When Functional Medicine Isn’t Enough: Why Patients Stay Stuck with Dr Rachael Clark

Send us Fan MailFeeling stuck even after you’ve “done everything right” can be one of the most frustrating parts of chronic illness and burnout. We sit down with Dr Rachael Clark, a family physician turned functional and integrative medicine practitioner at Village Health and Healing, to unpack why standard healthcare often runs out of road for fatigue, gut issues, hormone problems, and autoimmune-style symptoms and what she does differently now.Rachael shares how Covid-era patterns, including her own long Covid experience, pushed her beyond quick fixes and short appointments. We talk about root cause healing in real-world terms: deeper history, targeted testing, nutrition and supplements, lifestyle change, and the slower work of rebuilding resilience. She also explains why she started exploring energy healing, how she introduces it to sceptical patients, and what she means by “life force energy” as a missing ingredient when progress stalls despite good protocols.We also go behind the scenes on the business of modern holistic healthcare: a cash-pay model, out-of-network reimbursement realities, long consults, membership-based care, virtual sessions, and the biggest bottleneck most founders hit scaling without giving up every hour. If you’re a clinician thinking about private practice, or a patient trying to make sense of conflicting advice, this conversation offers a grounded look at where functional medicine, energetic medicine, and conventional care might finally meet.If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe for more, share it with someone navigating chronic symptoms, and leave us a review with the part you want to hear more about.Guest BiographyDr Rachael Clark, MD, FMACP is a Family Medicine physician and Functional and Integrative Medicine practitioner at Village Health & Healing.After becoming increasingly frustrated by the limitations she experienced treating chronic health problems within conventional medicine - and navigating her own journey through long COVID and burnout -Dr Clark began exploring a more holistic approach to health.Her work now considers not only physical root causes but also mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic components of wellbeing. She combines virtual and in-person patient care through Village Health & Healing and is expanding her work to incorporate energy healing alongside her Functional Medicine approach.Dr Clark is also developing educational programmes designed to extend her impact beyond one-to-one consultations, with future plans to create resources specifically for physicians and healthcare professionals.Website: https://www.villagehealthandhealing.comLinked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-clark-6a794133b/Subscribe on SubstackVoices in Health and Wellness is published on Substack, as part of The Diagnostician. Every episode lands there with written notes and reflections you won't find in the podcast feed. Free to subscribe.👉 https://thediagnostician.substack.com/s/voices-in-health-and-wellnessAbout the podcastVoices in Health and Wellness features conversations at the intersection of medicine, lifestyle, and human potential, with clinicians, scientists, and thinkers shaping the future of care.About Dr Andrew GreenlandUK-based medical doctor and founder of Greenland Medical, specialising in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Trained in both conventional and root-cause approaches, Andrew helps people optimise health, performance, and longevity, with a focus on cognitive resilience and healthy ageing.