We are all given names at birth, and we spend our lives in society naming things, disitnguishing different people, principles, approaches, and practices. That process applies to medical fields. We separate pediatrics, the care of children, from other fields, like Internal Medicine (for adults) or Family Medicine (for everyone). We then go further into specialties for different body systems, like cardiologists and immunologists.
Names in Natural Medicine Also
The world of natural medicine, where we apply both conventional medicine and the science-supported natural approaches, has its own naming conventions to help you understand who is caring for you and how they will likely care for your or your child’s health. You may have heard many of these and wondered how they compare, how they are different or the same. At first glance you may think functional pediatrics, integrative pediatrics, and holistic pediatrics are three names for one approach to your children’s health. Even more confusing may be the different spellings—like ‘holistic’ versus ‘wholistic’ pediatricians.
In situations like these we want a dictionary or a trusted resource to clear up the confusion. Hopefully, this brief explanation will help you know what a provider’s title means about him, so that you can choose the best one for your situation. As I go by the title of ‘functional pediatrician, I also explain why I lean in that direction, compared to the other terms.
Wholistic & Holistic
Let’s start with holistic or wholistic pediatricians. They simply bring in an understanding of how we can help our kid patients’ bodies function as they were intended, using more natural options like diet, lifestyle, vitamins, minerals, herbs, and oils to address various symptoms that come up in daily life. The choice between holistic and wholistic comes down more to whether they focus on the natural with the ‘holistic’ or emphasize the whole person with the ‘wholistic.’ They are really nuances of the same approach, which some also call ‘naturopathic pediatrics.’ I lean towards ‘wholistic,’ but all are acceptable.
Integrative
Integrative pediatricians are trying to convey to their audience that they combine the best of both worlds. While believing in the natural options of holistic approaches, they also appreciate the utility of conventional therapy options, leaning towards a combination rather than excluding one for the other. We are technically doing this at Sanctuary when we say that we combine the best of both worlds of medicine while trimming off the parts of each which may not be the best for you.
Sanctuary’s ‘Functional’ Approach
Finally, we get to the title that best fits Sanctuary’s approach. I call myself a functional pediatrician, and our team practices functional pediatrics (in all our clinic programs) because we not only use natural therapies like the wholistic types and combine them with conventional therapies like the integrative types, but we also do our best to identify the root causes of our patients’ illnesses and symptoms so we can apply the best of both worlds of medicine at the root for long term restoration, instead of perpetually band-aiding symptoms. Thus, we just apply the good aspects of the earlier terms in a root cause method.
As a bonus, we then revisit the whole person aspect in addressing our patients as having a spiritual life and a relational life. We consider the effects of our therapies on their spiritual walk and on their relationships in family and community.
Summary
In sum: I call myself a functional pediatrician as a combination of the best aspects of all these approaches to your child’s present and future health. Your child deserves the best we can offer, so we strive to provide that in the Intensive, Semi-Intensive, and Direct Primary Care options.
Learn more about Functional Pediatrics at Sanctuary
Functional Medicine for Kids: Finding the Root Cause of Chronic Health Issues
Blogs
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Dr. Eric Potter graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School and then went on to specialize in internal medicine (adult) and pediatric care, spending significant time and effort in growing his medical understanding while caring for patients from all walks of life.
