What is Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine is a patient-centered approach to healthcare that aims to identify and address the root causes of disease by looking at the body as one integrated system, treating that system as a whole and not just masking symptoms by prescribing more medicine. By addressing root cause, rather than symptoms, practitioners become oriented to identifying the complexity of disease. They may find one condition has many different causes and one cause may result in many different conditions. As a result, Functional Medicine targets the specific manifestations of disease in each individual.
Through assessment of these underlying causes and triggers of dysfunction, the functional medicine practitioner is able to understand how key processes are affected. These are the body’s processes that keep you alive. Some occur at the cellular level and involve how cells function, repair, and maintain themselves.
Functional medicine expands the clinician’s toolkit while working hand in hand with their patients. Treatments may include therapeutic dietary changes, botanical medicines, nutritional supplements or detoxification programs. They may also include counseling on lifestyle, exercise, sleep optimization or stress-management techniques.
Functional Medicine is Guided by 6 Core Principles
1. An understanding of the biochemical individuality of each human being, based on the concepts of genetic and environmental uniqueness;
2. Awareness of the evidence that supports a patient-centered rather than a disease-centered approach to treatment;
3. Search for a dynamic balance among the internal and external body, mind, and spirit;
4. Interconnections of internal physiological factors;
5. Identification of health as a positive vitality, not merely the absence of disease, and emphasizing those factors that encourage the enhancement of a vigorous physiology;
6. Promotion of organ reserve as the means to enhance the health span, not just the life-span, of each patient.
Our Integrative and Functional Medicine Approach
Dr. Dersam has watched over the years as our society has experienced a sharp increase in the number of people who suffer from complex, chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental illness, and autoimmune disorders. She understands how traditional western medicine can often leave sick patients in an endless cycle of prescription drugs where patients remain sick and looking for answers to their issues. This is why Dr. Dersam has created an environment where her patients are heard, healed and empowered to change.
Through cutting-edge lab testing and a deep review of your medical history, Dr. Dersam will be looking for underlining triggers that are contributing to your illness and work with each patient to customize a treatment plan. Dr. Dersam takes the time to listen to her patients’ health story. She then seeks to discover interactions between genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that can influence disease.
Dr. Dersam’s diverse medical background in traditional Allopathic Medicine combined with training in Integrative and Functional Medicine sets her practice apart and is uniquely set up to handle the most difficult health issues. She uses a team approach as part of the healing processes, offering her patients access to dietitians, health coaching, acupuncture and more.
Call our office today to set up your new patient appointment and start your journey to better healthy!