About Our Team
Cambria De Marco
Cambria De Marco MSN, ACNP-BC, Associate Director
IFM Functional Medicine Practitioner
Cambria and her practice are grounded in the principles of Functional Medicine. Functional Medicine utilizes a systems biology approach that looks for and treats the root causes of poor health, not just band-aiding the symptoms. Cambria practices a model of medicine that is holistic, patient-centered and individualized, drawing from both conventional medicine, and evidence-based functional and integrative therapies. She has been trained by Dr. Dale Bredesen who just published the book, "The End of Alzheimers Disease". She is a certified Bredesen Practitioner and accepts patients who want to follow The Bredesen Protocol.
Cambria's passion is helping patients restore and foster optimal health through a holistic approach utilizing primarily natural modalities. She is dedicated to finding root cause answers for patients and she empowers them to direct and optimize their own long-term health and overall vitality.
Cambria has been an independently practicing Nurse Practitioner for the last 23 years. Her practice is firmly rooted in the amazing coursework, and inspirational leadership found within the Institute of Functional Medicine, and from her hands on experience seeing peoples lives and health greatly improve by getting their biochemistry in balance. She is Board Certified in Acute Care and obtained years of invaluable traditional clinical experience as an RN and Nurse Practitioner in the Emergency Department at Columbia University, Mount Sinai, UCLA and Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego. She has over 21 years of experience in pediatrics; and specializes in helping children with special needs achieve optimal health and cognitive performance.
Cambria has a personal passion for treating children with special needs and has over two decades of experience in this area. She has two children with special needs; both who are now enjoying great health and success in school, thanks to the use of Functional Medicine and rigorous utilization of appropriate school and public resources.
Cambria is an Institute of Functional Medicine Practitioner and MAPS certified, (Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs). Over the years, she has treated all age groups and has been involved in Acute Care, Pediatrics and overall Health and Wellness Promotion. She holds a Masters of Science from Columbia University, Bachelors in Science in Nursing from UCLA and a BA in Biology from UCSB.
In her spare time, Cambria enjoys the natural beauty of her home in Elfin Forest. Her favorite place in the world is on a nice trail nearby with one of her Arabian horses.
Dr. Dirk de Brito
Dr. Dirk de Brito
Executive Director
Dr. Dirk de Brito is a board-certified psychiatrist and founder of our therapeutic community. He achieved a B.A from Yale University as well as an MD and MPH (Masters in Public Health) from the Columbia College of Physicians and School of Public Health. He attended residencies at USC, UCLA, and UNM where his training proved his exceptional knowledge in psychopharmacology by achieving the top score on the National in-Service test given to all residents in Psychiatry (PRITE test)—not only in his class but in the entire Psychiatry program. Twice. Dr. de Brito has been widely acknowledged as a top psychopharmacologist (medication expert), with vast experience in Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Psychosis, ADHD and Addiction Medicine. He achieved board certifications not only in Psychiatry but in Emergency Medicine as well, practicing in this demanding specialty in some of the busiest centers in the United States. He brings his total knowledge of both physical medicine and Psychiatric medicine to give expert opinions on some of the most difficult patient issues brought to him from all over the world. In over 20 years in medicine, Dr. Dirk de Brito has seen over 40,000 patients over the span of twenty plus years in practice. He has been Chair of Psychiatry at Huntington hospital, on staff at three local hospitals, a lecturer at international forensic conferences, a highly experienced hospitalist in a detoxification unit and a supervisor for numerous caregivers in training. He has 4 children and enjoys sailing, gardening, and exercise.
Heather Metzger
Heather Metzger, LMFT
Heather Metzger was at the end of finishing her Doctoral Studies in English when she found her calling to be a psychoanalyst. As a college professor, she found that the most purposeful work was with the individual student. She decided to go back to school and gained a secondary masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She went on to master Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamics which are the more difficult areas to study in mental health due to its rigorous coursework. She graduated from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and has additional certificates in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Institute and Psychoanalytic Center of California. Heather has always believed in helping the underserved areas of Los Angeles and improving the Los Angeles Community. Previously Heather worked for Aid Project Los Angeles (APLA), Valley Community HealthCare Counseling Center.
She has worked with some of the tougher arenas of mental health including court ordered substance abusers as well as treatment resistant depression and anxiety.
Her specialties involve relationship problems, inhibitions, somatic and conversion disorders, panic attacks and panic disorder, severe trauma, and chronic Asperger’s and Autism spectrum individuals. Heather marries the classic Existential, Freudian, Lacanian psychoanalytic style with gentle empathy and warmth creating a new approach that is totally her own. Heather will help you understand the mind at a depth and level that is a truly satisfying experience of self discovery and will help you to move on in a meaningful way.