Functional medicine

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield · Jeffrey Bland, Susan Bland, David Scott Jones · 1990

What it is

IFM describes functional medicine as a "comprehensive, systems-based approach" aimed at the "root causes of disease" and at restoring healthy function, personalised by looking at genetic, nutritional, environmental and lifestyle factors. Cleveland Clinic frames its version as a holistic,…

Format

• Implementation and follow-up: coaching, groups, re-review of tests; Cleveland Clinic schedules a follow-up roughly 8–12 weeks after the first visit and runs group programmes over several weeks or months.
• Phase A, Awareness (first sessions and at review points): routine, non-judgemental asking; recording what the client uses, who provides it, costs and whether their doctor knows. Move on once use is known and recorded.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Origins. IFM was founded in 1991 by Susan and Jeffrey Bland; Jeffrey Bland is a biochemist (PhD) whom IFM credits with developing the concept, and IFM also lists David Scott Jones, MD, as a co-founder. IFM dates the concept to 1990, its first symposium to 1993, its foundational course (Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice, AFMCP) to 1998, its first certified practitioners to 2013, and its collaboration…
• Who practises it. IFM states that functional medicine depends on conventional licensure: certified practitioners "incorporate functional medicine solely into their existing practice", and IFM certification "does not grant any additional specialty or legal status". Practitioners therefore range across licensed professions (physicians, nurse practitioners and others per IFM eligibility rules), and the title…
• Regulatory status (one line each).

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Advertising (UK): health-therapy marketing needs objective (usually clinical-trial) evidence for efficacy claims and must not discourage essential medical treatment (CAP Code rules 12.1 and 12.2).

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• shame or fear of retaliation; loss of savings. Working when: the client has used the route they chose.
• you being positioned as the plan's enforcer; guilt and perfectionism. Working when: the client relates to lifestyle change flexibly.
• pressure to take sides; your own enthusiasm or scepticism leaking into the work. Working when: the client experiences you as neutral and safe.
• therapy becoming another arena for checking; the client feeling dismissed. Working when: the worry cycle loosens and medical decisions are planned.
• secrecy, weight loss, isolation, rising costs, a child missing medical appointments. Working when: risks are named, shared with the right professionals and reviewed.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.