Education
I earned my clinical doctorate in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the California Institute of Integrative Studies (CiiS) in San Francisco, California. I wrote my capstone paper “Development of Twenty-five New Extra Acupuncture Points” for that degree. The extra points that I have discovered now number thirty. They have all been utilized in my clinical practice for at least fifteen years. I am publishing a book about them and my acupuncture method based upon utilizing kinetic chains methodology.
I earned my Master of Science degree in TCM from ACTCM/CiiS, SF, CA in 2005. While completing my degree, I also studied Functional Medicine, since I had benefited from it for many years prior. My studies blended because TCM differential diagnosis theory emphasizes a systems-based analysis of body regulation. The two systems perfectly complement each other in a method that I call “East-West Functional Medicine.” My approach is always to make systems-based medicine accessible to people. If you understand the rationale of how you are being treated the why of the method is much easier to grasp.
Clinical Rounds and Hospital Experience
I studied the complexity of herbal medicine in practice with doctors at TCM hospital settings in Hangzhou, China. My clinical rounds were at the Zhejiang Chinese Medical University Hospital and the Red Cross Hospital in 2005. Where I returned in 2013 for my doctoral hours and completed those hours at the Pain and Palliative Care Unit at the NIH in Bethesda, MD. Other hospital and clinical settings included: California Pacific Medical Center, UCSF Medical Center, Sutter Health, and the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Oakland. My mentors included: Nancy Rakela, L.Ac. OMD, Berkeley; Isaac Cohen L.Ac. OMD, Berkeley; Beverly Burns at Quan Yin Healing Arts in San Francisco, and Miki Shima L.Ac, OMD in Corte Madera, CA.
The Curious Traveler
Beyond traditional clinical settings, my studies and practice have taken me to many countries. During the years of 2006 and 2007, I served as the acupuncturist for Jorphel Rinpoche of the Drikung Kagyu lineage and the resident monks and nuns in Kathmandu, Nepal, and at the Lamayuru monastery in Ladakh, India. Working in other cultures has informed my practice immensely. I also studied Thai Massage in Chiang Mai Thailand over a period several years and developed a style of bodywork that incorporates Chinese TuiNa.
My classical yoga practice has sustained me through many years of health ups and downs and injury recovery. I have taught classical hatha yoga since 1997. I have studied and practiced meditation since my early childhood. I incorporate meditation, visualization practice, and the traditional breathing instruction of classical Vipassana into the treatments for all my patients. The breath is our foundational ‘nutrition’, and its practiced control is foundational to a calmly regulated nervous system.
Since 2005, the integration of systems-based medicine, both Eastern and Western approaches, has consistently allowed me to successfully treat a wide variety of complex health conditions, including my own. I may have some answers for you, too. Reach out and let’s see what I can do to help change your health.
