Meet Our Team in Bozeman, MT - Great Turning Healing Center

Susannah Freeman, LAc

Susannah Freeman, LAc, MAcOM, Dipl. Ac NCCAOM

Training and Licensure

Susannah began her training in natural medicine in her teens with the study of nutrition. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Environmental Studies, she taught ecology in the National Parks. She continued her study of nutrition, massage therapy, yoga and meditation. In 1994, she completed her Masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. She has been a Nationally Certified and State Licensed Acupuncturist for 25 years, each year deepening her knowledge and experience with continuing education and clinical experience.

About Susannah

My story is an ordinary one. I see many of our patients experiencing different versions of it every day in our clinic. It is the story of a healthy childhood with enough food, education, medical care and opportunity, but a nagging sense of dis-ease. There was no reason for me to be feeling unwell. In spite of a healthy diet and lifestyle, I experienced years of pain and fatigue, living a full life, but wondering why it was so difficult. My doctors told me my lab tests looked great, that I was healthy. They were able to treat my specific illness and injury, but no one looked at the root cause of my symptoms. I kept asking, “if I am healthy, why do I not feel better?”Eventually, I did find solutions and am so glad to have a tool kit for my health and wellbeing. It would be convenient to say it was “this” diet or “that” supplement that “cured” me. In reality it was a journey of body, mind and heart. The solutions lay in an integrative approach: visits with skilled professionals, extensive lab work, and persistent attention to my health with acupuncture, herbal medicine, diet changes, meditation and exercise.. Once I was able to identify and treat the root cause, my quality of life returned. Now, when I get sick and injured, I know how to regain my health and wellbeing. I enjoy a deep gratitude for this path and the opportunity to serve our community.

It is my great pleasure and honor to share these tools with you.

Breana McElgunn, ND

Medical Director

Great Turning consults with Dr. Breana McElgunn who is a licensed, family-practice physician in a private practice in Bozeman, Montana. Dr. McElgunn provides naturopathic medical services for the entire family: women, men, and children with a principle focus on women’s health issues. She also treats patients individuals with a variety of acute and chronic complaints providing physical, mental, emotional and preventative medicine.

Dr. McElgunn’s expertise and experience provide a valuable service with expanded additional knowledge to our acupuncture practice.

Her private practice is Gallatin Valley Natural Medicine.

Dawn C. Davaz, Health Coach

Training and Licensure

Dawn has a rich history in health and wellness. A graduate of Montana State University, Dawn achieved her Bachelor’s Degree in Food and Nutrition with a concentration in Dietetics in May of 2020. After working in clinical settings as well as public food service, Dawn chose to continue her education in wellness with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. As a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Dawn works with clients to improve health and quality of life. She provides strategies that are specific and applicable to her client’s life and goals, implementing these changes over a series of weekly sessions. Making improvements and positive change is a cyclical process, and Dawn brings in engaging and creative strategies to keep her clients moving forward toward the best version of themselves. In October of 2023, Dawn expanded her work to Hungry Heart Quests, where she offers coaching in conjunction with outdoor adventure experiences. With Hungry Heart Quests, Dawn uses outdoor experience and community to help solidify and amplify a person’s strengths, so they may rely on these to improve their everyday life. Dawn believes experience in the outdoors can be eye opening and empowering in a way that we can take home with us to continue progress in the direction of positive change, not to mention the positive effects of nature experiences on fitness, anxiety, and mental and emotional health!

For more information about Dawn and Hungry Heart Quests, visit her website.

Jack T. G. Schwem, LAc

Training and Licensure

I moved with Dawn to Minneapolis to attend Northwestern Health Sciences University from which I graduated with a Masters of Acupuncture in 2022. I chose Northwestern because of the integrative focus and had the excellent opportunity to work in integrated student clinics where patients got to see a team of practitioners all working together to help them heal. I look forward to expanding my network of clinicians and perpetuating the lessons learned in these integrative clinics.

I feel profoundly honored to be practicing this potent and subtle medicine. As an acupuncturist I have helped people’s easy breathing come back after bounds of long covid, seen people make strides towards health after traumatic brain injuries, got people back to favorite activities. Practicing acupuncture continues to be a journey filled with all the joy of learning how human bodies work with the added wonder of seeing those bodies work better week after week.

About Jack

I became fascinated with medicine as a sophomore in highschool helping my mother study for nursing school. Working through flashcard stacks of muscles and bones, pouring over diagrams of kidney physiology, I was enchanted by the intricate beauty of the body. I decided I was going to be a Doctor and set about learning all I could about medicine, taking any relevant classes in highschool, self-studying books, and before long, studying pre-med in university. As I made my way through pre-med I started to feel dissatisfied that the system I was dedicating my life to had little to no room for the craniosacral, qi gong, or herbalism that made up most of my own experiences with effective wellness.I took some time off of school in search of a new heading. I dedicated months to finding an alternative for my healing profession that included breadth and depth of care for peoples’ health, and the practices I found most impactful in my own life. I interviewed naturopaths and psychologists, and shadowed chiropractors and craniosacral practitioners. In the two days following Susannah here at Great Turning, I saw things that my biology-focused brain found inconceivable. Acupuncture was certainly the most astonishing and intriguing path for my way forward. I proceeded to apply to schools and self-study Chinese Medicine while choosing which school to attend.

Luna

Luna is our dog therapy, a hypoallergenic golden doodle. She takes her role as “greeter” seriously. If you prefer not to be greeted by a dog, please let us know.

Meet Our Team

Susannah Freeman, LAc

Breana McElgunn, ND

Dawn C. Davaz, Health Coach

Jack T. G. Schwem, LAc

Luna

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