Christian Wessling, M.D.

A native of Germany, Dr. Wessling graduated from the United World College of the Atlantic in Glamorgan, South Wales in 1974 and the University of Düsseldorf Medical School in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1981.

He completed a three-year residency in family medicine at Lutheran Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri and a one-year fellowship in holistic medicine at the Ita-Wegman Klinik at Arlesheim, Switzerland.

He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Institute of Homeopathy, the American College for the Advancement of Medicine, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, and the Physicians' Association of Anthroposophical Medicine, having served as its Secretary and President. He is board-certified in Family Medicine, Homeotherapeutics and Anthroposophical Medicine, and is a past chairman of the Department of Family Practice at St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood, Missouri. He has lectured locally and nationally on a variety of health-related topics. He is also the Medical Director of Oakwood Lifesharing Services, Inc., a community serving the needs of handicapped youth and adults.

He has three young adult children and has lived in Webster groves since 1983. His hobbies include piano performance, woodworking and organic beekeeping.

Carey L. Patton, R.N., F.N.P. (Family Nurse Practitioner)

Carey joined our practice in 2008 as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana State University on a full academic scholarship and Masters of Science in Nursing from Maryville University. She is nationally certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Under Missouri law, this enables her to see patients while in collaborative agreement with a physician. Her nursing background includes intensive care, research in the areas of asthma and emphysema, home health and noninvasive cosmetic procedures. Her areas of special interest are obesity and diabetes which are ever growing issues in America, and halting chronic disease through lifestyle modification. Carey is certified as a Lifestyle Educator in First Line Therapy. She is goal oriented an determined to provide you with the best care possible.

Carey has lived in St. Louis since 1992. She has been an avid athlete, both as a marathon runner and an intercollegiate soccer player. She enjoys taking her Labrador retriever for walks and spending time with friends.

Rachel Phillips, F.N.P. (Family Nurse Practitioner)

Rachel joined Webster Family Physicians in 2010 as a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. As a native St. Louisan, she graduated from St. Louis University in 2001 her with Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, including a semester abroad in Spain to learn Spanish. She then pursued her Masters Degree in Nursing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., completing her studies in 2005. Under Missouri law, this enables her to see patients independently while in collaboration with a physician. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Her nursing background includes hospital-based medical-surgical care as well as outpatient community services for underserved populations. She has experience in managing chronic illness and promoting preventive wellness throughout the entire life span, including areas of women’s health and pregnancy, mental health, substance abuse and addiction, obesity and its related disease processes. She has worked to develop community fitness programs that promote diet and exercise as the cornerstones to heath. Her nursing skills have also carried her to serve extensively throughout the world, including Honduras, the Philippines, India, and South America. She was a residential volunteer in Bolivia for one year, providing health education and care for at-risk youth, women prisoners, and rural farmers. She is fluent in Spanish and strives to provide the most culturally competent care for patients from around the world.

Rachel is committed to holistic mind-body health and blends her experience in conventional medicine to find a unique approach for each patient that promotes optimal wellness. She has a passion for the concept of food as medicine and educates on dietary changes and nutrient supplementation that foster healing. She believes in exploring the underlying root cause of all disease and how this impacts the whole Self. In her free time, you’ll find her cycling, hiking, doing yoga and meditation, volunteering with community service, enjoying time with her family, and escaping to nature as much as possible.

Cindy Willbrand

Cindy Willbrand graduated from Bastyr University School of Naturopathic Medicine in Seattle, Washington with a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine in 2004.

A native Missourian, Cindy grew up in a small farming community outside of St. Louis. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Art History from Truman State University in Kirksville, MO, in 2000. After graduation, she followed a lifelong interest in holistic medicine by moving to Seattle to begin her Naturopathic studies at Bastyr University, one of the world's leading institutions in Naturopathic medicine and one of the only five accredited Naturopathic medical schools in North America. Her clinical training focused on family medicine including specialty rotations in women's health, geriatrics, pediatrics, ADHD, and AIDS. After graduation, she served a residency at Dancing Horizon Health Center in Boonville, MO. Cindy is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Cindy has been with Webster Family Physicians since 2005. Special areas of interest include women's health, pediatrics, chronic disease, ADHD, allergies, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal health. She utilizes dietary changes, nutritional supplementation, counseling, craniosacral, botanical medicine, and homeopathy to help support the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical well-being of patients. In doing so, she is dedicated to working creatively with each individual to find a greater state of health and
happiness. Cindy is trained in the FirstLineTherapy™ therapeutic lifestyle program designed to help people achieve optimum weight and body composition.

As defined by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, naturopathic medicine "is a distinct method of primary health care, an art, science, philosophy and practice of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness...emphasizing nature's inherent self-healing process...through education and the rational use of natural therapeutics."

Having completed a four-year graduate-level naturopathic medical school, Cindy has been educated in the same basic sciences as physicians and has also studied holistic and non-toxic approaches to therapy with an emphasis on disease prevention and wellness. She has completed four years of training in clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology and lifestyle counseling for personal health. She has completed the Naturopathic Physician Licensing Examination (NPLEX) which is required to gain licensure in any of the states which currently license naturopaths. This exam covers anatomy, physiology, psychology, pathology, biochemistry, microbiology and immunology as well as clinical and physical diagnosis, laboratory diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, pharmacology, nutrition, physical medicine, homeopathy, psychology and lifestyle counseling. She is now licensed as a Naturopathic Physician in the state of Kansas. At the present time, Missouri is not one of the states that recognize or license naturopaths or naturopathic physicians. Under Missouri law, she therefore functions as an assistant to Dr. Wessling, and any services she provides are under his direction and supervision.

Cindy enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her husband, two daughters and friends.

Jo Ann Forristal

Jo Ann has been an RN for over 26 years and has been working as a Family Nurse Practitioner for the past 10 years. Her nurse’s training began at Barnes Hospital School of Nursing followed by 20 years of service at Barnes Hospital. Her career includes over 15 years of ICU and ER experience as well as work in the cardio-thoracic recovery room and as a lung transplant coordinator. She completed her Bachelors degree in Nursing from Webster University and in 1999 graduated from University of Missouri St. Louis with her Masters in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner degree. As a Nurse Practitioner she has worked in interventional cardiology, emergency room, and family practice.

She became interested in alternative methods of health prior to her formal training, being influenced by her grandmother’s death from diabetes and her father’s use of folk remedies. Prior to her nursing studies she trained in horticulture where she learned to grow and use medicinal plants and herbs and recognize the connection between good food and health. Life experiences and study led her to find ways to decrease stress, promote healing and wellness and to understand the mind, body, spirit connection. She is a certified Healing Touch practitioner, licensed HeartMath provider, Holistic Stress Reduction Instructor, certified guided imagery practitioner and also trained in aromatherapy, reiki and hypnosis. She has completed a fellowship in anti-aging medicine by American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, trained with the Institute of Functional Medicine, and has studied and will soon be certified in chelation therapy by the American College for the Advancement of Medicine.

She likes to keep active and has completed a full marathon and several half marathons in the past 7 years. When not working, she loves being outside gardening, rollerblading, and her new found interest, nature photography. She and her husband enjoy travel and cross country trips on their motorcycle and spending time with their two sons.

Staff

Our office manager and medical assistants have been with the office for a number of years and will try to assist you in any way possible.