How do I find a good functional medicine practitioner near me?
Start by seeking practitioners with formal functional medicine training and vetted certifications. The highest standard of care emphasizes holistic, integrative, and personalized care, focusing on lifestyle-based interventions over drugs and surgery alone. The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) is widely regarded as the gold standard and a reliable place to begin your search.
Functional medicine is gaining popularity, but standardized training and clinical approach matter. Choosing the right practitioner can mean the difference between true root-cause care and a “green pharmacy” model that simply swaps medications for supplements or relies on single tools without a base in functional medicine philosophy.
Practitioners who follow the highest standards in this field share a few key qualities:
1. Formal Training and Certification
The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) is widely regarded as the gold standard for practitioner training, but other respected programs also maintain high standards. The Kalish Institute of Functional Medicine, and Functional Medicine University (FMU) all offer advanced training in systems biology, nutrition, and personalized care. Whatever the program, look for practitioners with formal, evidence-based functional medicine training and clinical experience, you can use the IFM “find a practitioner” directory as a reliable starting point to verify credentials.
2. Whole-Systems, Personalized Care
High-quality functional medicine goes beyond managing symptoms. A good practitioner will connect the dots between functional body systems rather than treating each in isolation.
3. Lifestyle-Based Interventions First
The best care prioritizes nutrition, stress management, sleep, and movement as first-line therapies when applicable. While supplements or medications can play a role, they are often used to support, not replace, foundational lifestyle changes.
4. Clear Philosophy and Communication
A trustworthy provider should explain their framework for care. If you’d like an example of what this looks like in practice, you can read my personal functional medicine philosophy.
If you’re tired of being told “everything looks normal” when you feel far from your best, working with a practitioner trained to look deeper can help uncover what’s been missed. Dr. Kenny combines IFM certification with dual doctoral training to provide personalized, whole-body care.
Ready to explore whether functional medicine is right for you?
Answered by Dr. Kenny Mittelstadt, DACM, DC, IFMCP
Certified functional medicine practitioner specializing in advanced lab testing and personalized healing protocols to uncover root causes of health roadblocks.