Live training for acupuncturists with Dr. Liz Carter:
Treating Trauma with 5 Element Acupuncture
A 3 Workshop Series
Address trauma and emotional issues that are holding your patients back safely and effectively, without triggering them or becoming their therapist. Improve treatment outcomes, patient retention, and personal fulfillment.
Approved for 7 CE (NCBAHM + CA)
WORKSHOP 1:
Treating Trauma with 5 Element Acupuncture (4 CE)
Sunday, September 6, 2026
10am–3pm PST
WORKSHOP 2:
Treating Trauma with the 5 Elements: Diagnosis in Action (1.5 CE)
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
5:30–7pm PST
WORKSHOP 3:
Treating Trauma in Practice: Applying the 5 Elements (1.5 CE)
Sunday, September 13, 2026
11am–12:30pm PST
If you're unsure how to address trauma confidently, you’re not alone. We often aren't taught this skill as acupuncturists.
Unaddressed trauma manifests both physically and behaviorally and holds our patients back from fully healing and thriving in their lives.
The beautiful thing about 5 element acupuncture is that you don’t have to get into someone’s trauma history or have them tell you their story to get results.
You're a bodyworker, not a therapist. You need a bodywork appropriate skill set that allows you to start where you're the most comfortable so you can feel confident treating trauma without needing a masters in counseling.
But when you don't have the skills to address deeper emotional issues, your patients' chronic symptom loops get stuck on repeat. This can leave you:
worrying about patient retention because your current approach doesn’t seem to offer the depth of support patients need for lasting, whole-person healing
feeling frustrated and uncertain because you know at least some of their symptoms are connected to their trauma but you can’t seem to get to that level
finding yourself drained and depressed because you end up treating the same things like PMS, irritation, energy levels, and pain on an endless loop and you want to go deeper with people
The vast majority of health complaints in the western world are rooted in emotional and spirit-based issues that are often caused by trauma.
For example, trauma symptoms can show up in your patients physically as:
- insomnia and fatigue
- chronic pain and autoimmune disease
- IBS, constipation, reflux
- PMS, heavy periods, and other hormonal issues
- being stuck in chronic symptom loops
- and more....
And emotionally as:
- obsessive and addictive tendencies
- anxiety, anger, and depression
- constant fight/flight/freeze/fawn behavioral responses due to a hyperactive nervous system
- seasonal mood issues
- not being able to act in their own best interest
Trauma can decrease someone's capacity for healing and resilience.
You may notice their zest for life dwindles. They lose that spark of joy in their eyes. They stop appreciating the beauty of the world and have trouble connecting with those closest to them.
When you're able to address their trauma, you can unlock a whole new life for your patients and a whole new satisfaction and fulfillment in practice for yourself.
5 element acupuncture is the perfect tool to help you care for all aspects of your patients’ being in a treatment.
It’s specifically designed to:
break longstanding detrimental behavioral patterns like addictive and obsessive tendencies caused by trauma
ground people in who they are so they feel calm, centered, and able to act in their own best interest
help people revive their spirit by rediscovering joy and meaning in their lives
We all have those patients we know are struggling deeply in their lives but who aren’t sure how to connect with themselves and heal.
5 element acupuncture offers a gentle, supportive nudge in the right direction.
It can reconnect people with their heart and purpose, help them to become more embodied, and reinvigorate their sense of identity.
And you can do it without triggering them or directly asking about the trauma itself. 5 element acupuncture gives you the tools to treat the trauma with compassion, connection, and a bodywork forward approach so your patients can move forward and heal.
That's exactly what I'm going to show you how to do as an acupuncturist.
Learning 5 element acupuncture has significantly shaped how I view and connect with my patients. Being able to identify someone's elements has helped me to understand their psycho-emotional state, how they think about the world, and their values.
This insight has not only facilitated more effective communication, but it has also allowed me to treat the true root of my patients’ health imbalances through acupuncture, lifestyle advice, and counseling, rather than simply chasing the symptoms.
If you want to make a bigger difference in your patients' lives, feel more fulfilled and inspired, and as a result grow your practice and patient retention... this 3-workshop training series is for you.
Over the course of one week, you'll gain the clinical confidence to begin integrating 5 Element principles into your practice. Each workshop builds on the previous one, moving from foundational concepts, to live demonstrations, to practical clinical application.
Your 3-Workshop Training Series
7 total CEs (NCBAHM and CA) for attending live
Recording available for those who register until 9/20
Workshop 1
4 CE
Treating Trauma with 5 Element Acupuncture
The essential principles every acupuncturist needs to treat trauma with confidence
Build a strong foundation for treating trauma with confidence. Learn why trauma keeps patients stuck, why 5 Element Acupuncture is uniquely suited to address it, and practical 5E clinical tools you can begin using immediately.
Sunday, September 6 • 10am–3pm PST
Workshop 2
1.5 CE
Treating Trauma with the 5 Elements: Diagnosis in Action
Learn to identify the elements through live demonstrations
Watch live interviews with volunteer participants as Dr. Liz Carter demonstrates the process of constitutional diagnosis. You'll practice observing constitutional clues in real time, identify the elements yourself, and discuss the clinical reasoning behind each diagnosis as a group.
Wednesday, September 9 • 5:30–7pm PST
Workshop 3
1.5 CE
Treating Trauma in Practice: Applying the 5 Elements
Turning theory into clinical confidence
Bring your clinical questions, cases, and treatment challenges to this live, interactive discussion. Together, we'll connect the dots, explore practical ways to begin integrating 5 Element principles into your practice, and answer your questions so you leave with greater clarity and confidence applying these principles with your own patients.
Sunday, September 13 • 11am–12:30pm PST
Across the 3 workshop series, you'll learn:
Why trauma often keeps patients stuck in chronic symptom patterns and why 5 Element Acupuncture is uniquely suited to address it
The most common fears acupuncturists have about treating trauma ("I'll have to do talk therapy," "I'm going to re-trigger someone," "I'm not qualified," etc.) and why you don't need to worry
Why 5 element acupuncture is so effective for trauma and deep emotional matters that have been weighing your patients down for years
How to recognize constitutional elements by observing real diagnostic demonstrations and following the clinical reasoning behind them
How trauma can shape each element differently and what those patterns look like in clinical practice
My top 2 practical 5E tools you can begin applying immediately to support patients with trauma and complex emotional concerns.
How integrating 5 Element principles can create more meaningful patient relationships, improve outcomes, increase retention, and bring greater fulfillment back to your practice
If you’d like to learn more about how 5 element acupuncture can help your patients process their trauma and heal more deeply than they have before, sign up for my live training:
Treating Trauma with 5 Element Acupuncture
By registering, you'll get...
- The full series of 3 interactive training sessions with Dr. Liz Carter
- The opportunity to ask your questions during the live events
- Specific, practical clinical applications and guidance from an acupuncturist who uses this approach with her own patients
- Additional resources including handouts, a 5 element personality cheatsheet, book recommendations, and more
- Access to the limited time replay and added resources until 9/20
- Approved for 7 CE (NCBAHM provider #9127, CA provider #1820) for attending the live training sessions. You must attend each presentation live to receive credit.
WORKSHOP 1:
Treating Trauma with 5 Element Acupuncture (4 CE)
Sunday, September 6, 2026
10am–3pm PST
WORKSHOP 2:
Treating Trauma with the 5 Elements: Diagnosis in Action (1.5 CE)
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
5:30–7pm PST
WORKSHOP 3:
Treating Trauma in Practice: Applying the 5 Elements (1.5 CE)
Sunday, September 13, 2026
11am–12:30pm PST
Replays only for registrants of the live events available until September 20
Register Now:
$35
Approved for 7 CE (NCBAHM provider #9127, CA provider #1820)
Please note this training is meant for licensed acupuncturists or acupuncture students.
I only teach this once a year so don’t miss your chance!
The 5 elements are like a Chinese medicine spin on psychoneuroimmunology. You can use them to access things that are unconscious or subconscious for your patients and provide treatment around those issues.
I wasn’t able to do that with my other TCM based acupuncture education that would have, for example, chalked up someone’s irritation to superficial patterns like liver qi stagnation or heat in the heart instead of looking into the deeper reason behind that irritation. Now I have the tools to build a stronger patient-practitioner relationship and personalize my treatments. I’ve already noticed better results for my patients.
Hi, I’m Dr. Liz Carter
I'm a licensed naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist practicing in the Seattle area since 2011.
I’ve been treating trauma with 5 element acupuncture in my practice for over 15 years and I’ve been teaching others about it for the past 8 years.
Learning 5 element acupuncture brought the joy back into my practice because it created the opportunity to work at the root cause level with my patients and support them through the mental, emotional, and spirit-based challenges of modern life.
Adding 5E was also transformative for my business because my patients got better, faster results and I was less burned out and more emotionally satisfied with my work.
My Story
Before I started practicing 5E I treated many patients who:
- would make progress for a bit then relapse despite my (and their) best efforts
- had pain I couldn’t touch with any of my acupuncture and bodywork skills
- despite my gentle counseling, creating a safe and compassionate space, and showing them unconditional positive regard remained stuck in their detrimental behavioral patterns that were sabotaging their lives
I felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle and I had no idea where to find it.
Then I met my mentor who taught me 5 element acupuncture and my whole practice changed.
I could finally get to the bottom of what was holding my patients hostage and I saw stubborn cases of pain, depression, lack of treatment progress, and more shift significantly or even resolve.
My patients were happier and more satisfied with their care. Many came in for pain or physical issues and stayed for the mental and emotional benefits they experienced.
My fulfillment with my work skyrocketed because I felt like I had a tool to get to the root issues my patients were experiencing and I’ve never looked back.
A quick note about my 5E style…
I’m not a classically trained 5 element practitioner which means I didn’t study under a strictly JR Worsley teacher. JR Worsley is the father of 5 element acupuncture and developed the medicine in the 1970s.
I attended a TCM based school and I learned 5E from my mentor who is mainly a classical acupuncturist. I learned to integrate 5E and TCM as well as a few other modalities like balance method into one treatment.
I love it! I’ve had great results for my patients with this blend of medicines. It’s a comprehensive way to address people’s health concerns.
This presentation is based around my own 5E style.
Sign up now to attend the Treating Trauma with 5 Element Acupuncture Series
Refund Policy
No refunds are available. These courses have been approved by the California Acupuncture Board, Provider Number 1820, for a total of 7 hours of Category 1 continuing education and by the NCBAHM, Provider Number 9127 for a total of 7 hours of continuing education.
NCBAHM Attestation:
I understand that the information in this course presented by the Provider and/orInstructor(s) is for educational purposes only and should only be applied with appropriate clinical judgment and used by a trained and licensed practitioner. Governmental laws and regulations vary from region to region and the contents of this course vary in permissible usage. The participant is required to check their local, state, and federal laws and regulations regarding the practice requirements and scope of practice issues and the use of the information of this course including, but not limited to, theory, herbal medicine, and acupuncture. I acknowledge that NCCAOM does not endorse any specific treatment regimens of any kind. Furthermore, if I use any modalities or treatments taught in this course, I agree to waive, release, indemnify, discharge, and covenant not to sue NCCAOM from and against any liability, claims, demands, or causes of action whatsoever, arising out of any injury, loss, or damage that a person may sustain related to the use of the information in this course. I understand that this Release is governed by the laws of District of Columbia, U.S.A. and shall survive the termination or expiration of this course.