An integrative approach to help you find the root cause of disease
What is functional medicine?
Functional medicine is a personalised approach to health care that focuses on treating the underlying cause of illnesses and chronic diseases, rather than just addressing their symptoms. This is a patient-centred approach to healing that seeks to understand the underlying imbalances or dysfunctions that contribute to a person’s health problems, such as nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, or genetic predispositions.
Functional medicine is different to conventional medicine and we have a special interest in it at the Shift Clinic. Functional medicine Brisbane practitioners often use advanced diagnostic testing with patients to gather information about a patient’s health, including blood tests, stool tests, and genetic testing. This information is used to create an individualised treatment plan that addresses the specific imbalances or dysfunctions identified in the patient.
Our Brisbane Functional Medicine Clinic
Pricing
The first step to booking a functional medicine Brisbane consultation is to contact our clinic. We’re open six days a week and have an advanced functional medicine team member available each day.
An initial appointment (our Discovery and Diagnosis session) with a Shift naturopath is $260 and is 90 minutes long. In this appointment, you’ll gain some incredible insights into your current state of health, which key areas you need to work on and what you need to do to begin shifting towards better preventive health. Our wellness clinic is patient-centred and takes a holistic approach to health care. We will focus on the cause of your health problem or the health issues you want to focus on.
After your Discovery and Diagnosis session, you’ll get an initial prescription from your health practitioner which will show you what you need to take and what dietary changes you need to make right now. We have an onsite dispensary and health food shop so that you can take home what you need straightaway.
Call us on 07 3367 0337 and our wellness clinic client care team will ask you a couple of questions and guide you with your booking.
Arrival
Please arrive at least 5 minutes before your appointment time. This will ensure you are relaxed and ready for your appointment. We also offer this session as a virtual/telehealth appointment.
Before your appointment, you will receive some communication from us including a pre-appointment questionnaire about your health. To maximise the time you have with your naturopath, please make sure you complete this questionnaire before your first appointment. We will review your health history, life changes and any chronic disease before we see you and come armed with questions to help you achieve better health using natural medicine!
As part of your Discovery and Diagnosis fee, you’ll receive a 15min Pre-Appointment Discovery Call with a qualified Shift naturopath. In this call, we will ask a few questions to ensure that you have what you need to get the most out of this appointment and can answer any questions that you may have.
Treatment
On your first visit, your naturopath will take a journey through your entire health and medical history to look for the cause of your problems. By treating the cause of your health conditions you will get deep and long-lasting results – leaving you feeling better in the long run. This holistic, preventive health approach is in-depth and takes time, but focusing on your well-being and the underlying cause of your health concern should be a top priority for you.
At your initial appointment, we will explain our health and wellness membership packages and talk you through your options for ongoing treatment. Most people invest an average of $54-$95 a week in the early stages of treatment on our Shift Heal Membership – which can include access to our other services (acupuncture, massage, hypnotherapy, kinesiology etc) as well as our online Membership Hub with hundreds and videos and resources from Katherine and our private Shift Members Facebook Group.
Our Brisbane Functional Medicine Team
Naturopathy is at the heart of our functional medicine Brisbane clinic. We have two amazing integrative medicine practitioners in our Milton clinic that work collaboratively together to achieve amazing results for our clients. Brisbane naturopath, host of The Shift and author Katherine Maslen is our founder, principal naturopath and business owner – she is one of the most renowned naturopaths in Brisbane – and she works alongside Vanessa Cobern. Our naturopaths have a minimum qualification level of a four-year Bachelor’s degree and a wealth of experience in helping people with complex complaints, so you’ll be well taken care of. Combined, our naturopathic care team have over 20 years of experience!
What we treat
Functional medicine is a special interest area of health and can treat many chronic diseases, including but not limited to:
Autoimmune disease
Gut health disorders (such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease)
Hormonal imbalances (such as thyroid disorders, adrenal fatigue, and PCOS)
Chronic diseases like chronic fatigue syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Food intolerance management and food allergies
Cardiovascular disease
Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
Mood disorders (such as anxiety and depression)
Neurological disorders (such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis)
Skin conditions (such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne)
Chronic pain
Insomnia and sleep disorders
Chronic infections (such as Lyme disease and chronic viral infections)
Environmental toxicity
Our particular functional medicine specialities are:
Autoimmune disorders
Chronic fatigue
Intolerance management for allergies and food intolerances
Gut health
Low energy
Low mood
Women’s health: menopause and perimenopause, PCOS, endometriosis, reproductive issues including fertility
Types of Functional Medicine Treatment
Functional medicine treatment uses an evidence-based approach that varies depending on the individual patient’s health needs and concerns. However, here are some common types of treatments:
Herbal and nutritional supplements: Your functional medicine practitioner may recommend specific herbs and nutritional supplements to support the body’s natural healing process by repleting nutrient deficiencies, supporting detoxification, circulation, immunity and hormonal balance, reducing inflammation and improving overall health.
Nutritional therapy: This involves using food and supplements to address specific health goals, replete nutrient deficiencies and support overall health. It may involve dietary analysis to identify where changes can be made and dietary changes which may include recommendations for specific foods or food groups to add or avoid, timing of meals and portion sizes.
Lifestyle changes: This includes exercise, stress management, sleep hygiene, reduction of screen time, managing your emotions and other lifestyle changes that can improve vitality.
Mind-body therapies: These include techniques like meditation, yoga, and cognitive-behavioural therapy to reduce stress and improve mental health. Our health team includes modalities such as hypnotherapy, holographic kinetics, kinesiology and acupuncture to achieve mind-body balance.
It’s important to note that integrative medicine and clinical nutrition treatments are often used in combination to address multiple underlying factors contributing to a patient’s health concerns.
How functional medicine works
Functional medicine Brisbane treatment plans may include a combination of lifestyle changes, such as dietary modifications, exercise, and stress reduction techniques, as well as targeted nutritional supplements, herbs, or medications. The goal is to restore optimal health and wellness by addressing the cause of illness and promoting the body’s natural healing abilities.
After your visit
After your initial appointment, our 90-minute Discovery and Diagnosis session, you might feel a little overwhelmed with the amount of information you’ve learnt about yourself and your body. And that’s ok – it is completely normal!
At the end of your initial consultation, your practitioner will provide you with a script that contains a summary of any supplement, diet and lifestyle recommendations discussed.
Additionally, we have hundreds of resources we can offer on almost any health condition that you can take home – or receive by email – to read after your appointment.
We will also book your following appointments and, because feedback is SO important to us, ask for your initial feedback on your experience with our clinic.
FAQs
Integrative medicine is similar to functional medicine as they both have a holistic approach to healthcare, aiming to address the causes and treat the person as a whole. Treatment from both types of practitioners will centre around taking a detailed case history and prescribing long-term, preventative nutritional and lifestyle changes.
Integrative medicine and functional medicine practitioners very often work alongside each other. The difference between the two modalities is that functional medicine practitioners – naturopaths – are trained in herbalism and holistic nutrition and can provide prescriptions for both. Whereas an integrative medicine practitioner can write pharmaceutical scripts in addition to practising lifestyle medicine.
Here at the Shift Clinic, we apply a functional medicine approach to all that we do. Our naturopath team use a personalised approach with all of our patients that looks at treating the whole of you – the underlying causes of illnesses and chronic diseases, rather than just addressing their symptoms.
Currently in Australia, functional medicine is not covered by health insurance. Positive change is soon expected in this arena though, so watch this space and keep checking back with us for the news.
Simply give us a call on 07 3367 0337 or email us at hello@theshiftclinic.com and ask to book a Discovery and Diagnosis 90-minute session. We also offer virtual/telehealth appointments for patients.
