About Karyn...

About Sonia F. Tan | About Karyn Smith | About Annie Hui Kung

Karyn Smith is a Registered Acupuncturist and a Registered Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Karyn has recently returned to Vancouver after spending a year in her hometown of Whitehorse, Yukon where she practiced under the business name of Whale Song Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Previous to Whitehorse she had been traveling from Vancouver to Kingcome Inlet, and working 1 week a month in her mother’s home village on the Northwest Coast of B.C. She has had the incredible opportunity of working with this remote community, getting to know her relatives better, and growing as a TCM practitioner. Her patients ranged in age from children to the elderly. She gained experience in treating arthritic conditions, back, shoulder and knee pain, as well as treating patients with Diabetes and heart conditions.

Karyn graduated from the 5-year doctorate program at the International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Vancouver (ICTCMV) and interned at a hospital in Anhui province in the People’s Republic of China. While studying TCM she also obtained a certificate in Foot Reflexology from the Pacific Institute of Reflexology and completed a course for the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) in Victoria. She has also completed training in Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture with Virginia Doran. Karyn also has a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Psychology. She has previously been certified as a practitioner of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). One of her hobbies is studying and learning the ancient Chinese art of face reading. Face reading gives helpful tools for diagnosing health as well as telling us a little about who a person really is on the inside and what they present to the world.

Why TCM?
Karyn was born in Vancouver but grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon. She struggled with eczema from birth through to adulthood. Her only options, she thought, were treating it topically with corticoid steroid creams. In her 20’s her mother introduced her to Dr. Jim, Whitehorse’s first resident TCM doctor. She was intrigued with the idea that there were other treatment options available. Using herbs to work on the inside as well as making changes to her diet made sense as way to manage and alleviate her condition. Further expanding her knowledge through extra course work in dermatology, Karyn is interested in and devoted to treating patients with dermatological conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and adult acne through the use of acupuncture, herbal formula and diet counseling.

Why is a First Nation’s person practicing TCM?
Karyn was immediately drawn to the theory of TCM as it resonated with her own value system. She was taught that health was composed of not just the physical element, but emotional, mental and spiritual elements as well. She was taught that the environment we live in leads to certain ailments but should also provide the cures for them if we know where to look. It is for this reason that she is learning as much as she can about local plants and their medicinal properties.

Regaining balance and vitality is a lifelong mission. It is a difficult one as she has observed that in nature, animals and plants live in balance, but humans are destructive. Karyn is here to learn as much as she can in this life and on this planet.

Karyn is excited to be joining Red Tree Wellness and looks forward to helping you achieve your optimal health and well-being!

Headshot by Alchemy Photographic Arts

Kind Words...

"Dr. Karyn Smith is a dedicated, caring and skilful practitioner of TCM.

I first saw Karyn about a year and half ago for assessment and treatment. I casually mentioned experiencing some hearing loss in my right ear over the past few years. After that first treatment and over the next couple of days, I experienced strange sensations in my ear, like something was moving. At the end of the second day I realized that my hearing had returned to normal and it has stayed that way ever since!

I work in the health care field as a Medical Radiation Technologist and Ultrasonographer and I have great confidence in Dr. Smith’s treatment methods and highly recommend her as a practitioner of TCM."

- Denise Hinatsu,
MRT, RDMS, CR

"Dr. Karyn Smith came and performed her skill and experience in Chinese Acupuncture and massage at our 3rd Women’s Retreat at R22 campsite 5 miles up the Dempster Highway. The ladies at camp were all greatly impressed, grateful and appreciated her experience, knowledge, and her gentle bedside manner. She was very respectful; she answered any questions we had for her, her manner puts you at ease right away. Having gone through two treatments with Dr. Karyn myself, I found that the acupuncture treatment worked right away and has not returned. I have also overheard other ladies making positive comments on their treatment that they received from Dr. Karyn; they were all very pleased on how Dr. Karyn performed her job and how it worked with such minimal pain. I am very thankful and grateful for the time spent with Dr. Karyn, not just as a doctor but also a friend.

Thank you very much."

- Freda Roberts
Cultural Education, Trondek Hwech'in, Dawson City

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