GRETCHEN is a practitioner of Traditional Asian Medicine (TAM), specialising in Japanese acupuncture and Kampo (Japanese herbal medicine) with a depth of knowledge in Kampo not found outside of Japan. She is the translator (Japanese to English) of Kampo Medicine (Kampo I Gaku), a well-recognised text by Dr Otsuka Keisetsu. She studied Kampo as a private student in Tokyo with Dr Otsuka Yasuo and her studies in acupuncture were undertaken in Tokyo and in Beijing.

ACUPUNCTURE
This article from the Guardian on acupuncture gives some interesting background. For an in-depth article on acupuncture visit the Institute for Traditional Medicine and for the difference between Japanese acupuncture and Chinese acupuncture this article on the World Acupuncture website is illuminating.

HERBS
An article in the The Independent highlights how Kampo practice sucessfully integrates within an NHS GP surgery. The herbal formula used are manufactured in the United States under the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. Their formulations are based on either classical recipes from historical texts or from modern day research reports from around the world, notably Japan, China and the USA. I have been using these formula for more than twenty years both privately and in the NHS. For details of these herbal formula visit the Sun Ten and Seven Forests websites.