News

An Acupuncturist Goes to PA School

An Acupuncturist Goes to PA School

My last major update was during the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Much has changed since then. When I closed my practice in February 2020, I thought I was going to continue as an acupuncture practitioner. The pandemic forced a change in those plans, as it made so many of us confront new realities and reassess our priorities.

Here I explain a bit about how I got to where I am now, studying to become a Physician Assistant (or PA, also known as a Physician Associate), and where I hope to be headed next.

Closing Office End of February 2020

Closing Office End of February 2020

It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing the closure of my acupuncture practice, Shawna Seth, L.Ac. After Friday February 21, 2020 I will no longer be seeing patients at my current office. It has been an honor and great pleasure providing for your health and wellness needs. My wish is that my departure be as easy on you as possible.

Why? I am so proud of what we've built together. I set out to create a space and experience that anticipated your needs and gave you a place to feel heard, relaxed, empowered, and restored so you could heal and understand why so you were more in charge of your own health. I believe we achieved that. And I have genuinely loved being your acupuncturist. The truth is that running a business is challenging and for that reason I have decided to take my career in a different direction.

Need a Massage? Introducing Tyler

Need a Massage? Introducing Tyler

Update: July 2019 – Note that Tyler is now seeing patients on Tuesdays only in this space.

I’m pleased to announce that Tyler Chamberlain, Certified Massage Therapist is now sharing our San Francisco clinic space at the Sutter Healing Arts Building. He’s seeing clients on Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays.

Tyler’s style is in harmony with my approach to gentle, personalized treatments. He offers time-based appointments that are then tailored to your needs on a given day using his massage skillsets including Swedish, Deep Tissue, Ortho-bionomy, Energy, and Lymphatic/Detox. Having experienced his work myself, I highly recommend his thoughtful, effective, and deeply relaxing care.

His introduction to you in his own words:

2018 Thumbtack Top Pro

2018 Thumbtack Top Pro

I'm proud to announce that I have been named a 2018 Top Pro by Thumbtack, a site that helps customers find the right local professionals for their needs.

To the patients who found me through Thumbtack and shared their experiences: thank you so much. Only 4% of Thumbtack's professionals are named Top Pro and I'm honored to be recognized for the level of service I strive to provide.

July 16, 2017: Herbal Medicine (And Then Some!) Fair

July 16, 2017: Herbal Medicine (And Then Some!) Fair

Come join me at the Herbal Medicine (and Then Some!) Fair on Sunday, July 16 from 10am – 5pm. I'll be applying and educating on earseeds, the fantastic way to extend your acupuncture sessions' effectiveness at home, in addition to answering questions about Japanese medicine, how acupuncture can treat a variety of conditions, and my practice in San Francisco and Oakland. If we haven't met yet please come by to say hello!

Spring Gleaning: Education Update

Spring Gleaning: Education Update

One of my favorite aspects of the acupuncture profession is its requirement that you be a lifelong student. And because I get excited when I start looking at potential classes, I've somehow found myself anticipating the remainder of my required classes (continuing education units) for the year all in the next month! Of course that doesn't mean I won't take more just for fun...

Last week I attended a lecture on Working With the Heavy Cannabis User with medical herbalist Paul Bergner as there is so much to learn about the effects and side effects of cannabis whether used for medical or recreational use. We set politics and legality aside and just dealt with the cases. I now have a much better understanding of the effects of cannabis on body systems, side effects to watch for and make patients aware of before they consider using it for a given condition, and how to approach weaning off of medical use if side effects become unmanageable. As an acupuncturist I can't prescribe cannabis, but I did feel it was essential that I expand my understanding of the way its use as a medication or recreational substance might affect my patients so we can do our best work together.

Joining Back to Life

Joining Back to Life

I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Back to Life Physical Therapy to offer my acupuncture services to their patients and to my community as a San Franciscan. Before I changed my career path to acupuncture I worked for a variety of design agencies, all in the SOMA area of San Francisco so returning to the neighborhood feels like the completion of a perfect circle.

I have known Amy Selinger of Back to Life for years, first as her patient, long before thinking I might go into healthcare myself, and later as she became a mentor in my pursuit of integrative medicine. She embodies the type of provider I aim to be: a true resource and a human ally in the pursuit of wellness. Her whole team is also rising to that bar. We're going to do great work together so I hope you'll join us at Back to Life for acupuncture and/or physical therapy.

Here is a glimpse of the Back to Life clinic:

Developments

Developments

I am so looking forward to new beginnings in the Bay Area. I have been working since Fall 2015 on setting up the East Bay portion of my practice in collaboration with a wonderful group of smart, caring, and talented women and am in discussion for a second location in San Francisco (it is so hard not to share details as it is going to be a very exciting partnership). Serving my entire community on both sides of the Bay was always my goal and I cannot wait to be of service to you all.

While I prepare, you may be interested in coverage of my work at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, which was recently written up on the AIMC Berkeley website by my classmate Ra Adcock, a fellow intern at the hospital program:

The unique program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, possibly the first of its kind in the country, provides acupuncture directly to the hospital’s staff of approximately 1,200 doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, teachers, and other administrative and support personnel. Each week, the program offers an average of forty-five acupuncture treatments in a community-style clinic located on the hospital’s campus. This special design creates the opportunity for staff to be treated during precious break times without ever having to leave the hospital, allowing many to remain on-call and available for their young patients.