I posted on Facebook last week about some of the most insidious, hidden sources of microplastic toxicity in our day-to-day lives. From yoga pants to dryer sheets, food containers, and baskets of freshly laundered bedding.
There was a reply to my post that especially made my heart sing. It was from one of my own clients, one I haven’t spoken with in many years. She wrote, “Oh my, I’m so glad I found you in 2011…. I learned so much from you!” Then she shared some of the specific healthy habits she’s still practicing today.
A lovely client I supported 15 years ago.
Still passionate about healthy choices.
Still owning her health with a commitment to non-toxic choices.
Still thriving!
She didn’t just “get well” years ago. She’s stayed well.
This is the ultimate goal of well applied Functional Medicine.
To change the long-term trajectory of a person’s health!
I am proud of the rich science our team teaches at SAFM. But I am even more passionate about the practical, essential clinical skills we teach practitioners.
Too much of Functional Medicine clinical practice today still focuses on directive, compliance, and symptom relief. An approach that can lead to short-term results that are, unfortunately, often followed by middle-term stagnation and a long-term return to disease. We can do better.
If we want to durably and sustainably effect change in a person’s vitality, we must work differently – As true partners with our clients.
As I shared in my post, it’s not enough to “tell” people that plastics or polyester is an “issue”. Headlines and factoids and edicts seldom change lives, at least not for long.
Effective client education must do much More than Telling. We must teach them the details of how their body works, using simple stories and analogies they can thoroughly understand.
We must Show clients, memorably, what lurks in their everyday “normal” choices, promoting disease. We must Inspire them with success stories and accountability to the truth that both step-by-step improvement and the tenacity to keep going matter.
We also need to Empower each client with viable, accessible alternatives that will work with their unique lifestyle.
This is Health Care. The kind that lasts.
And with that, I’m excited to welcome you to The Functional Lens, our newly reimagined SAFM newsletter.
We created The Functional Lens to bring you more of what I believe makes this field so powerful: perspectives that challenge the way we think, clinical insights that deepen our understanding, and practical resources that help us continue growing as practitioners.
In each edition, you’ll hear perspectives from practitioners within our community, explore clinical topics, and discover opportunities to keep learning and building your clinical confidence.
My hope is that The Functional Lens becomes something you genuinely look forward to opening, something that sparks curiosity, strengthens your thinking, and gives you ideas you can carry into your work.
Welcome to The Functional Lens. I’m so glad you’re here.
