DEFINITION
What is Pediatric and Adolescent Integrative Medicine?
Children and teenagers aren't small adults. Their bodies, minds, and nervous systems are still developing, and that changes what good care looks like. Integrative medicine for children and teens combines conventional pediatric medicine with evidence-based holistic approaches, so you get a fuller picture of what's really going on with your child.
Most pediatric visits stop at symptoms. But why is a child's gut chronically inflamed? Why isn't anxiety responding to the usual treatment? Why does the pain keep coming back after everything else has been tried? Asking those questions, and building a care plan around the answers, is what separates this kind of medicine from a standard visit.
At GWCIM, our pediatric team uses functional medicine testing, nutritional guidance, mind-body techniques, naturopathic medicine, Chinese medicine, and integrative mental health care. All of it gets coordinated around what your child specifically needs.
Conditions We Address with Pediatric Integrative Medicine
- Chronic gastrointestinal issues (IBS, IBD, indigestion, chronic digestive disorders)
- Unexplained chronic pain that hasn't responded to standard treatment
- Headache disorders and migraines
- Chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions (asthma, allergies, eczema)
- Food sensitivities and gut-immune system dysfunction
- Long COVID in children and teens
- Anxiety, depression, and ADHD (root cause investigation)
- POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
- Sleep disorders
- Cancer support (nutritional, pain management, emotional wellness)
About our Providers
Dr. Robert Pendergrast, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia and a nationally recognized expert in integrative pediatric medicine with over 40 years of clinical experience. He is joined by a multidisciplinary team of naturopathic doctors, an integrative psychiatrist, a Chinese medicine specialist, and other practitioners.
INDICATIONS
What conditions does it help with?
ADVANTAGE
Why Integrative Medicine for Kids and Teens at GWCIM?
GWCIM tends to see the cases that have fallen through the cracks: kids with complex, chronic, or genuinely puzzling conditions whose families are still looking for answers. Because our providers train in both conventional and integrative medicine, they can connect the dots across body systems in ways that a primary pediatrician and narrower, single-specialty care often miss.
One clarification up front: GWCIM isn't a primary pediatric care practice. We don't do checkups, vaccinations, urgent care, or same-day sick visits, and we typically don't see children under age 3. What we offer are in-depth specialist consultations, alongside your child's regular pediatrician, not in place of them.
APPROACH
Our Approach
Our providers spend real time getting to know your child and your family: history, environment, habits, what's already been tried and didn't work. A detailed intake form filled out before that first visit means we're not spending your appointment time on paperwork.
From there we build a plan that might pull from functional and genetic testing, nutrition, mind-body work, naturopathic or Chinese medicine, integrative mental health, whatever fits your child. There's no template here. Every plan is built for the kid in front of us, and follow-up visits are part of the process from day one, not an afterthought.
If a case goes beyond what we can offer, we'll say so and point you toward someone who can help. That's the whole point: making sure your child gets the right care, whether that's from us or somewhere else.
Root Cause Focus:
Symptoms are signals; our job is to understand what they're pointing to.
Whole-Child Care:
Physical health, mental health, nutrition, environment, and family context are all part of the picture.
Collaborative, Not Replacement:
We work alongside your child's primary doctor, with parents' permission. Clear communication and coordination are built into how we work.
Evidence-Informed:
We use integrative tools because the evidence supports them.
Family-Centered:
Parents and caregivers are essential partners in a child's healing. We make sure families feel heard, informed, and supported throughout the process.
Care Options
Consultations
We offer in-person and telemedicine consultations with Medical and Naturopathic Physicians. The initial consultation may have to be in-person.
Treatments
We offer various treatments: Acupuncture, herbal Medicine, Reiki, Somatic Experiencing, and more.
EXPERTISE
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Angela Gabriel, MSOM, LAc, SEP
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Jonah Yakel, D.C.
Functional Health Practitioner
LEARN MORE
What to expect as a patient
Before the first visit, you'll fill out a form about your child's health history. At the actual appointment, we spend time listening to you and to your child before drawing any conclusions. From there we build a plan together: maybe some testing, some habit changes, some support for how your child is doing both physically and emotionally. And we stay in touch with your child's regular doctor, so nobody's working from a different set of facts. Dr. Pendergrast sees patients by telemedicine only. The rest of the team offers both online and in-person visits at our downtown D.C. office.
FAQ
Common Questions
No, and this matters. GWCIM provides specialist consultations, not primary pediatric care. We don't do routine checkups, vaccinations, or urgent care. We work alongside your child's existing pediatrician and stay coordinated with them the whole way through.
Mostly children and teens with chronic, complex, or hard-to-explain conditions, and cases where the standard approach hasn't given a full answer. We also see families who just want a more thorough look at their child's health, even if things seem manageable but not quite resolved. One limit: we can't see infants at this time.
Start with our New Patient Inquiry Form. Our team reads every submission and lets you know honestly whether we think we can help. If we're not the right fit, we'll try to point you somewhere that is.
It's longer than a typical appointment, on purpose. You'll have time to walk through your child's full history, ask questions, and go over what you've already tried. Then we talk about next steps, which could mean functional or genetic testing, lifestyle changes, or a referral to one of our specialists or trusted partners.
Yes. Dr. Pendergrast is telemedicine-only and licensed to see patients across multiple states. Other providers offer either telemedicine or in-person visits depending on their specialty, and our downtown D.C. office handles in-person care for select providers.
Depending on what your child needs, care might draw on nutritional and dietary guidance, functional and genetic testing, clinical hypnosis, mind-body techniques, naturopathic and herbal medicine, Chinese medicine (acupuncture, botanicals, bodywork), IV nutrient therapy, integrative psychiatry and psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, mindfulness, yoga, and environmental medicine assessment (including mold/biotoxin investigation).
EDUCATION