Overview
Efrem Korngold, one of the leading traditional Chinese medicine educators and practitioners in America, is co-author (with Harriet Beinfield) of Between Heaven and Earth, A Guide to Chinese Medicine. He began his studies at the College of Traditional Acupuncture in England, and studied herbal medicine and acupuncture at the Kunming Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute and at the Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shu Guang Hospital. Efrem Korngold is on the faculty of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, teaches widely in the US and Europe, was a founding faculty member at the San Francisco College of Acupuncture and an instructor in the Holistic Healing Studies Program at San Francisco State University.
A Diplomate in Acupuncture (NCCAOM), a Fellow of the National Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NAAOM) and a Doctor of Oriental Medicine (San Francisco College of Acupuncture), Dr. Korngold has lectured at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, Andrew Weil's Program in Integrative Medicine, and Beth Israel Hospital in New York.. He has an active clinical practice of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine at his clinic in San Francisco, Chinese Medicine Works.
Practice
Chinese Medicine Works offers caring and effective acupuncture, herbal medicine, and nutritional counseling for a wide variety of complaints. Chinese Medicine Works is also a full service Chinese traditional medicine pharmacy serving walk-in people seeking herbal remedies. With partner Harriet Beinfield, Korngold has formulated a number of popular Chinese herbal formulas, including Chinese Modular Solutions, Gentle Warriors and Sage Solutions, that offer potent, effective remedies for a host of common problems.
Expertise
Efrem Korngold practices Chinese herbal medicine as well as the following styles of acupuncture:
- Traditional Chinese Acupuncture
- Auricular Acupuncture
- I Jing Acupuncture
- Japanese Style Acupuncture
- Five Element Acupuncture
- Scalp Acupuncture
His specific areas of expertise include the following:
- Family Practice
- Pediatrics
- Pregnancy, birth and post-partum support
- Women's Health
- Dermatitis
- Fibromyalgia
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Geriatrics
- Headaches/Migraines
- Hepatitis
- Hypertension
- Immune Disorders
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Infertility
- Insomnia
- Menstrual Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Neurological Disorders
- Nutrition
- Oncology Support
- Psychological/Emotional Disorders
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Stress/Anxiety
Philosophy
The life of the body continually reveals itself to our gaze, and Chinese medicine teaches us how to see it, how to seek it out, how to expose it, how to remove obstacles from its path, and how to nudge it back into the current of its own destiny. Its overarching goal is to cultivate people’s capacities and to correct whatever underlying disturbances are causing distress. In order to achieve this, it’s useful to investigate how a disorder arises so that the process can be disassembled and reorganized, not merely masked. This noble goal is not always attainable, but the medicine compels us to strive for it. In Chinese medicine everything is linked with everything else--not just as an idea, but in actuality. Health and illness coexist and arise out of the same conditions. Disease doesn’t come from nowhere, it emerges from a lived life. Simply put, Chinese medicine not only focuses upon the content (the disease), but also the context (the person who has it).
Passion
Everybody exists within a matrix that includes a family, job, home, neighborhood, geographic area, psychological and cultural milieu. Chinese medicine considers the impact of all these influences.In the ancient Taoist-Confucianist tradition, physicians were also teachers and counselors who helped people learn how to live
There's a famous paragraph in the Nei Jing, an ancient text that's quoted over and over again: “The superior physician doesn’t allow the patient to become sick.” The quote goes on to ask: “what’s the point of digging a well when you’re already thirsty, or of forging weapons when the war has already begun?” Then it's too late. The good doctor maintains the reservoir so it doesn't dry up. My objective always is to enhance an individual’s capacity to recover his or her health, to adapt adequately and creatively to the conditions of his or her life and continue to make the future he or she imagines can and should be possible.
Credentials
Efrem Korngold began his studies at the College of Traditional Acupuncture in England in 1972, then continued at the Kunming Traditional Medicine Research Institute and the Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Mr. Korngold was a member of the founding faculty of the San Francisco college of Acupuncture and an instructor in the Holistic Health Studies program at San Francisco State University. Together he and Harriet Beinfield have lectured widely at Andrew Weil’s Integrative Medicine Fellowship at the University of Arizona, at UCSF Medical Center, at Beth Israel Hospital in New York, as well as in Canada, Cuba, and Europe. They are also on the faculty of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Efrem Korngold was a founding member of several professional organizations including the Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAOM), the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Alliance (AOMA), and the California Society of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CSOMA). He is a member of the advisory board of Natural Health Magazine and a director of the newly formed Holistic Pediatric Association (HPA).
Contact
Publications
Publications by Efrem Korngold
