Our Story
The Story of Thrive
Amber’s inspiration to open a wellness center in Northeastern Pennsylvania came from her graduating students asking where they should work. Amber realized there was a great need for a holistic healing wellness center in the area. Thrive’s doors opened November 17th, 2011 with the support of an incredible team of staff and practitioners. Thrive actively served and supported the community until October of 2020, when the brick and mortar location closed due to the pandemic. Thrive has now converted to an online platform making it possible to support individuals with all types of wellness needs around the world.
Amber’s Journey to Healing
Amber’s experience with holistic medicine began at the age of 5 when she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, an Auto-Immune disease that causes the immune system to attack the soft tissues within the joints. After being in and out of hospitals for two years, her mother had given up hope as she watched Amber’s condition deteriorate to the point that she was relying on a wheelchair to try and maintain a normal lifestyle. At the age of 7, a friend of the family suggested she be taken to see Dr. Sylvester DeVaux, a Naturopath who would change the course of her life forever.
Dr. Devaux would travel to the United States a few times a year from Saint Lucia to help those seeking holistic and alternative therapies. Dr. DeVaux had 2 visits with Amber and made recommendations using modalities such as Iridology and Nutritional Muscle Response Testing (both offered through Thrive). Within three weeks of starting nutritional changes and supplementation, her symptoms began to subside and she started on a path which led to a full recovery. Through working with Dr. DeVaux, Amber learned the lessons of persistence, dedication and belief in the body’s innate wisdom as well as the healing power of nutrition and supplementation.
The process took several years but Amber was completely cleared of Rheumatoid Arthritis by the time she reached her teens. Dr. DeVaux and his practices of holistic and natural ways of living became Amber’s life long inspiration and when a dear friend fell ill with Cancer in the Spring of 2002, Amber decided to pursue her certifications in Holistic Health Care and Holistic Nutrition to offer support. During this time she was working as a research associate for a biotech company in Washington D.C. and for many years continued her education and training in supplements and nutrition, using the knowledge she learned only to help friends and family.
In 2009, Amber was invited by Dr. Victoria Goldsten, Founder of The Washington Institute of Natural Medicine in Washington D.C., to begin teaching for the Institute and she began seeing clients professionally in Pennsylvania.
Message from Amber
Holistic medicine saved my life. I can say this with full confidence, because the path I was on was not a good one. Most people who are my age (now 47 as of 2025) who was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 5, have had multiple joint replacement surgeries. They have suffered with a lifetime of pain, multiple comorbidities, and have been on medications their whole life.
Because of holistic medicine, I have lived a life free from chronic physical pain and disease. It also has offered me many gifts, such as a greater awareness of my body, and an unshakable faith in the power of the body to heal itself when given the right tools.
Starting at the age of 5, I began to feel very sick. I remember the very first day I woke up with pain. Every part of my body ached. Normally I could just run down the stairs, this day, I had to sit on my butt and slowly lower myself down each stair. Now looking back, I see that I felt like an old person who’s body was stiff after a long day of work. It is odd to remember being 5, and having my body feel like I feel in my 40’s two days after a super intense workout.
Within a few months of starting holistic protocols, my body changed, my pain went away, and I learned that everything I put into my body affects how it responds. Its always a choice, every day. I learned that when you are sick, you MUST be mindful of every choice. And when you are well, you must live in awareness to maintain balance in your health.
I welcome you to come on this journey with me to achieving greater wellness in your life! Let me help you learn the ways of living, what supplements to take, what foods to eat, and what to pay attention to in order to support your body in restoring health and balance.
With love and gratitude,
Amber
Media
Articles & Blogs
Manifesting Intentions Through Awareness
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Holistic Healing Through Self Love
When I was in my 20s, I remember always hearing the expression “love yourself”, “self love”, or “self love is so important”. I never truly understood what that exactly meant. I attempted to love myself through gifts, acts of...
GalleryTo see more of Emma Evertt's work see Capturing the Electic
