Compassionate Alternative Medicine Associates
of Chestnut Hill

Our Staff by Department

We offer affordable, compassionate, effective, preventive, holistic care, including: acupuncture, bodywork, plant-based nutrition and self-care education.

Acupuncture is a 2500 year old healing art that is empirically effective--meaning over thousands of years, it has proven itself to be a method of healing that works.

Meet our Acupuncturists

Acupuncture

Learn more about the Northwest Center for Food As Medicine that provides education and support to transform your health.

Meet our Plant-based Nutritionists

Plant-Based Nutrition

Bodywork is extremely effective at managing stress (which underlies most chronic diseases), repairing injuries, and calming the body.

Meet our Bodyworkers

Meet Our Bodyworkers

Bodywork is available in the Bodywork, Stress Management, Ditch the Diabetes and Cancer Support Care Plans.

What do we mean by bodywork? Bodywork is a term to describe multiple modalities that are used to help the body function better on the many levels described below, re-establish balance and promote healing.

Bodywork is one great way to reduce the harmful effects of stress. Stress creates low level inflammation that breaks down the body’s ability to function well over time.

Studies in 2016 at the Touch Research Institute at the Miami School of Medicine have shown bodywork to regulate hormones, boost immunity, improve attentiveness and ease symptoms of depression by raising serotonin and dopamine levels. It also assists lymphatic movement and supports the cardiovascular system.

It also balances the body’s energy system, the major system that is also addressed through acupuncture.

Many of us would elect to have bodywork more often if it was affordable. We’ve endeavored to make that the case for you at CAMA !

Book them individually or at a discount with one of our Care Plans.

Kathleen Strickler

Kathleen is an energy/bodyworker for more than 21 years with a wide array of modalities. She started her healing journey part-time until 2009. It was then that she took the leap of faith with her intuitive healing art and went full time. She has never looked back! Kathleen has helped thousands of people find relief from stress and pain, most notably migraine/headache sufferers. Kathleen hopes to spread the benefits of healing hands to the communities at large.

Modalities: Deep Tissue, Sports, Prenatal, Reflexology; to name a few, as Kathleen's work is a delightful combination of intuitive, healing therapies.

When not in session, Kathleen spends most of her time reading, writing poetry, and singing in a local trio.

Kathleen is available on Tuesday & Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings.

Meet Our Acupuncturists

Elise Rivers is the founder and owner of Community Acupuncture of Mt Airy. Elise specializes in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is also a Certified Asian Bodywork Therapist (Shiatsu). She has been practicing Asian medicine for more than 19 years.

A top graduate of the New England School of Acupuncture with a Masters in both Japanese and TCM-style techniques, she is also a certified practitioner of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA), requiring completion of a comprehensive training in auricular (ear) acupuncture, and a ten month curriculum in addiction behavior and treatments. As part of her training she worked at the Dimock Community Health Center in Jamaica Plain, MA and the Wellness Center in Boston, MA.

Elise enjoyed sharing her knowledge for 15 years ago as part of the staff of the Won Institute for Graduate Studies to teach point location, a foundation course for acupuncturists.

She feels very strongly that acupuncture is ancient medicine for modern times and should be made accessible to as many people as possible. This led her to found CAMA, Philadelphia’s first community clinic in 2005, based on the model started in Portland, Oregon. It is her sincere wish that many people will partake and benefit from this model of affordable, accessible care.