I walk with people at the edges of change, where new ways of living begin.
About Dr. Jacquelyn Paykel
Dr. Jacquelyn Paykel is a board-certified OB/GYN and integrative medicine physician whose work now focuses on Whole Health and human-centered care. Her professional practice centers on supporting midlife women navigating periods of transition — when physical symptoms, identity shifts, or changes in work and relationships signal that previous ways of living no longer fit.
Her approach integrates clinical expertise with evidence-based Whole Health strategies that address the body and mind alongside meaning, purpose, relationships, and environment. Rather than emphasizing quick solutions, Dr. Paykel helps women orient themselves within change, restore clarity, and take practical steps toward health that is sustainable, grounded, and personally meaningful.
In addition to her work with women, Dr. Paykel is deeply engaged in medical education and systems transformation. She serves as Assistant Dean of Whole Health at the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, where she helps shape the education of future physicians through whole-person, human-centered approaches to care, professional formation, and well-being.
She is also the founder of S.H.E. Medical, a Whole Health practice and consulting group that supports women, clinicians, and healthcare organizations as they navigate change with presence, dignity, and integrity. Across all of her work, Dr. Paykel is guided by a commitment to care that honors the full human experience and meets people thoughtfully where they are.
For over two decades, I’ve walked alongside women through their most defining health moments — from the first flutter of pregnancy to the wisdom and strength of midlife and into their elder years.
Early in my career, learning presence at the beginning of life.
For years, my work unfolded in rooms where time seemed to slow — spaces where listening mattered more than speaking, and presence mattered more than certainty.
In those moments surrounding birth, I learned how little control we truly have, and how much care can be offered simply by staying. Holding new life in my hands, I often found myself wondering not about outcomes, but about beginnings: Who are you? Why have you arrived now? What will you grow into?
I came to understand that the same attentiveness was required at the other end of life. Sitting with women as they approached their final days, listening to their stories and holding their hands, I witnessed how meaning is shaped not by how long we live, but by how fully we inhabit each season we are given.
Across these thresholds, I learned that healing is rarely about fixing. It is about honoring what is present — joy and fear, hope and grief — often held in the same breath. My patients taught me how to remain steady in uncertainty, and how to trust what can emerge when we do not rush the moment.
Those lessons continue to guide my work today, as I walk with women through the equally profound transitions of midlife — with the same care, presence, and respect.
I remain grateful for the privilege of asking, again and again:
It’s your turn — who and what will you become?
Dr. Paykel, Thank you - I owe you more than you will ever know.
— M.H.
Today, Dr. Paykel brings the same depth of presence she cultivated at the bedside into her work beyond the exam room. She works with women seeking a Whole Health approach that blends science, compassion, and the deeper dimensions of human flourishing, particularly during seasons of transition when familiar ways of living and working no longer fit.
In addition to her work with women, Dr. Paykel mentors clinicians navigating their own growth and renewal, supporting them in sustaining purpose, connection, and integrity within demanding professional environments.
At a systems level, she partners with healthcare organizations and academic institutions committed to transforming cultures of care through Human-Centered HealthCare (HCHC)—an approach that integrates Whole Health principles, human-centered design, and scientific inquiry to support care that is relational, responsive, and grounded in the full human experience.
How This Work Lives Today