ONLINE CEU Course: TCM and COVID-somnia

Using Ancient Wisdom to Treat Difficulty Sleeping Due to the Pandemic.

TCM and COVID-somnia

Wednesday, July 7th- July 28th, 2021

9:00 AM- 1:00 PM

Duration: 16 hours

Location: Online

Fee: $300 CAD

*This course is appropriate for experienced practitioners as well as students who have taken the prerequisites.

Prerequisite: Chinese Medicine Diagnosis (TCM-105), Herbal Prescriptions (HRB-306) or equivalent.

Call 416 901 8818 or email toronto@octcm.com for more information

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people have experienced increased levels of stress due to the shifts in their daily lives, feeling of loneliness, job losses, lack of physical exercise, isolation from family and friends, financial difficulty, and grief over the death of loved ones. The psychological consequences are already apparent with increased rates of anxiety and panic, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, insomnia, digestive problems, as well as depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress. According to recent research the current pandemic is severely disrupting sleep in more than 50% of people causing increased reliance on medications that have minimal benefit and severe side-effects and are not designed to be taken long-term.

The sleep difficulties being reported and treated are not only in people recovering from COVID-19, but in the far larger number of people worldwide whose lives have been turned upside down by fear and social isolation. Due to this increase, neurologists who specialize in sleep disorders and witnessing this surge have developed the term “COVID-somnia”

Any long-term treatment of COVID-somnia has to have properties that will make the user want to continue using it. That means it must be: effective and provide relief of symptoms, safe, with few unwanted side effects and easy to use Chinese Herbal Medicine and acupuncture when prescribed correctly can meet all of these criteria. With proper training Chinese herbal medicine can even be used without needing to meet the patient in person. As health care providers it is important to enhance our knowledge of stress related diseases in order to support the increasing mental and emotional needs of those who will be seeking help from us during and after the pandemic. This includes those currently suffering from COVID-somnia, depression, anxiety etc. caused by these increasingly stressful time in history.

This course is a reflection of an advanced practitioner's clinical experience and understanding of COVID-somnia that will begin to be published in medical journals and presented at international medical conferences beginning in June 2021. These reflections include diagnosing common patterns that appear in clinical practice and treatment using customized Chinese Herbal formulas. In addition, relevant traditional theories and new insights and approaches will be shared including modern research and case studies throughout the course.

Course content will also include in-depth discussion of the following:

Chinese Medicine and Sleep Based on Yin-Yang Theory
Modern Medicine: Understanding the Two-Process Model of Sleep Regulation
Stress, Cortisol, Liver Qi Stagnation and their Affect on Sleep
Tips to Obtain Peaceful, Restorative Sleep in the Midst of a Pandemic (Combining Ancient Wisdom & Sleep Science)

Rob Helmer R.TCMP, R.Ac

Rob Helmer specializes in the treatment of chronic, difficult to treat medical conditions that other doctors and alternative medicine providers are unable to help. His primary form of treatment to achieve this is customized Chinese herbal medicine formulas. Rob's recent research has focused on the area of insomnia due to the increase in mental-emotional health problems since the beginning of the pandemic. This research will be published in various medical journals this year including the Journal of Chinese Medicine in June 2021.

He originally graduated from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) school in Toronto 1998 and completed his Doctorate of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Pacific Rim College in Victoria, BC. To obtain doctorate level knowledge learned to read medical Chinese and spent many years translating Chinese medical journal articles into English to share with others.

He has completed clinical practice/internships in China (four times), Germany and USA. Rob is currently a professor of Traditional Chinese Medicine at OCTCM in Toronto and has previously taught at a number of TCM schools in Canada and the US and also has developed and taught post-graduate courses on insomnia, asthma and dermatology based on his own clinical experience and research. Rob is a published author and has previously appeared in various TCM journals (Journal of Chinese Medicine) and published a book by Blue Poppy press in 2006 on the TCM treatment of pediatric bedwetting. Lastly, he has been a student of many well respected doctors of TCM over the years in different countries including Dr. David Lam in Toronto, Bob Flaws and TCM dermatologist Mazin Al-khafaji (https://mazin-al-khafaji.com/) including working at his clinic in England