I'm Dr. Yael Tusk, DACM. I've been in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over twenty years. ​People often ask me, "How did you get into this field?" Quite honestly, I have no idea. I didn't choose to go into TCM  because I had an incredible healing experience (that I was aware of). I thought, "Chinese medicine seems just weird enough to be cool," and the rest was history.

When I entered the Graduate Program in Oriental Medicine in 2003, I was shocked by how challenging it was. Undergraduate studies had not prepared me at all for the level of difficulty of TCM study. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I mean, who expects ‘hippy medicine’ to be a huge scholastic challenge? I certainly didn’t.

I’m not exaggerating. More than half the students dropped or flunked out sometime in the first or second semester. But I’m not a quitter, so despite the difficulty, I stuck with it till I graduated in 2007. I even went back for my doctorate at Pacific College of Health and Science  in 2021. I had a lot more fun the second go around.

Even though I didn’t go into TCM because of a personal experience. Several years ago, it dawned on me that I actually had experienced the incredible healing power of TCM in my youth. At the time, I was such a skeptic I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge it.

About ten years ago, a patient of mine experienced a dramatic recovery from postpartum depression. This occurred after a single acupuncture treatment. It then  struck me that a similar thing had happened to me when I was twelve years old. The full story is in my new book on fertility. 

In the early years of my practice, I was impatient, expecting instant results every time. I also wanted to treat every person for any condition. Over the years, I began to learn to vary my expectations; Chinese medicine is effective, but not in every case.  Sometimes it takes a while to see results, and there are cases that don’t respond at all.  Some of my favorite things to treat include:
 

• Tonsillitis/Strep Throat

• Constipation in babies

• Headaches

• Pain conditions and injuries

• And of course, fertility which I now specialize in

One thing that I've learned from experience  is not to put too much pressure on my patients to make drastic changes in their lives. There's no room for guilt or fear. Instead, I use a gradual and gentle approach. ​
 

• Not getting enough sleep? Try increasing your sleep by a half-hour each night. (Even if you could really use an extra two hours.)

• Worried that something you're eating is not agreeing with you? Test excluding a single food for a while. Choose something that's easy to achieve.

• Want to get more exercise? Find something you really enjoy and add it to your schedule starting with once or twice a week.

​In TCM, illness is not scary, but our body telling us it's out of balance and in need of correction. I love my work and my patients. My patients learn very quickly that acupuncture isn’t scary and that the experience at my clinic can even be fun! I’ll be thrilled to meet you at my clinic when you need my help.

If you’d like to find out whether I can help you, go ahead and reach out to me.