Hello! I'm Ellis
Please, call me Ellis! (pronouns they/them)
Legal name: Grace Ganel, M.Ac., L.Ac., Dipl.Ac., Certified Zero Balancer, Acu-Detox Specialist, Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) member
I hold acupuncture licenses in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. In 2018 I completed my Masters in Acupuncture at the Maryland University of Integrative Health and as such I have strong foundations in both J. R. Worsley Five Element Acupuncture as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Concurrently, I studied directly with the founder of Zero Balancing, Dr. Fritz (Frederick) Smith and earned a certificate in Zero Balancing from the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators. During my graduate studies I also became an acudetox specialist through the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association. In 2019 I completed all three required exams to become a Diplomate of Acupuncture with the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. I have extensive continuing education experience in Japanese Palpation Based Acupuncture (Kiiko Matsumoto Style) with David Euler. I am also a member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) and practice a trauma-informed approach to care while upholding antiracist practices and continuing to challenge implicit biases in healthcare.
My philosophy of healing is that all people are whole and complete, and treatment should aim to remind them, body mind and spirit, of this truth. I want to help you learn to listen to your symptoms, because they are teachers, requests, and invitations into fuller health. Rather than covering them up, I want to help you learn their language so you can offer your body, mind, and spirit true healing.
My practice is open and friendly towards all people. I love working with my fellow LGBTQIA folks, and I proudly support BIPOC folks, practice anti-racism, actively challenge my implicit biases. I believe that all people can be Healthy At Every Size (HAES®). I can't wait to work together with you on your health goals.
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Acupuncture and zero balancing are holistic and complementary modalities. I believe in the power of these interventions because they have been instrumental to my own healing journey.
As a teen, I suffered from debilitating emotional irregularitites and I was misdiagnosed with a mood disorder. I was given several psychiatric medications, but none of them helped me due to my misdiagnosis.
I had used acupuncture for knee pain when I was a child, and finally went back to see if it could help my disregulation.
The results were like night and day.
Where I used to feel deflated and defeated, I found myself alert and excited to live my life after treatments. For me, acupuncture served as a complementary therapy that helped me fill my sails so that I could do the hard, necessary psychotherapy work.
Since then, Traditional Chinese Medicine has continued to help me regulate my mood and my hormones and to support me with allergy and asthma concerns. Zero balancing has helped me learn to be more present in my body after years of emotional distress. ​I am beyond grateful that I get to use these same theories and modalities to support you today.
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