Kirsten’s Women’s Health Seminars

Fertility seminar
Centre of Balance Practitioners with Kirsten. From left: Szenan Phua, Kirsten Karchmer, Amy Wu, Jing Zhang.

Centre of Balance Hamilton practitioners have recently had the honour of attending Kirsten Karchmer’s seminars on women’s health. Kirsten Karchmer is widely recognised as an expert in the treatment of women’s health issues, gynaecology, and fertility. It is always interesting to learn more about the powerful potential of acupuncture. Acupuncture may help treat many women’s health issues, including unexplained infertility, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. Because our practitioners learned a lot from Kirsten’s seminars, they are able to provide even better treatment for women suffering from fertility health issues.

Who is Kirsten Karchmer?

Karchmer has become known as an authority on Traditional Chinese Medicine and infertility over the past 20 years. She holds a master’s degree in Oriental Medicine. Ms. Karchmer has been board-certified in Clinical Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture by the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). Her women’s health seminars are a useful resource for our practitioners in their treatment of fertility patients.

Kirsten Karchmer is a sought-after and competent fertility consultant and lecturer to other acupuncturists. She lectures internationally and her seminars cover topics such as healthcare systems,  the future of integrative medicine, endometriosis, PCOS, infertility, women’s health and lifestyle wellness. Karchmer is a pioneer in proprietary assessment and treatment protocols for women’s health. She is also an innovator/founder/CEO of successful initiatives such as Viv Wellness and Conceivable. Viv Wellness focuses on eradicating cramping and PMS while Conceivable is a technology-enabled solution for infertility.

Karchmer is a ‘tried and tested’ practitioner

As an experienced professional, she has spent her adult career improving women’s health. The past president of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) is one of America’s pioneers in Reproductive Acupuncture. She has helped over 10,000 women with their fertility, cycles, and health issues. Her research in TCM for recurrent pregnancy loss has helped over 7,000 women achieve successful, healthy pregnancies. The Clinical Director and Founder of the Texas Center for Reproductive Acupuncture (TCRA) is a capable and inspiring leader to her team.

Her service to women’s health has not gone unnoticed. Karchmer has appeared on news pieces including Yahoo, MSNBC, CNN, and USA Today due to her reproductive acupuncture practice. Karchmer is the deserving recipient of the Texas Trailblazer award for her innovative ideas. Conceivable has been recognised as the Best Fertility App by Healthline (2016) and MedTech’s most innovative health tech start-ups in 2015. Karchmer is also an active and loving mother of two.

Women’s Health – Centre of Balance

Acupuncture is an effective treatment method with a wide variety of applications. Because It is an holistic approach, practitioners at Centre of Balance may look at your lifestyle habits and prescribe herbal medicine as well as treating you with acupuncture. Centre of Balance is dedicated to achieving the best outcome for patients who come to us for help with their fertility. As a result we are always on the lookout for the best practices and scientific research to improve our service delivery, which is why our practitioners attend a lot of seminars. Visit our fertility clinic in Hamilton for help with your women’s health issues. Your health is our top priority!

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Monica

I am originally from Hebei province in China. I hold a NZ bachelor’s degree of health and science with a major in acupuncture. I am honoured to be an acupuncturist at Centre of Balance. Helping patients to alleviate their pain brings me the greatest joy. Chinese medicine emphasises the unity of human beings and nature. During the treatment, I hope to not only relieve your pain but also help you to understand the principles behind acupuncture’s effectiveness, as well as the significant impact of diet, emotions, lifestyle habits, and living environments on disease recovery. Self-healing is an ability that our bodies are naturally endowed with.

I studied acupuncture in New Zealand and completed one and a half years of supervised clinical internship before graduating. In the early stage of my training, I mainly worked with patients experiencing neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Under the guidance of senior clinical tutors, I gradually developed hands-on experience and confidence in treating musculoskeletal pain conditions.
As my clinical exposure expanded, I began treating a wider range of internal conditions. Alongside traditional acupuncture, I was introduced to Umbilical Acupuncture and Tungs-acupuncture Points. What interested me most about these approaches is that they often do not require needling directly at the painful area, yet can still achieve very effective results.
I was especially inspired by observing my supervisor use Umbilical Acupuncture to treat common conditions such as insomnia, menstrual irregularities, and even rheumatoid arthritis, with very positive outcomes. Another supervisor was highly skilled in Tungs-acupuncture Points and achieved excellent results in treating pain, infertility, menstrual disorders, and a variety of women’s health conditions. After completing my studies and entering clinical practice, once I observed Dr. Szenan Phua using Tungs-acupuncture points to help cancer patients relieve pain, which further strengthened my trust in this treatment method.
I later completed training in Dr. Tan Balance Acupuncture, which had a strong influence on the way I approach treatment. One of the most noticeable features of this method is how quickly patients often feel improvement, especially with pain conditions. Dr. Szenan Phua’s New Balance Acupuncture combines meridian regulation with structural adjustment and internal organ balancing, including techniques such as pulse balancing and spinal adjustment.
From my clinical experience, pain is rarely just a local issue. It often involves underlying organ weakness or structural imbalance. When these aspects are addressed together, treatment can be more thorough and longer-lasting. I also apply this approach to internal conditions, particularly in fertility and women’s health. This includes supporting natural conception, IVF preparation and embryo transfer, pregnancy support, early-pregnancy nausea, and late-pregnancy labour induction. I combine these treatments with concepts learned from a few additional fertility training, which has given me a broader and more flexible clinical perspective. This has reinforced my belief that acupuncture should be adapted to each individual rather than applied through fixed formulas.
Two other areas of study that have been very helpful in my clinical work are Tongue Diagnosis and Dr. Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture. Although tongue diagnosis is taught in my standard Chinese medicine training, further study allowed me to deepen and refine my diagnostic skills.
My first formal training was in Li’s Tongue Diagnosis, which looks not only at organ patterns, but also at how different areas of the tongue reflect the body’s structure. This system also explores personality traits and changes during pregnancy, making it both clinically useful and engaging. I later attended online lectures on Yin’s Tongue Diagnosis and studied the related materials independently. this learning has helped me make clearer and more accurate pattern differentiation, allowing my acupuncture treatments to be more targeted. It covers a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, oncology-related presentations, mental health patterns, and joint or limb problems. In practice, tongue observation often provides valuable insight even before a patient begins describing their symptoms.
In addition to the methods above, I regularly use local bloodletting techniques, which can be very effective for improving circulation, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. I also incorporate auricular (ear) acupressure and stimulation, which I commonly use for allergies, insomnia, headaches, stress management, and various internal conditions.
In my clinical work, I value taking the time to listen carefully to each patient and to understand their overall health, lifestyle, and concerns. Based on each individual’s condition, I also provide personalised dietary guidance and lifestyle or wellness advice to support overall health and long-term wellbeing. I commonly support patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, knee, and back pain, as well as stress-related conditions, sleep issues, migraines, digestive concerns, and women’s health and fertility-related conditions.