains an active license today
• Feeding Specialist — Advanced expertise in the intersection of sensory processing, gastrointestinal health, nutrition, and the central nervous system, an area in which relatively few practitioners have specialized training
• Certified in Integrative Nutrition — Institute for Integrative Nutrition
• Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine — University of Bridgeport
• Ozone Therapy Training — Advanced training with Dr. Frank Shallenberger
• Personalized Nutrition & Blood Type Medicine — Worked alongside Dr. Peter D’Adamo, author of the bestselling Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type
• Naturopathic Residency — Champlain Center for Natural Medicine
• Environmental Illness, Mold & CIRS Training — Extensive ongoing education in environmentally acquired illness, mold-related illness, and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), including:Training with Dr. Ritchie ShoemakerAnnual participation in CIRSxOngoing education through the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness (ISEAI)Continuing training with the New England Mold Doctors Group
• Chronic Lyme Disease & Co-Infections — Advanced training and certification with Dr. Richard Horowitz and regular participation in ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) education
• Low Dose Allergy Treatment (LDA/LDI) — Training with Dr. Butch Shrader and Dr. Ty Vincent
• Colon Hydrotherapy — Professional training with Susan Hamill
• Feeding Disorders & Specialty Feeding — Advanced study with Suzanne Evans Morris, founder of New Visions and author of nine books
• Homeopathy — Completed training through the New England School of Homeopathy
• Environmental Medicine — Studied with Dr. William Rea of the Environmental Health Center in Dallas
• Oncology, Cardiovascular Disease & Long COVID — Advanced clinical education with Dr. Paul Anderson
• Low-Light Laser Therapy — Certified in the clinical use of low-light laser therapy
• Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS) — Member and participant in advanced education focused on complex pediatric health conditions
• Maine Association of Naturopathic Doctors — Professional member

Dr. Sachsman remains deeply committed to continuing education, regularly seeking out leading clinicians, researchers, conferences, and advanced trainings across the country. Her goal is to continually bring the most current and meaningful developments in natural, functional, and integrative medicine back to her patients and the surrounding community.

Read Dr. Sachman's full story below:

I had been working as a speech language pathologist (SLP) with children on the spectrum for the last 20 years, and during that time I’d only seen more and more kiddos come through my door, while the complexity of their neurological needs had increased in kind. As an SLP I knew I’d already stretched the limits of what my license encompassed. The fact of the matter was that the traditional methods of my profession were no longer enough. They didn’t address the whole picture, so whenever I had the opportunity, I attended conferences to learn more about how to help the kids I worked with. Whether it was a conference on feeding disorders, gut-brain connection, or even just spending the weekend with an occupational therapist to learn how they implemented sensory techniques into their work–I was there. If it meant flying across the country for the weekend last minute, that’s what I’d do. And that’s exactly how I found myself at the Defeat Autism Conference in North Carolina back in 2005.

The conference had been running for 10 years at that point, but this was the first year that they were dedicating a whole half of the conference to the insight that various nutritionists could bring to the complexities that autism presents. That’s what had drawn me in. From my clinical experience, I’d seen firsthand how big a role nutrition played in the development of kids on the spectrum. But back then, this connection was considered pretty “out there”. The primary care physician of one of my patients had even sent me a strongly worded letter scolding me for suggesting to the parents that better nutrition could be of benefit to the child. But despite the opposition or general lack of information, I knew what I’d seen and I knew I was on the right track. And it didn’t take but 15 minutes after walking in through the big double doors of the hotel conference room that Spring in North Carolina to have my suspicions confirmed. 

When I returned to Maine from the conference, I recall some friends asking me how it went. “I don’t know how yet,” I told them, “But it changed my life.” Within the week I was on the phone with the University of Maine discussing what credits I would need to accomplish my pre-requisites for med school. Fast forward through a baker's dozen of dreaded math and chemistry courses, and then I’m on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona, to begin my first year at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SWCNM). I’d sold my house, shut down my practice and was flying 3,000 miles away from my family to embark on my second career, but I knew I was on the right path.

Somehow along the way I’d picked up the idea that getting my Naturopathic Doctorate would be soft and fuzzy compared to an MD. How wrong I was. Before classes even started I met a group of students who’d matriculated several months before me. The academic exhaustion followed them like a dark cloud. Some had already flunked out… In my very first day of classes I remember thinking to myself: “I can’t do this.” It was an open fire hydrant of information from day one. And for the next five years I barely caught a breath. To make matters worse, I went into med school knowing that I was going to have to do a detox of heavy metals from the mercury amalgams that I’d had removed recently. I’d told myself that being at a naturopathic school I’d have all of the resources and support I would need to accomplish this, and while I was put in contact with a handful of skilled practitioners, it didn’t seem that any one of them had a comprehensive solution to be able to address the full scope of my health needs. Nevertheless, as I’d had to do as an SLP, I started to put together the disparate pieces of the puzzle that was my health at that time. Throughout my first year of med school, my brain fog and chronic fatigue were so bad that I regularly questioned my ability to accomplish such simple tasks as finding my car in the parking lot or getting out to pump gas. Sleep was a total stranger to me, the school clinic was like a second home, and late one night I drove myself to the ER because I thought I was going into cardiac arrest. But overtime, embracing and exploring a myriad of therapeutic modalities, never relenting in my steadfast belief in the body’s ability to heal itself, the symptoms gradually began to abate. By this time, however, I had decided with a handful of my peers that SWCNM was not the fit for us, and that it was time to leave Arizona in search of another naturopathic program.

The University of Bridgeport, however, was not a walk in the park either. While I found the school itself to be a better fit, midway into my second year there, I had my first serious encounter with mold toxicity. My roommate, Carolyn, and I had moved into an older home near the boardwalk in Milford. We were familiar with the risks of mold at the time, and due to recent flooding in the area decided to have a remediator come and inspect the building before we moved in. He gave us his stamp of approval, and for the first few months, all seemed to be well… Then came October, and with it cold weather that caused us to shut up the house, thereby closing off the airflow. Day by day Carolyn and I grew more irritated in our own ways. For her it was a gradual ratcheting up of almost constant anxiety and depression. For me it was an ever-worsening medley of headaches, congestion, and upper respiratory symptoms. At the time we both chalked it up to the stress of med school. We were going on three years without a night of good sleep, and had our board exams looming—it would make a good deal of sense that all of the academic stress was taking its toll on our health. But once I’d passed my first set of boards, and my symptoms only continued to progress, I began to suspect that stress was not the root cause. One morning Carolyn and I were sitting at the kitchen table and all of a sudden it struck me. The house. “There has to be mold in the house, Carolyn,” I said. And before the end of the day we had moved out.

The move was indeed the first step in the right direction, but the process of recovering our health from mold exposure was far more involved than either of us ever could have imagined. Once again I was on the search for a practitioner who could help me put together all of the many pieces of the complex puzzle that was my health, and once again I was coming up short. It’s not to say that I didn’t learn from some incredible healers during that time, only that it wasn’t until much later, after I had graduated with my Naturopathic Doctorate, that I was able to find a provider (who later became my mentor) who was able to pinpoint the cause of the many complex symptoms I was experiencing. This was my introduction to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). There was something oddly poetic in the fact that one of my most powerful lessons in medicine and healing would only come after I’d already completed my formal education. My exposure to CIRS marked a turning point in how I viewed and addressed chronic illness overall. I began to think in much more comprehensive terms, and understand that the wide range of individualized symptoms people experience–from Alzheimer's to joint pain–can often be traced back to genetic variations that influence our body’s response. In other words, I’d found a new paradigm, a framework that would situate my whole approach to healing in the coming years when I finally moved back to Maine to open my new practice. Traumatic injuries aside, symptoms and illness were just that: a symptom of an underlying imbalance. The path to health lay in identifying (and ultimately treating) the trigger of that imbalance. 

When I moved back to Maine, not only did I have a better framework for my approach to healing–hard-earned through my own trials and tribulations–but I also gained a deeper appreciation for the circuitous path that had led me exactly to where I was. Some 40 years prior, I had felt the call to be a speech language pathologist, and through that experience had been exposed to a world of complex neurological needs that forced me to constantly seek new knowledge, more often than not knowledge that pushed up against the boundaries of what was commonly accepted at that time. The serious gaps in conventional approaches to helping these children had then led me to become a naturopathic doctor, and while I had solely intended to use my new degree to step back into the world of children with special needs, my own health journey had led me to focus on a broader range of health concerns. One thing still remained the same though: my specialty was and always has been in dealing with complex presentations of symptoms. As one of my mentors wisely told me: “You don’t choose your practice, your practice chooses you.” 

Having recovered my own health, I am grateful to have the opportunity today to continue to support individuals within our community on their own personal health journeys. Over the past ten years since opening Maine Natural Medicine (MNM), I’ve had the sincere privilege of witnessing many patients overcoming significant health challenges. Just a few examples include one woman who was able to get up out of her wheelchair and resume normal life, another patient who was able to completely clear skin lesions that were so severe that they covered his whole face, and many more who have reported complete resolution of symptoms such as brain fog, pervasive joint pain, anxiety and gastro-intestinal distress. But this is nowhere near a comprehensive list of the health concerns and symptoms that we address at MNM. We are happy to offer support in a wide range of areas including but not limited to: general wellness visits, nutritional consultations, healthy lifestyle habits, acute illnesses (such as virus or flu), endocrine imbalances (including female and male sex hormones), GI issues, allergies, respiratory concerns, environmental toxicity, tick-borne illnesses, mold related illness, CIRS, long COVID, mental health (such as anxiety/depression), cognitive concerns, hyper-tension (and other cardiovascular concerns), muscle/joint pain, dermatological concerns, headaches, brain fog, chronic fatigue, developmental delays, special needs (ASD, sensory processing, feeding disorders). 

Whether you’ve been a patient with us for years or are considering Maine Natural Medicine for the first time, we’d be happy to see you. Please feel free to reach out to us at (207) 664-0005, fill out our 15 Minute Free Consult Form, or fill out the paperwork to become a new patient today!

Diane Wilbur was born and raised in Ellsworth, Maine. Throughout her career, she has worked in a variety of roles within the mainstream medical field, gaining valuable experience while helping patients navigate their healthcare needs. Those experiences gave her a strong appreciation for patient care and the importance of creating a welcoming, supportive environment.

Over time, Diane became increasingly interested in naturopathic medicine and its focus on supporting the body's natural ability to heal. She was drawn to the idea of looking beyond symptoms and using natural remedies, nutrition, and lifestyle changes to promote overall wellness. Being part of a practice that helps people take a proactive approach to their health is something she finds both inspiring and rewarding.

Diane enjoys bringing her years of healthcare experience to support the clinic's mission and help ensure that every patient feels cared for from their very first interaction with the office.

Diane lives in Hancock with her husband, Steve. In her free time, she enjoys spending summers at their camp on Long Pond in Aurora, going for walks and hikes, playing pickleball, and taking advantage of Maine's beautiful outdoors.

Jack Stroud's interest in naturopathic medicine grew out of his own health journey. After spending years dealing with chronic health challenges and moving from doctor to doctor without finding lasting answers, he developed a deep appreciation for a more comprehensive approach to healthcare—one that focuses on identifying and addressing root causes rather than simply managing symptoms.

Working with Dr. Sachsman helped him understand that meaningful healing is often a gradual process. Rather than relying on a single solution, he learned the importance of looking at the bigger picture and taking an active role in his own health. Through that experience, he gained a firsthand understanding of the value of naturopathic medicine and the impact it can have on people's lives.

Today, Jack is pleased to help bring the message of naturopathic healthcare to a wider audience through his work with Maine Natural Medicine. Drawing on years of experience in journalism, digital media, web design, and marketing, he oversees the clinic's website, communications, and outreach efforts. He believes that effective storytelling can help people better understand their health challenges, explore new possibilities for healing, and feel empowered to take the next step in their own wellness journey.

One of the most rewarding parts of his role is hearing the many transformative stories shared by patients and helping those stories reach others who may be searching for answers of their own. He remains inspired by the Maine Naturopathic Medicine's mission and is grateful to play a part in connecting more people with the resources and support they need to pursue lasting health and well-being.