Anna Emanuel, MD of Restoration Healthcare, Inc. practices Integrative and Functional Medicine at the Westwood, Los Angeles clinic. She is double Board-Certified in Family Medicine and Integrative Medicine and certified as a Physician Acupuncturist and yoga instructor.

Born in a small city in British Columbia, Dr. Emanuel grew up being in touch with the natural world, growing food in the garden and raising chickens. These experiences framed how she views health. At the early age of six, she knew she wanted to be a doctor. As a high school competitive swimmer, she could have pursued an athletic scholarship, but instead, she focused on getting into medical school.

While her friends were studying abroad during undergraduate studies, Dr. Emanuel went to Chad, Africa, to work in a hospital. She enjoyed the public health aspect and interfacing with indigenous medicine and culture, which fed her curiosity about the intersection of Western medicine and traditional healing practices.

Dr. Emanuel completed medical school and family medicine residency at Loma Linda University Health, one of the five Blue Zones in the world, which are communities known for lower rates of chronic disease and greater longevity. The curriculum wove whole person care and lifestyle medicine into Western medicine, which sparked new ideas in how people should experience healthcare.

While in her residency, she experienced personal health challenges and sought a naturopathic doctor to restore her health. Through her personal experience with integrative and functional medicine, she came to the realization that she needed more tools in her medical “toolbox” to offer to her patients. Once again, Dr. Emanuel took the road less traveled and was accepted to the University of Wisconsin Academic Integrative Health Fellowship (UWAIHF) Program. The program is known for nurturing clinician’s knowledge to be compassionate practitioners of bio-psycho-social-spiritual medicine. It was a fascinating time in her medical career because she met specialists in botanical medicine, Reiki, medical hypnosis, and equine therapy, each with a unique perspective on patient care.

The idea of a team approach, with the doctor as the integrator and central orchestrator of various modalities, resonated with Dr. Emanuel. She loves to empower patients to be actively engaged in their care. She loves the teamwork part of it, when people come with all their ideas, theories, and all the things they’ve tried. She knows that Westwood clinic will become known as a place where patients with the most challenging cases go for the best treatment, guidance, and hope.