About Our Team

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MSN – Masters of Science in Nursing

FNP – Family Nurse Practitioner

IFM-CP – Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner
 
S-CP – Strategene Certified Practitioner

I started Functional Health & Healing because I believe functional medicine is the future of healthcare. After years in “conventional” medicine, I realized that a whole systems approach to health care just makes sense. The human body can’t be divided into separate systems. Each system works together as part of the whole. That is the key to so many patient success stories.

I have been in medicine all my life. I spent ten years as an ICU/CCU & ER nurse, and one year walking across the country as the medical director of the Great Peace March in 1986 before getting my Masters degree and Family Nurse Practitioners license. For over 25 years, I have been in private practice: Internal Medicine, Women’s Health, and HIV care. Thought my time in healthcare, I have developed a passion for connecting with people, and I am always searching for answers in the medical literature and research.  

My role as a practitioner is built upon deep, trusting connections between healing practitioner and patient. I view myself as a conduit of information and guidance for people who come to see me for medical help. Knowledge is a powerful tool and information is liberating.

After 30 years in conventional medicine, I became well aware of its strengths and shortcomings. Conventional medicine is great for acute care treatment. A pill can relieve pain caused by a sprained ankle. Sometimes surgery is required to save lives. But in many cases, conventional medicine doesn’t have the time or the tools to find out what is going on underneath the surface when it comes to more chronic or ongoing issues that don’t fall into the conventional diagnostic paradigm. 

I do not practice an “either or” philosophy. Conventional medicine and functional medicine aren’t at odds with one another. I believe in both approaches and use them when appropriate.  

My experience has shown me that people are multi-layered, deep and ALWAYS worth listening to. Fifteen-minute appointments and medicine dictated by insurance companies do NOT adequately care for people. For this reason, I signed on with the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). I follow this path because the IFM bases its teaching out of current research, contemporary lab testing, and old fashion medical care mentality of taking time to get to know people’s stories.

Meeting people where they are at, finding out who they are, and getting to the “cause of the cause” of the illness is the future of medicine. Quickly following the catch-all disease diagnosis process is not the future. The state of California requires that all Nurse Practitioners in private practice have a supervising M.D. My supervising Medical Doctor is Dr. Riva Robinson.  We are collaborative partners and share the same office space.

 

Please join me in helping you walk down your Ridiculously Healthy path.

Get cozy with chaos, to not know what is coming next, to leap into a healthier state: Mind/body and soul.

I INVITE YOU TO DISRUPT YOUR STATUS QUO.

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Dr. Tim Jones

Supervising Physician

Dr Jones completed his Medical Degree at Ross University, School of Medicine. During residency, he undertook advanced training in family medicine with an emphasis in Emergency Medicine.   After finishing his formal medical training, Dr. Jones spent 20 years as a full-time emergency physician. Over the past 5 years, Dr. Jones has specialized in Regenerative Medicine.

I first met Dr Jones at an IFM conference in March 2016.  We became close friends and went through the next 2 years attending all the modules/classes needed to complete our education in Functional Medicine together.   We have remained good friends and continue to work together to support overall health and healing for our community. 

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Dr. Riva “Wellness” Robinson

Dr. Riva Robinson is a vibrant and vivacious physician who walks her talk. She is extremely adept at ‘meeting people where they are at along the health spectrum and helps them advance toward a state of optimal well-being.   

Clare Cattarin met Dr. Riva at an IFM conference where they discovered their philosophies about life, health, and wellness  were in parallel. Dr. Riva is a champion bodybuilder who has personally used the functional medicine approach and is now in practice to help others find their health.

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