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Brandt Stickley, LAc

Assistant Professor

Bio

Brandt Stickley has a mission. He wants to help his students learn to treat not only what they see, but to develop even more subtle diagnostic skills. Through years of study and practice, he has learned to watch, sense and listen carefully to his patients, closely attuning to their pulses. He says, “My passion is exploring the confluence of Chinese medicine and psychology.” It is this careful attunement that has greatly assisted his patients suffering from a variety of psychological and neurological disorders.

Courses taught:
•    CCM 412/422/431   Classical Chinese Medicine Pathology I-III
•    CCM 718   Chinese Medical Psychology
•    CCM 735   Clinical Case Presentation III       
•    CCM809    Clinical Observation Rotation                
•    CCM909    Clinical Internship Rotation   
•    CCM 981/982/989   Mentorship Tutorial I-III

Stickley joined NCNM’s faculty at the School of Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) in 2009 and is now a supervising attendant to CCM students at the NCNM Clinic. He is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, author, and a practitioner of the ancient art and science of classical Chinese medicine. He’s a graduate of Cornell University and American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and he completed his internship in Hangzhou, China. He has studied Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis since 1998 with Leon Hammer, MD, with whom he has worked closely.

Stickley has learned that the pulses can tell the skilled practitioner vast amounts about patients—not just their health conditions, but the actual originating life event that created the presenting health condition. “The pulse diagnosis I practice is a very deep model that I learned from a renowned master and my mentor, Dr. Leon Hammer, the author of “Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies,” Stickley says. “The central theme of Dr. Hammer’s work is on the role of awareness. Using this awareness there is a logical methodology in pulse diagnosis that helps me deeply understand imbalances in my patients and how they evolved over time—the overwhelming experiences that impact the patient’s heart often occur like insults at conception or birth, which, in turn, create a global damaging effect on the patient’s health.”

Stickley says he is very excited to live in the Northwest. “NCNM embodies my passion for the medicine, as exemplified by Dr. Heiner Fruehauf.” Stickley is joined in Portland by his wife, Jennifer, and their son Jonas.

Curriculum Vitae

Updated Dec. 17, 2008

LICENSURE
•     Licensed Acupuncturist, New York State (NY #1932)
•     Acupuncture Physician, Florida (FL # 1752)
•    Licensed Acupuncturist, Oregon
 
CERTIFICATION
•     NCCAOM, Diplomat in Acupuncture, 2001
 
EDUCATION 
•     Master’s Course in Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis, Gainesville, Florida.
•     Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis studies, commencing in 1998, and continuing to this day.
•     Post Graduate Training Internal Medicine Hangzhou City Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang PRC.
•     MS Traditional Chinese Medicine, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, San Francisco, CA.
•     University of California, Berkeley. Mandarin, Classical Chinese.
•     Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.  BA Literature, Asian Studies.
 
EXPERIENCE
National College of Natural Medicine
Assistant Professor, 2009 - present.
 
Cinnabar Creek Acupuncture Clinic and Chinese Medicine Benevolent Association
Private Practice, 2001 - 2008.
 
Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine
Professor, 2003 - present.
 
Florida College of Integrative Medicine
Professor, 2003 - 2008.
 
Michael R. Lowe, Esq., P.A.
Expert Witness, 2007.
 
TEACHING
National College of Natural Medicine, 2009-present
 
Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine, 2003-2008
Courses:
•    Psychology of Oriental Medicine: This course involves the varied Chinese medical concepts of the mind and spirit, including those discussed in Dragon Rises-Red Bird Flies, and the basic precepts of the therapeutic relationship, particularly as it applies to the practice of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. I created this course with Dr. Hammer, and am the only person who has ever taught it.
•    Chinese Medicine Pathology: The first in a series devoted to Internal Medicine.
•    Chinese Dietary Therapy.
•    History and Philosophy of Chinese Medicine: This survey course examines the historical development of medical concepts and theory in ancient and modern China, using anthropological, historical, and philological methods. I created this course.
•    Acupuncture Theory and Technique: I modeled this class upon the example of Robert Johns, and used his book as the course text. It is rich in Yang Ji Zhou references.
•    Acupuncture Point Location
•    Introduction to Medical Research: Students learn techniques for examining medical research, and develop working familiarity with the literature available in the field. Students learn to utilize diverse resources, including traditional reference works, published studies, personal communication, and internet resources.
•    Clinical Supervision: Third and Fourth Year Interns.  At DRCOM, this involves intensive oversight of pulse diagnosis, as well as the formulation of treatment plans, diagnostic catalog, and overseeing treatment.
•    In addition, serve on various administrative committees: 
             –  Contemporary Oriental Medicine Committee
             –  Curriculum Development Committee: I was involved in creating the new 
                     curriculum, designing courses, and creating the flow of coursework.
             –  Library Development.
 
Florida College of Integrative Medicine, 2004-2008
Courses:
•    Pulse Diagnosis
•    Inquiry 
•    Identification of Disease
•    Basic Physiology of Chinese Medicine.
•    Clinical Supervisor, Third year interns
•    “Stickley’s Salon:” I have recently been asked by SGA to host an hour-long session in which I will speak extemporaneously to the student body on a subject of their choice.
 
Dragon Rises Seminars, 2003-present
Courses in Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis. 
•    Introductory Course: In this seminar, theoretical and didactic instruction is combined with practical training. In a hands-on format with close individual attention, I emphasize the ability to palpate the three depths, the 6 principal positions and 22 complementary positions associated with the system elaborated by Dr. Hammer. This first portion of the class focuses on common and important qualities, and those not identified in the TCM literature. Treatment based on unique pulse findings is also discussed. The student learns all 28 Pulse positions in the Shen-Hammer/Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis system, as well as 80 pulse qualities.  Lecture covers the history of the system, the diagnosis and treatment of emotional shock and trauma, chemical toxicity, and the concept of blocks to treatment.
•    Six Month Mentorship Program: The Seminar is conducted in six 4.5 hour sessions, over six months.  Students receive advanced training and practice in Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis, as well as instruction in treatment principles, herbal formulas, and acupuncture prescriptions.  The first 2 hours include closely supervised pulse examination, and the final two hours include diagnostic formulation, treatment planning, herbal formulas, and acupuncture treatment, explained extemporaneously. I maintain an internet forum, and am available to students for questions at all times.
 
PRESENTATIONS
Florida China Linkage Institute.
Epidemic Disease: SARS (2005)
 
Florida State Oriental Medicine Association.
Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis (2004)
 
PUBLICATIONS
•         “Epidemic Disease: Ancient Answers, Modern Maladies”
            Chinese Studies Forum, 2005 (5): 59-69
•         Handbook of Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis, Eastland  Press, (forthcoming).
             –  “Chapter 4: Methodology”
             –  “Chapter 8: Volume”
             –   “Chapter 10: Size”
             –  “Chapter 15: Qualities as Signs of Psychological Disharmony”
•         “Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis,” co-authored with Ross Rosen
           Chinese Medicine Times, Volume 2, Issue 6, Dec. 2007.
•         “Expressions of the Heart,” co-authored with Ross Rosen
           Chinese Medicine Times, Volume 3, Issue 1, Spring 2008.
•         “Separation of Yin and Yang-Part One,” co-authored with Ross Rosen
           Chinese Medicine Times, Volume 3, Issue 2, Spring 2008. 
•         “Separation of Yin and Yang-Part Two,” co-authored with Ross Rosen
           Chinese Medicine Times, Volume 3, Issue 3, Summer 2008. 
 
ASSOCIATIONS
•     Dragon Rises Seminars, Executive Board.
•     Florida State Oriental Medicine Association, Member.
•     Florida State Oriental Medicine Association, Ethics Committee, Charter member.