In the center of Armonk, a quiet integrative health practice is drawing people who are looking not only for symptom relief, but for a deeper understanding of their health and how to embark on a path to healing. The Well Center, founded by Armonk residents Deb Ross and Michele Zipper, brings together a range of practitioners and modalities under one roof, offering services that include acupuncture, functional diagnostic nutrition, massage therapy, somatic healing, and personal training.
Ross and Zipper have created a collaborative space where people could explore different approaches to care–and feel supported in figuring out where to begin.
“We can help you find your true center and your health again,” says Ross. “We live in a modern world that is in constant motion and are inundated with information and social media. People have forgotten how to be still, quiet and intuitive with themselves. This is a safe space to recharge.”
How the Well Center Came to Be
Ross and Zipper met shortly after they both moved to Armonk from New York City. It was a shared healer–someone both had worked with independently in the city–who first introduced them. The connection was immediate.
“We instantly clicked,” Zipper recalls, “and I knew this was going to be my person here.”
In 2018, during a casual conversation at a backyard party, Zipper mentioned she was thinking about opening a wellness center. Ross responded that she had just purchased the domain name The Well Center that same day. The two looked at each other and said, “Are we doing this?” and toasted to their new venture. After a year of planning and searching for the right location, the center opened in 2019, just months before the pandemic.
The two women were intentional about building a strong working relationship. Cautious, since they were also close friends, they worked with a mentor to learn how to communicate effectively and navigate differences.
“We wanted to protect the friendship,” Ross says. “So, we spent time really understanding how to work together.”
Two Backgrounds, One Philosophy
Ross is a licensed acupuncturist and board-certified herbalist who has practiced traditional Chinese medicine for over twenty years. Her approach is rooted in addressing what she describes as the underlying causes of symptoms rather than focusing on isolated complaints.
Zipper, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition practitioner, came to health and nutrition through personal experience. Originally trained as a graphic designer, she changed careers after navigating chronic and autoimmune health challenges within her family. She went on to study Health Coaching, Applied Nutrition and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, focusing in on the labs and science behind everything.
“I wanted to understand what was driving symptoms, not just how to manage them,” Zipper explains.
Though their professional paths differ, the two share a similar lens. Both describe health as an interconnected system and see diagnoses as useful descriptors–but not the end of the conversation.
“A diagnosis tells you what is happening,” Zipper says. “It doesn’t always explain why. What is the toxicity in your body? What’s in your gut? What is your endocrine system saying? We explore these things and create a recommended treatment plan.”
Pain as a Starting Point
Many people come to the Well Center seeking relief from pain, fatigue, anxiety, or other chronic concerns. According to Ross and Zipper, those symptoms are important–but they are often just the beginning. From their perspective, discomfort can have multiple contributing factors–physical, biochemical, emotional, and lifestyle-related.
“Pain is just the beginning of information,” Ross says. “It’s how the body gets your attention. Pain is often easier to focus on than feelings, but it can point to much more than what hurts.”
Clients describe this approach as attentive and individualized. Ali W., who receives acupuncture at the center, says Ross “is an outstanding practitioner who knows exactly what your body needs that day…I feel so grateful I have a center I can rely on for my mind, body and soul.”
An Integrative, Complementary Model
From the outset, Ross and Zipper were clear that the Well Center was not intended to replace conventional medical care. Instead, they describe their work as complementary.
“There’s no ego here and we know our limitations,” Zipper says. “This is not about replacing doctors.”
They regularly encourage clients to continue working with physicians and specialists and make referrals when something falls outside their scope.
Their philosophy centers on the idea of “and”–acupuncture and physical therapy, nutrition support and medication when needed, lifestyle changes alongside conventional treatment. The aim, they say, is to help people feel stronger, better supported and more informed as they navigate their care.
Rachel V., a working parent, described her experience with Zipper as thorough and collaborative. “[She] took the time to really dig in – ordering bloodwork and running key tests to get at the root cause – while also recommending a personalized mix of eastern and western practices. Her approach has been both holistic and practical!”
A Curated Team and a Guided Entry Point
The Well Center is home to a small group of practitioners, each with an established practice and a specific area of focus. Zipper and Ross emphasize that everyone who works there has been carefully vetted and is someone they have used themselves or on their family members. They have full confidence in the skill of their wellness experts, whether it’s Dr. Zev, who offers holistic chiropractic care; somatic healer Anu Abraham; massage therapist Donna Lynn; personal trainer Brett Landy; or any of their talented team members.
For new clients, the process often begins with a free 30-minute consultation, designed to help determine the most appropriate starting point.
“We don’t want people to feel overwhelmed,” Ross says. “Starting is usually the hardest part.”
They are upfront about the fact that healing is rarely linear. Lab work takes time. Progress often happens in layers. Education and personal engagement are central to the process.
“You have to participate in your own healing and do the work,” Ross explains. “We can guide you, but you’re not a bystander. You may have to change your mindset if you have normalized feeling crappy. You shouldn’t have to feel that way and you have permission to feel your best.”
Becoming a Community Resource
Since opening, the Well Center has become a familiar presence in the Armonk community. Zipper and Ross describe frequent calls and walk-ins from people seeking referrals or guidance.
“We want to be helpful,” Zipper says. “Even if that means pointing someone elsewhere.”
That trust is reflected in how clients describe the space. One such client is Brian H. who says Zipper “changed my life with her testing, counseling and dietary recommendations” and Ross “has also transformed my wellness through her incredible acupuncture treatments that are truly heaven on earth.”
Trust, along with education, excellence, and community, form the foundation of the Well Center’s guiding principles. The founders have recently expanded their educational efforts through a podcast focused on self-advocacy and helping people ask better questions about their health.
An Invitation to Listen
Zipper and Ross emphasize that openness–not certainty–is the starting point.
“There’s very little risk in exploring something like acupuncture,” Ross says.
At its core, the Well Center offers an invitation: to slow down, to pay attention, and to consider pain not as a failure, but as information. The Well Center is a place that gives its clients permission to breathe and to feel their best.
“The body already has the capacity to heal,” Ross says. “Sometimes it just needs support–and space–to do that.”
The Well Center is located at 430 Bedford Road, Suite 203 in Armonk. For more information, check out their website at www.thewellcenter.com
This magazine issue is dedicated to health and fitness. Along with a new year comes all sorts of resolutions to eat better, drink less alcohol, workout more, etc., but, in order to live a quality life, focusing on our mental health and emotional wellbeing can be transformational.
Suicide, whether successful or unsuccessful, is a heart-wrenching experience. As a family, our road to recovery was long and challenging and remnants of my actions linger. Yet, out of the trauma, some life lessons emerged. A year after my suicide attempt, I ended up writing a memoir, My Kind of Crazy: Living in a Bipolar World. At 13, my son contributed two chapters. I got to read about what he experienced that night. In turn, I was able to share with him my account. This collaborative writing process became therapeutic for us, and it started a journey into communication, understanding, compassion, and healing. Most of all, I’ve been blessed to receive my son’s forgiveness.
It is a good time to be an Acupuncturist. Medicare has announced that it will now provide Acupuncture as a required benefit. Although none of us would ever want to live in a world without modern medical advances, Acupuncture points to another way to view healing and now we have the research to prove it. The western viewpoint sees the body mechanistically as a series of chemical and physical reactions, Chinese medicine looks at the human condition as primarily energetic. We exist as a spiritual, emotional and lastly as a physical entity. All of the Acupuncture points heal at multiple levels. We never have to choose. We can treat it all. 
By Jodi Baretz, LCSW, CHHC