Dr. Rob Downey witnessed his first exceptional clinical outcome in response to functional medicine in 2006 when his natural medicine mentor turned around a severe autoimmunity case via whole food, probiotics and safe, potent anti-inflammatory botanical supplements. When he asked her whether getting Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) training would allow him to “speak the language” so he could understand what she was doing she responded, “If you get the IFM training, you will help people the way I do.” He never looked back.

Dr. Downey is driven to connect with other people, listen deeply to what they are experiencing and ask, with them, “What’s next, where do we go with our thoughts and actions to be whole and healthy?” It started in childhood talking with friends and family while hiking in the mountains of western Montana and continues part-and-parcel in the IFM-informed therapeutic alliance he endeavors to form with every patient. He finds there is a beauty, transparency and honesty in the doctor-patient relationship when approached this way. His patients report this approach creates a space for them to get over their hurdles and be their best.