Meet our passionate, caring, and skilled Santa Rosa Acupuncturists
Christina Ness-Hawks
Founder and Clinic Director
LAc (Licensed California Acupuncturist)
Dipl OM (NCCAOM Nationally Certified)
MSTCM (Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine)
Christina’s life was transformed in her mid-20’s, when she sought Chinese Medicine to treat her allergies, chronic sinus infections, and struggling immune system. After personally experiencing the healing effects of Chinese Medicine and the freedom that comes with true well-being, Christina was inspired to become an acupuncturist.
Christina knows firsthand what it’s like to be overwhelmed by health challenges. But she’s also seen that our bodies have an innate healing intelligence that’s part of every cell of your body. She’s excited to help reawaken your natural healing system and empower you to make the best decisions for you. She has helped hundreds of patients with a variety of health issues ranging from chronic pain and sports injuries; allergies, frequent colds, and sinusitis; depression and anxiety; PMS and menopause; to all sorts of conditions that patients can’t find a solution for.
Christina is a California Licensed and Nationally Certified acupuncturist and herbalist. She has been studying and practicing Chinese Medicine since 2007. She earned her Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and is Board Certified by the California Acupuncture Board as a Licensed Acupuncturist as well as the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine as a Diplomate of Oriental Medicine. She interned abroad at Yue Yang Hospital in Shanghai and has worked in a variety of clinic settings including an inpatient stroke and trauma rehabilitation center and a skilled nursing facility for the aged. She opened Thrive Acupuncture and Wellness in Santa Rosa, California in March 2012.
Christina is super results driven. She draws from a wide variety of styles of acupuncture, but relies on a deep foundation in distal acupuncture such as Richard Tan’s Balance Method and Master Tung Acupuncture that are renowned for patients starting to feel better on the table as soon as a few points are placed. She loves that Chinese Herbal Medicine is one of the best values for your investment of time and money in your wellbeing because you only need to come in for 1 appointment and you go home with herbs that you can take twice a day for a week or more. In order to get the best results, she has studied with herbal masters who are focused on treating modern patients such as Jimmy Wei-Yen Chang and Christopher Volesky to learn Pulsynergy and Harmonize Chinese Herbal Medicine.
Christina brings a unique balance of the scientific and energetic to her practice. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz with a concentration in comparative physiology and a minor in Psychology. At the same time she was enrolled in the holistic health practitioner program in which she studied Swedish massage, acupressure, and western herbology and nutrition. She had a few careers, including marine mammal training and biotechnology regulatory affairs, before she became an acupuncturist. Christina will help you bridge the gap between western science and Chinese Medicine by educating you on how these two worlds relate and how they can work together.
In her free time you can find her thriving on her mountain bike, in the garden, on the dance floor, and in the kitchen with her husband cooking food from their garden.
