Mental and Emotional Health
Serving San Carlos, California and surrounding communities: Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, Foster City, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Millbrae, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, and Woodside. For other locations we offer telemedicine services.
Erna Wenus, L.Ac.D
Acupuncture, Trauma and PTSD Therapy
My path to Traditional Chinese Medicine was through my training as an MD specializing in Anesthesiology. I worked at a university hospital in Germany, where I was looking for a form of pain management with less severe side effects than what I was working with. This is where I first came across acupuncture. When I came to the US, my focus was on raising my toddler, but “on the side” I attended the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. The interaction with the teachers there drew me in, and when it became clear I would be staying in the US, I started building an acupuncture practice. Now, two decades later, I find myself delving ever deeper into the ancient wisdom of TCM. Working with all kinds of illnesses, I got to appreciate the viability of a true holistic approach to human suffering.
Stress Management
Learning about advances in medical science, especially in neurophysiology, complemented my understanding of TCM and helped me develop a model that explains stress and how we respond to it. By understanding the dysfunctions created by stress and applying TCM principles and these findings about how the brain works, I’ve developed methods to help my patients respond to stress and restore function.
Focus on Trauma and PTSD
This has led me to focus my practice increasingly on working with patients who struggle with stress and its most cruel form, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
A crucial push in that direction came from my experience with the Acupuncturists Without Borders. I was part of our mission to offer stress relief treatment in a post-disaster setting, in my case in Nepal. What I found was that, even a year after the disaster, people were still heavily impacted by the stress of the disaster, and the non-invasive interventions we offered brought tangible, visible relief.
For years now, I have been bringing presentations to my community on the practical applications of TCM to everyday life, from cooking with Chinese herbs or developing recipes for personal health to understanding personality types according to the TCM Five Element theory. TCM can be beneficial in your everyday life. It was great fun to do classes on how to cook with Chinese herbs or how to gear your food towards the seasons or one’s personal health circumstances. For the acupuncturist community, I am an approved provider of continuing education units and have presented my work on stress management at several conferences.
I am also a proud herbalist who loves to tailor herb formulas to the immediate need of a patient so they can be adapted to a patient’s progress. Outside of work I like to go to classical music concerts, contemporary art exhibitions, or go sailing on the Bay.
A unique approach to mental and emotional health
Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD
Functional Medicine; Trauma, Attachment, and
Addiction Specialist
What is your story? Many of us may not even know the full scope of our life story, but our bodies and health give us clues. Symptoms and illnesses that become chronic, that the current medical system is not able to provide answers or healing for can be the clues our bodies give of our story.
My story starts with the traditional medical training at Loma Linda University and 4 years general General Surgery training at Oregon State Health Sciences University in Portland, OR.
My life was dramatically affected by Miguel, a 4 year old boy I adopted from the foster care system while during medical school who had experienced neglect, abuse, and instability since he was born. He ultimately challenged every aspect of my way of thinking, my medical training, even my spiritual beliefs.
The result has been an experiential learning of trauma, neurobiology, attachment disorders, stress and inflammatory illnesses, and addictions. The result has also been a personal quest to find the underlying cause and heal myself from fatigue, depression, and high levels of autoimmune antibodies that the specialists had no answers for except an anti-depressant to manage symptoms.
Through my own journey, training and now helping others on their journey, my understanding of what it takes to help the mind and body after the effects of stress and trauma has expanded to beyond what conventional medicine offers. Science and the experience of others are now confirming that even the most challenging of cases can achieve a better level of health.
There is hope, and you can experience improved health and wholeness too.
Is this a good fit for you?
If you are ready to take ownership of your health, be empowered with knowledge and tools to make changes and get results in your physical, mental and emotional health, then you will find value in these programs. There are different levels of the programs available to you. You can enroll in a self-paced program providing you knowledge and tools or you can go through a program with a trauma health coach for additional accountability, support and guidance. For those who want to get results faster, you can travel and attend a 3-day retreat and get hands on support and guidance along with additional services including IV therapies and lab work.
Whichever level you decide is right for you at this time, these programs are about giving you the knowledge and tools to take ownership of your health and take it to the next level.
Trauma, Attachment, and Addiction Specialist
Dr. Aimie’s Education & Credentials:
- Doctorate in Medicine, MD, Loma Linda University, 2010
- Board-Eligible Addiction Medicine, 2020
- NeuroAffective Touch Student under Dr. Aline LaPierre, 2020
- Preventive Medicine Board Certified, 2020
- Masters in Biochemistry, 2008
- Masters in Public Health, 2012
- Certified in Functional Addiction Nutrition
- Walsh Research Institute – Certified in Targeted Nutritional Treatment for Mental Health
- Certified in Neuro-Autoimmunity Course by Kharrazian Institute
- Functional Medicine Practitioner
- Certified in Art Narrative Trauma Therapy Model: Instinctual Trauma Response Model
- Certified Somatic Experiencing Trauma Therapy Practitioner (Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced Trainings)
Dr. Aimie’s Experience:
- Founder of Family Challenge Camps: Family Camps for Children and Adults with Trauma, Attachment, and Trust Issues
- Foster and Adoptive Parent
