About Colleen
Colleen Grady graduated from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) with a Master’s degree in acupuncture and oriental medicine in 2005. The program included over three thousand hours of study in acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, tuina, a Chinese style bodywork, shiatsu massage, and qi gong. Prior to her master’s degree Colleen received a bachelors degree from the University of Michigan in cultural anthropology. After completing the program at OCOM Colleen returned to Michigan where she has been practicing for the past four years.
At the Authentic Living Center Colleen works side by side with other holistic medicine practitioners. She collaborates with other practitioners in the Center such as chiropractors, massage therapists, and tai ji instructors to provide her patients the tools they need to rehabilitate most quickly and effectively.
Colleen also works in the Beaumont Hospitals Integrative Medicine program. The program is part of the Oncology Department and was introduced to the hospital as a support for patients with cancer as they go through their western allopathic medical treatments of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery and later as a treatment to recover their energy or resolve post-surgical pain. Patients of any type are welcome at the hospital. Treatment is not restricted to oncology patients.
Colleen serves as Vice-President of the Michigan Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and has served on the board for three years. One of the primary goals of the organization is to advance legitimacy and regulation of acupuncture in the state of Michigan. We hope that by eventually having licensing in the state patients will be able to better choose a qualified practitioner.
Colleen was introduced to Chinese Medicine as a teenager as part of her own personal journey towards health. The medicine captured her imagination and inspired her to learn more about how she might help others. When Colleen isn’t working she enjoys riding her bike, cooking, tending to her plants, creating art projects and spending time with her friends and family exploring the Detroit area.
Colleen believes that healing should be a collaboration between the health care provider and the patient. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are tools to help encourage the body to heal and to maximize the healing potential. It is also essential for the patient to become aware of other factors that may be negatively affecting her health—whether that be an unhealthy diet, too much stress, unexpressed emotions, or other unhealthy habits. She will encourage the patient to make lifestyle changes. Oftentimes even small changes can be monumental in the course of a person’s ability to heal and grow.
Every health problem is the body’s expression of an imbalance. If you eliminate the expression but do not eliminate the underlying or root cause of the problem there will be an expression of the problem elsewhere in the future. Acupuncture may be able to help in the short term to create a deep level of balance but it is also essential for future health to address the patient’s own role in their current state of imbalance.
