Dr. Charisse J. Huston, a second-generation chiropractic doctor and director of the Huston Family Chiropractic and Wellness Center, in Harrisburg, for 18 years, grew up helping out at her father’s office in Wisconsin, absorbing his holistic approach to healing and living. “My father is a pioneer,” she says. “Chiropractic is so amazing because it enhances, corrects and perfects body function. I got to see people heal from conditions that clinically and medically speaking weren’t supposed to heal.”

While chiropractic work and the body’s ability to heal itself resonate with Huston, so do foreign cultures and the idea of doing international humanitarian work. Moving to Florida for her undergraduate studies, Huston explored Spanish, French and Arabic languages, as well as international business. After years of study, she couldn’t find quite the right career niche and asked God for direction. “I visited my brother who was attending chiropractic school in St. Louis, Missouri. After going to class one day, I realized, ‘I have to do this; this is what I want to do.’ I saw how powerful a chiropractic adjustment really was, and how it isn’t just about neck and back pain; it’s really about exciting the healing forces inside. So, I did a 360, traded in all my foreign language books and my sports car and enrolled in chiropractic school,” she recounts.

She graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic, in St. Louis, in 1990. Her next stop was a return to her hometown in Wisconsin, to become licensed and practice with her father and brother. Then she returned to Florida, a state she cherishes, accepted an internship and eventually set up her own practice, where she had the opportunity to work with children with challenges, including Down syndrome and spinal cord trauma. “It was hard to leave Florida, because every one of those kids meant so much to me,” Huston recalls.

A few years later, another opportunity took Huston to Harrisburg. Her experiences, both personal and professional, reinforced her faith in the body’s innate healing abilities and gave her expertise working with children, as well as women that are pregnant or face fertility issues. “I was probably planted here for good reason,” says Huston, pointing out that regular chiropractic care was not common for Pennsylvanians when she opened her practice in 1995. “I’ve got a pretty clear vision of what it takes to help people bring healing to their life. They need to become aware of how their spine is housing and protecting the nervous system that is running their whole body, and like dental care, it needs to be addressed regularly throughout their life.”

Huston explains that chemical, physical and emotional stress is what brings people out of alignment. Unaddressed misalignments, she adds, can interfere with the body’s internal communication and organic body function, cause negative thoughts and keep individuals from reaching their full potential. Therefore, regular care of the brain and spinal cord, which comprise the body’s major control mechanism, should become part of everyone’s lifestyle. “I’ve seen things heal that we are told by traditionalists are not going to heal,” states Huston. “Guiding and making available information and techniques that help people truly and easily transform their lives is the reason I do what I do,” she affirms, adding that she tries to remove barriers so that anyone that wants to change and create healing can have access to the help they need.

“The healer lives within each person. Patients hire me to help guide them back into full balance with themselves; mentally, physically, emotionally and sometimes, even spiritually,” states Huston. “Our bodies can heal from so much more than we’ve been led to believe, but our belief systems are very important. Every physical ailment is an opportunity to rise above and create new awareness and new healing.”

Huston was the co-host of a radio show on the topic of natural healing for many years, appeared as a health expert on television and radio programs and is available as a motivational speaker for public and corporate engagements. Although she resides in Harrisburg, an opportunity to serve in Belgium recently reignited Huston’s passion to connect with other cultures and to employ the languages she once spoke so fluently. In the future, she sees herself finding more opportunities to share her healing message without boundaries all over the world.

Huston Family Chiropractic and Wellness Center is located at 6100 Jonestown Rd., Ste. A., in Harrisburg. Huston opens her phone line from 11 a.m. until noon, Mondays, for free consultations. For more information and appointments, call 717-541-9668, email [email protected] or visit DrHuston.com.

Lauressa Nelson is a frequent contributor to Natural Awakenings.