Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is an approach to healthcare that focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of disease, rather than just treating symptoms. It is a patient-centered, science-based practice that looks at the whole person—considering genetics, environment, lifestyle, and biochemical imbalances. Functional medicine aims to restore optimal functioning of the body by understanding the interactions between genetics, environment, and lifestyle factors.

Practitioners of functional medicine use a combination of traditional medical tools and integrative therapies, such as nutrition, exercise, stress management, and supplementation, to create personalized treatment plans. Functional medicine also can rely more on specialized testing completed by functional laboratories to inform the plan. The goal is to promote long-term health and prevent chronic illness by optimizing the body’s inherent healing abilities.

Individuals practicing functional medicine may have some training in functional medicine or are possibly certified in functional medicine. Functional medicine practitioners may also have varied backgrounds. The professions that qualify for training at the Institute for Functional Medicine, for example, include:

• Acupuncturist (LAc) 

• Dentist (DDS/DMD) 

• Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) 

• Doctor of Naprapathy (DN) 

• Doctor of Optometry (OD) 

• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) 

• Mental Health Professionals (e.g., psychologist, LCSW, LPC, LMFT) 

• Nutrition Professionals (e.g., CNS, RD, NT) 

• Occupational Therapist (OT) 

• Pharmacist (RPh/PharmD) 

• Physical Therapist (PT) 

• Registered Nurse (RN) 

• Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) 

Disclaimer: This definition was created with help from ChatGPT. It was thoroughly reviewed and edited by myself prior to publishing