Dan Sachs, Licensed Acupuncturist

I first encountered acupuncture when I was almost 30 and quite ill. Conventional physicians were not helping and out of desperation, I asked friends for suggestions. Someone said "go see my acupuncturist." It seemed strange but I went and started getting better right away. When I noticed that not only was I feeling better physically, but a subtle emotional or spiritual tide was shifting as well, I was hooked.

A few years later I went to a lecture by J.R. Worsley, a little English guy with bushy eyebrows, enormous charisma and a vision of acupuncture that spoke of nature and the body, mind and spirit in a way that made profound sense to me and is still the foundation for my work. In 1981 I enrolled in the first class of The Traditional Acupuncture Institute (TAI) in Columbia, Maryland.
TAI was the brainchild of Bob Duggan and Diane Connelly who were two of JR's earliest students. Two years later, in 1983, I graduated and joined with two classmates to open a practice in Allston, MA.

A year later, wanting to get out of a city and back to the kind of country where I grew up, I moved to the Greenfield, Massachusetts area where I have maintained a private practice. From 1992 to 2002 I had a second practice in Pittsfield, MA. Tired of the long commute, I passed that practice to a colleague and went to work at Sojourns Community Health Clinic in Westminster, VT. Then, again wanting less drive time, in 2005 I left Sojourns to open a private practice in Brattleboro.

In 2015 I moved to Portland, Oregon as a form of semi-retirement. I enjoyed milder winters, beautiful sun the rest of the year and new nature to explore. I kept up my license in Massachusetts and when I returned on visits, saw a few patients.
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In 2018 I returned to Massachusetts to be close to family. Currently I work half time in my home office.

In resume form, the facts:

• Certification, Traditional Acupuncture Institute, Columbia MD, 1983
• Master of Acupuncture degree from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, MD, 1986
• Licentiate of Acupuncture, College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in Leamington Spa, England, 1984
• Bachelor degree in acupuncture, College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture, Leamington Spa, England, 1987
• Herbal Certification from TAI course with Ted Kaptchuk, 1988
• Studied pulse diagnosis with Leon Hammer, smoking cessation with Jonathan Klate
• Eight Extra Meridians with Claude Larre and Peter Eckman
• Numerous patient rounds with Dr. J.R. Worsley and MAPtm meetings with Judy Becker Worsley
• Balance Method with Richard Tan
• Addictions treatment at the New England School of Acupuncture
• Several seminars on Five Element Acupuncture with Nikki Bilton
• Jeffrey Yuen's "Light on Acupuncture" course
• Biomagnetic therapy, and other trainings
• SAM method with Toby Daly
• Acupuncture Treatment for the Hidden Roots of Disease with H. Montakab​

Teaching
 I have taught for several acupuncture and conventional schools including TAI, The  Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainesville, FL, Greenfield Community College, SUNY Albany, Springfield College. 

For several years, I also taught ongoing classes in Five Element work for non-acupuncturists. In 2003, I began a formal 4,000 hour apprenticeship training for 2 apprentices based in my office in Vermont. They are now in practice.
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I also did clinical supervision for the Institute for Taoist Education and Acupuncture in Louisville, Colorado. In Portland I taught and did clinical supervision at the National University for Natural Medicine.

Licensure
I am a Diplomate in Acupuncture of the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). I am licensed by the medical board of Massachusetts. My license in Massachusetts includes Chinese Herbology.