Morning

9:00 am

Modernization in Chinese Medicine: Avoid Pitfalls and Maximize Success with Concentrated Extracts - Eric Brand

The widespread use of concentrated powders has impacted practitioners worldwide. This lecture offers a brief survey of some of the emerging clinical approaches seen in Asia, and explores solutions to practical issues such as dosage and formula construction. We will assess the modern landscape of concentrated powders, taking an in-depth look at the advantages and disadvantages of common clinical strategies and delivery forms.
 

10:00 am

Acupuncture and the Enhancement of Athletic Performance - Whitfield Reaves

Enhancing athletic performance with acupuncture is an exciting application of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the modern era. Most of our patients are “athletes” when we include active individuals as well as those in a stressful work or home environment. Acupuncture may provide support for performance as well as recovery, whether the event is a marathon or a demanding work week.

Whitfield’s experience in the use acupuncture for athletic performance dates back to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. He has used these techniques over the last 20 years at numerous track and field, ski racing, and cycling events. Whitfield has been in the forefront of the acupuncture sports medicine field, and the subject of this lecture is one of his favorite topics.
 

11:00 am

Opening Doors in the Patient/Practitioner Relationship: A Five Element Perspective - Neil Gumenick

In this session, Professor Gumenick will discuss the mental, emotional, and spiritual connotations of the 5 Elements, and how practitioners can use this information in creating rapport with, and understanding the deepest needs of, each patient. Giving an appropriate and congruent emotional message to the patient creates trust, a feeling of being heard, supported, and understood.  Participants will learn how to communicate with their whole being, not just in words.

Afternoon

2:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Breakout Sessions

Session 1

Clinical and Practical Gems for an Effective Granule Pharmacy - Eric Brand

Concentrated powders bring hundreds of hours of preparation to the convenience of a single storage cabinet. This course presents strategies for making a highly effective pharmacy with a modest startup cost, and helps to clarify optimal methods of clinical use. Innovative strategies such as formula combining will be explored, with a particular emphasis on using effective base formulas with well-crafted modifications. Clinical tips from experts throughout the world will illustrate many dynamic approaches, and learners will gain a significantly better understanding of how to use concentrated powders in their clinical practice.
 

Session 2

Korean Constitutional Acupuncture - Whitfield Reaves

Korean Constitutional Acupuncture is a unique system of treating the patient at the root of their imbalance. It proposes that each individual has congenitally strong and weak organ systems, and these imbalances are the primary treatment strategy. Call “Sasang” therapy, there are eight constitutional types, each with its own body type, personality and emotional make-up, and tendency to diseases states. While it is not always easy to assess the correct type, the treatment is simple and is based upon four-needle technique.

Korean Constitution was developed from the work of Dr. Jhema Yi. His work, The Constitutional Theory in the Meridian, was published in 1894, and all the different practices have emerged from it. This system of diagnosis and treatment has some clinically relevant insights that can be of interest to the practitioner of traditional Chinese acupuncture. Whitfield has made this material quite accessible and relevant to the clinician, and much of the material from this course can be immediately integrated into practice.
 

Session 3

Practical Application of the Five Elements in the Practitioner/Patient Interaction - Neil Gumenick
 

This session will begin with a review of the morning lecture, followed by role-playing exercises in pairs, with participants acting as practitioners and patients. Participants will learn how to enter into a contemplative state in which they will be able to quickly get out of their heads, beyond self-consciousness, stage fright, and shyness and be CURIOUS, and PRESENT with each patient. Participants will be given a specific goal to achieve in each interaction, with “in the moment” side coaching by Professor Gumenick. Participants will have opportunities to work in chairs, as well as using a treatment table, as the connection, rapport and presence must be extended to both physical situations, as in a real treatment encounter. There is a world of diagnostic insight, boundless joy, and reward beyond imagination waiting to be discovered in the simple meeting of a patient’s mind and spirit with our own.