Practitioner Profile

Al Thieme is the Director and Acupuncturist at Portland Acupuncture providing acupuncture, herbal medicine, and nutrition in Portland, Oregon. Al Thieme studied Chinese Medicine at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. He was one of two recipients of the 2006 national American Specialty Health Scholarship for Acupuncture.

Al has studied Master Tung acupuncture and Tan Acupuncture with Richard Tan and other teachers. He continues to pursue additional learning through post-graduate training in nutrition, herbal medicine, pulse diagnosis, and acupuncture theory. Time permitting Al writes grants for alternative health programs such as Quest Center for Integrative Health.

He has a strong connection the natural world through his 10 years as a naturalist educator teaching youth and adults about animal tracking, wilderness survival skills, the language of the birds, and edible/medicinal plants. Additionally, he has served on the board of directors of a number of non-profit organizations.

His first career was as an electrical engineer working on the design of integrated circuitry.