We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Justine Bellefeuille a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Justine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?
I went to San Marcos High School and graduated in 2007. I was the first class to get through the Health Academy here. My chiropractic journey and love for human anatomy and biomechanics came out of this program! I went into this program as a junior and quickly felt at home in the health and wellness field. It all started with the idea that I loved athletics of all kinds and helping people so I thought the best way for me to stay connected to these things was going to be through physical therapy. So when it came time to pick an internship to get some hands on time and experience I found a PT clinic here in SB and started my 6 week requirement. Swiftly I found this was more of a job than a career for me. At the time PT was a masters at the highest level and you needed referrals to see patients. Care plans were dictated by insurance policies which had so many limits. The fact that you were not able to work with patients longer than 4-12 weeks (as their referral indicated) also felt terrible! I realized the relationships that you build and hopefully maintain really mattered to me. I was devasted. All my dreams felt like they were crumbling before me and that I no longer had a clear path forward-as many juniors in high school feel. I am so grateful to have had Rick Ceriale for a teacher at this time. I will never forget the day I broke down with all my classmates eagerly sharing their exciting passions being brough to light at their internships, I felt lost. Discouraged. Mr. Ceriale was so calm and understanding. He asked me questions about what brought me this direction? What made me think PT? What didn’t feel right when I was there? All of these non-judgy questions let me see what I needed from a career. At the end of a watery, weepy conversation, he asked me if I had thought about chiropractic. WOW! Mind blowing moment with everything falling into place with just the thought. That was the beginning of my future. Internships are crucial for anyone considering a new or different career. You don’t know if you really will like it, until you walk it for a little bit. I encourage everyone to even spend a half day shadowing a work environment or position BEFORE investing in whatever education or degree you would require to do it. Ask hard questions, observe if they seem happy, is the job interesting and the environment or company not a perfect fit? Sometime the greatest gift is knowing what you don’t want! It can help you narrow down the things you do…
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My journey to Chiropractic started at SMHS and I shared in the last question…I went on from that experience to undergrad at California Lutheran University where I got a degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine with an emphasis in Human Performance and then went to Life Chiropractic College West for my Doctorate of Chiropractic. I graduated in December of 2015 and moved back to my home town of SB! I opened my practice, Goodland Chiropractic in June of 2016. I chose to specialize in the Gonstead Method of Chiropractic which is a highly specific technique, designed to get to the root cause of the problem. It utilized a 6 part comprehensive exam that includes a full spine x-ray and uses a nervoscope to find vertebral subluxations. As a doctor of the nervous system, it is my job to find where the body is not staying connected to the brain and restore the connection through moving bones into alignment and removing nerve pressure. There are 3 main categories that cause this dysfunction and create patterns of misalignment in to body. They are Thoughts, Toxins and Trauma. Over the years I have continued to add other modalities that I found supportive of these 3 areas of health and wellness. My dream in practice was to create a place where everyone can get the help they need without the egos of practitioners. I needed a team of specialists that were all willing to put patients first and create individualized treatment(s) that were the most beneficial for that patient. That we would be continuously modifying/updating the plans as patients progressed through care. That means we recommend what serves that patient, not what keeps them in our modality only…We have created this space and we have started growing our teammates! I started with one hospitality teammate initially and now have 4 massage therapists, 1 hospitality team member, 1 office manager and medical biller, 1 Energy worker. We are seeking a second chiropractor and a physical therapist to joint us!
Our offerings include:
-Gonstead Chiropractic Care
-Myofascial Release Therapy using the Tom Meyers Method
-Massage offerings: Swedish, Deep tissue, Lymphatic, Pregnancy, Lomi-Lomi, Thai, Acupressure, Craniosacral, Trigger Point, Facial, Orthopedic (Jaw and Hip), Reflexology, Raindrop
-Functional Movement Training: Rehab/Prehab/Strength, retraining gait and other body mechanics required for daily life
-Ionic Detoxing Foot Soaks: remove toxins and inflammation from the body
-Ear Candling
-Reiki and Energy work including spiritual counseling
-Advising and Mentorship for Health, Wellness, Business, Personal Development, Goal Setting
Our Core Values are felt and seen by everyone who find our clinic! They are:
-Committed to Results
-Meet Patients Where They Are
-Active Listening
-Family Culture
-Authenticity
-Knowledge is Meant to be Shared
-Be of Service
These values are just some of the things that separate us from other healthcare facilities. I am beyond proud of what we have accomplished in this first decade of practice. I cannot wait to see how many lives we can change in the next one!
Other group offerings:
-75 minute Reiki/Sound bath healings
-Energy Shielding Workshop
-Beginners Crystal Workshop
-Tarot and Oracle Workshop
Witches & Brews Night Market-Collaboration with Goodland Chiropractic and Centennial Beer Hall (Fun community event with food vendors, music and more!)
Have you ever had to pivot?
My first office space was located in Goleta and after 6 years of practice we had outgrown the space and needed to find an office to accommodate our growth and need for our own x-ray unit. After so much stress and hunting for the perfect space we made the plunge and started the remodel/move and x-ray install. After 3 months in our new clinic, an AC repair went wrong and flooded the entire office!! We not only had to deal with the water damage and start the repairs/remodel over again, we didn’t have a space to do work for almost 3 months. My insurance carrier read my policy wrong and didn’t cover any up front expenses/repairs or cover my employees lack of hours, all my monthly bills continued to come through and I had to pivot ASAP! I reached out to two other chiropractic clinics and a private massage therapist and made separate arrangements to work part time at all three places. This was one of several major pivots I have had to make in practice so far. Finding a way and doubling down on all the details and communication. This season of hardship led to a big staff turn over and the creation of our Core Values.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I love tools! This is where I could spend hours…sharing support tools with other, we don’t need to reinvent every wheel…learn from those who have already gone through it.
-One minute Manager
-Traction and What The Heck is EOS?
-Unreasonable Hospitality
-Success Principles which became DreamDocX
-Beth McDonald: Business Psychic Astrologer
-Beyond Ordinary Business by Claudia Cordova Papa
-Gonstead Clinical Studies Society
-Gonstead Seminars
-Webster Training
-Dr. Werkings Extremities Certifications and books
-Anatomy Trains by Tom Meyers
-Green Books for chiropractic
-The Chapters by Dr. Gonstead
-Clifton Strength Finder
-Enneagram
Contact Info:
- Website: https://goodlandchiropractic.com/
- Instagram: @goodlandchiropractic
- Facebook: Goodland Chiropractic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodlandchiropractic
- Other: @wbnightmarket
