Unlike conventional, mainstream medicine which only manages negative health symptoms, Integrative Medicine looks at the patient ‘holistically’, as true health or wellness can only be achieved with this approach, by addressing the ‘root causes’ of the health issues. It uses an evidence-based approach to treat the whole person involving your mind, body, and soul.
Going much deeper than what conventional mainstream medicine offers, this will be an enlightening journey, you will learn many things along the way that will inspire you, and change the way at how you look at health – many health issues can be fixed!
Our Integrative Medicine Doctors, Dr Anna Forbes, and Dr Sheila Richards have extensive experience working with a wide range of issues including but not limited to gut health, immune response, hormonal imbalances, nutrition, and the mind-body connection, all of which can significantly impact your health. We use advanced Functional Medicine tests, and treatment strategies to rapidly discover and address physiological imbalances.
Integrative Medicine is person-centred, balancing advanced specialised testing with empirical findings based on your feedback and experience. We’ll utilise data and testing to inform and guide us, but your personal journey will remain at the forefront of our approach. We’re guided by the knowledge that the body can repair and heal if given the right conditions, and we aim to equip you with the tools to achieve lasting health and wellbeing.
We aim to bring you back to optimal health and wellbeing by using an integrative medicine approach. This involves assessing, identifying and resolving the root cause of your health concerns.
Patients engage with our Integrative Medicine Health service for a variety of reasons. Some are living with pain, chronic illness, or unexplained symptoms that conventional medicine has dismissed. Others are seeking the reassurance of an actionable Integrative Medicine Health Plan, or tailored advice about which complementary therapies and treatments might be most beneficial.
We encourage you to engage with the service that feels right but we recommend an Integrative Health Assessment if you’re struggling with a chronic health condition.
Our Integrative Medicine Doctors, Dr Anna Forbes, and Dr Sheila Richards have a wealth of experience working with a diverse range of conditions from autoimmune diseases, diabetes, allergies, gastrointestinal disorders to thyroid imbalances. They can create a tailored Integrative Medicine Health Plan that leverages the expertise across our specialist practitioners to best support you.
An Integrative Health Assessment differs from the conventional health assessments you may have experienced in the past. Although we do work with physiological markers in the body, like blood results, you won’t receive a hands-on ‘physical’ at your Health Assessment. Instead, we’ll focus on the fundamentals starting with your health concerns, your medical history, and the experiences that have brought you to us alongside interpreting the results of any testing we’ve recommended before your consult.
Following this, we’ll explore potential contributing factors such as nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, social-emotional wellbeing, mind-body factors and more.
Finally we’ll assess factors like environment (potential exposure to contaminants or toxicity), genetics, immune response, gut-health, and hormonal balance to understand whether specialised investigative testing is recommended.
We don’t diagnose or prescribe medications. Instead, we’ll focus on long-term solutions that support your body’s internal healing mechanisms.
We utilise a range of specialised functional medicine testing with trusted partners to support our investigations and deepen our understanding of the factors impacting your health. These can include:
You’ll receive an Integrative Medicine Health Plan within a week of your assessment including any details about further investigative testing. We may suggest treatment or testing and interpretation with another practitioner with a certain specialism if beneficial. Our recommendations are always optional and we’ll work with you to find a solution that feels right for you and suits your budget. We can also work empirically based on your feedback and experience if you’d prefer not to undergo testing. Your voice will be front and centre throughout your journey; the Integrative Medicine Journey is inherently collaborative.
If you’re ready to implement real changes to improve your health and wellbeing then our Integrative Health Assessment Service is for you.
We understand that cost can be a concern when seeking private alternative healthcare. The Baseline Blood Test is recommended for all patients before an Integrative Health Assessment, but we can also work empirically with your symptoms, and experiences if you’d prefer.
We recommend an in-person Initial Consultation if possible, but if not a video consultation will suffice.
For the initial consultations you can choose either to be in-person at the Hale Clinic in London, or have a virtual (Zoom) video call appointment instead.
We’ve created the IM Support Programme for those who want the benefit of structured multi-disciplinary support and additional guidance as they work towards achieving their health goals. Led by your Integrative Medicine Doctor, and delivered by our Functional Nutritional Therapist, Marie Cherrett, you’ll receive additional support to implement your health plan, and fortnightly check-ins to help keep you on track.
