Hawaii Acupuncture Medicine Association

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Christenson, Elizabeth Chen

Member profile details

First Name

Elizabeth Chen

Last Name

Christenson

Personal Information

Photograph

Credentials

MD, LAc.

Specialty

Integrative Family Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Introduction

Elizabeth Chen Christenson, MD, LAc is an integrative family medicine physician, a licensed acupuncturist and the founding director of CHI Lifestyle Medical Center in Kailua, Hawaii. She is board certified in Integrative Holistic Medicine, Medical Acupuncture, and Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. She also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor at University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and has given lectures/workshops related to the use of TCM, music and a mind-body approach for patient care (especially for chronic conditions and pain) and self-care for physicians.

A native of Taiwan and trilingual (English, Chinese, Italian) she has been active in multi-cultural community health services, including teaching Medical Qigong classes at Castle Medical Center for ten years, and producing a Medical Qigong DVD.

Dr. Christenson is a member of Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement assisting in promotion of Native Hawaiian and pacific Islanders health initiative. She is a participant of Oahu Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies 2022- 2026.

Dr. Christenson discovered the link between music and medicine when she studied Chinese Medicine Five Element Theory which explained how music affects mind, body, and spirit. Dr. Christenson is a Certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner sponsored by International Harp Therapy Program in San Diego California. She is an author of a chapter entitled “Chinese Five Element Music Healing” for a book entitled “Harp Therapy Manual Cradle of Sound” and has released a CD, “Meditative Therapeutic Harp". She performed harp with the Medical Musical Group which is the world’s premier integrated medical chorale and symphony orchestra. Core members are “healers” – doctors, nurses and community volunteers and other US medical centers and schools all over the USA.

In her holistic private practice, Dr. Christenson values holistic approaches to health and the importance of communicating with patients in a way that respects their various social-cultural contexts in order to meaningfully engage them in their health and health care. Her choice of therapies includes the best of allopathic, traditional, and energetic techniques including select pharmaceuticals, herbology, nutrition, acupuncture, and body-mind-spirit meditative protocols for emotional wellbeing.

Following the philosophy that patients are ultimately responsible for their own health,
Dr. Christenson encourages a patient/physician partnership in customized health care management. She works closely with each patient, allowing quality time to serve the needs of a patient's unique healing process.
For details, visit www.ChiLifestyleMedicine.com, 808-261-7801.