Oliver Leonetti, LAc of Inner Gate Acupuncture
1. What brought you to Portland? I originally came to Oregon to study Biology at Lewis and Clark college. I guess I was drawn here by the progressive culture, green forests and undeveloped coastline.
2. Why did you decide to become an LAc? My first experience with acupuncture was when I was treated for a poorly-recovering foot surgery on a couch! Years later I was involved in a farm where all of our neighbors practiced western herbalism, held workshops, restored and protected native forests. While involved in this community Chinese herbalism was always discussed as a very complicated and nearly magical level of herbal medicine. I was intrigued and knew that I wanted to practice Chinese medicine.
3. Tell me about your practice. Our practice is truly wonderful. We have created an environment that empowers each of the three practitioners involved to explore different treatment modalities and herbal formulations in a supportive space. We all bring strong herbal backgrounds and strong senses of humor which makes for a fun and playful clinic. Both of our office support staff are also quite playful and add to the easy and relaxing environment. We tend to treat a lots of woman's health and fertility patients. We also see plenty of musculo-skeletal patients and digestive health issues. But in reality just about everything walks through the door.
4. Where does your passion for the medicine come from? My passion for the medicine continually evolves with my practice. I guess right now I'm simply amazed to see the difference we can make in people's quality of life with tiny precisely placed needles. People are able to gain perspective, find relaxation, achieve health care goals and become empowered by this simple medicine.
5.What your favorite restaurant in Portland? We have a friend who is a chef at Park Kitchen and have become big fans of their cuisine. It has a great local food scene with high quality ingredients and creative dishes. Though with a two-year old daughter we don't get to eat out often.
You can reach Oliver at:
Inner Gate Acupuncture 3531 NE 15th Ave, Suite A Portland Oregon 97212
office phone: 503-284-6996