Chelsea Rutherford, D.A.C.M., L.Ac. is a doctor of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and herbalism. She received her MSOM (Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine) at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley, CA in 2015 and went on to complete her professional doctoral work, graduating from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, CA in 2019. Her work in the alternative medicine field began in 2005 at The Heartwood Institute, a residential school where she studied whole foods nutrition counseling with Paul Pitchford, learned shiatsu, Swedish massage, and various other forms of bodywork, meditation, Tai qi, and qi gong. She studied energetic medicine at the International Institute of Medical Qi Gong in Monterey, CA with Sifu Jerry Alan Johnson, and learned Western herbalism in Mendocino, CA with Liz Migliorelli, of “Sister Spinster”. Additionally, she has worked with Olympic and collegiate athletes at the University of California, Berkeley offering orthopedic acupuncture. Chelsea incorporates all of these teachings into her healing work with her patients.
She has traveled internationally to study on two separate occasions in China (2013 and 2019). The most recent trip in April of 2019 was made possible by a full scholarship she was awarded to study at the Henan Hospital in China, where they integrate Western and Chinese medicine together seamlessly. She studied there for two months, working in various different departments in the hospital, studying with a number of doctors specializing in pain, digestive ailments such as liver and stomach cancers, insomnia, hepatitis, paralysis, infertility, while also working on learning Mandarin. Additionally, Chelsea traveled to Japan in 2019 to work with several different doctors, focusing mainly on Japanese style needling technique, palpation, and using moxibustion to treat breech presentation pregnancies.
She currently maintains a private practice in Oakland, CA and previous to COVID-19 restrictions, she works as a community acupuncturist for low-income people over the age of 55 in Oakland, and maintains an internship with a former teacher at an oncology clinic in El Cerrito, CA, integrating Western and Chinese medicine together, treating innumerable conditions and various forms of cancer.
Her areas of specialization include internal medicine, digestive ailments, orthopedic pain and injuries, insomnia, anxiety, depression, herbalism, nutrition counseling, among other conditions. She uses her years of diverse training to bring a unique experience that is tailored to each patient, inviting them into homeostasis. She strongly believes in this medicine as it helped her profoundly in her own healing journey.
Outside of her healing arts practice, she is a singer and musician, takes dance classes, practices yoga, is an avid gardener, cook, mushroom hunter, and crafty creative. She is deeply curious and fascinated by the efficacy of inner emotional growth and development and sees herself as a lifelong student.
For more information or to book an appointment with Chelsea, you may visit her webpage at http://artemisiaherbs.com/