Hi, my name is Michelle To MD (my last name is pronounced Toe).

I’m passionate about helping people heal from the bottom-up.

My career started out on the medical hospital floors, where I worked as a consultant for patients who were suffering with both mental illness and serious medical problems. My work often involved managing end-stage problems that often stemmed from longstanding poor metabolic health and chronic conditions that were largely preventable. My classical training taught me there was a strong connection between poor health in the body and poor health in the brain, but it didn’t give me any practical tools to intervene. My job was starting to feel like we were just putting band-aids on top of symptoms. I began to wonder, was there another way?

Around this time, I was on my own personal journey toward health and healing from chronic health problems. After years of searching failing to find answers from conventional doctors, I resigned myself to seeing a functional medicine doctor. He taught me that my problems stemmed from my diet and other environmental factors. My initial skepticism faded away when I personally experienced transformational healing. In just a few weeks, my arrhythmias, brain fog, and chronic hives completely cleared up. A few months later, I went from not being able to walk more than a few blocks to hiking a 3-mile trail!

Motivated to bring this type of healing to my own practice, I went on to pursue fellowship training in integrative & functional psychiatry. My practice has been transformed ever since. With more tools under my belt, more of my patients are feeling better.

When I’m with my patients, I believe in honest communication, flexibility, and the healing power of being witnessed and understood. With each patient, I gather a detailed history, including a life narrative, medical timeline, family history, dietary patterns, environmental exposures and daily routines. We combine this with comprehensive lab testing to create a holistic treatment plan that recognizes each person’s biochemical individuality.

I love my job because I’m always learning, and I get to witness people feel better on a regular basis. It doesn’t get any better than that! I currently live and practice in my hometown – Los Angeles. In my free time, I enjoy being out in nature and gardening with California native plants.

Training and Professional Background

University of Southern California, Biological Sciences BA, Fine Arts-Painting Minor, graduated with Honors

WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering) Research Fellow

Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Medical School and Adult Psychiatry Residency Program (Board Certified)

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (Psychosomatic Medicine) ACGME Accredited Fellowship (Board Certified Subspecialty)

Former Chief of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry at the Greater Los Angeles VA Hospital

Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, UCLA-GLA Psychiatry Residency Program

Psychiatry Redefined Fellowship Training Program in Integrative & Functional Psychiatry – Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, Faculty Community Mentor

Member, National Association of Environmental Medicine (NAEM)

Member, Tend To Her Practitioner Community – Integrative Women’s Mental Health Training Program