Susanna Niveen Farahat, “Turtle,” is a licensed acupuncturist in the state of Oregon. She completed her Master of Science in Oriental Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine (now NUNM) in 2014. After earning her acupuncturist license, Turtle spent a year in residency at NCNM, where she acted as a clinical teaching assistant, taught a course for first-year students of Chinese medicine, and studied intensively in the Shen-Hammer pulse diagnosis lineage. During residency, she also worked as an acupuncturist at Outside In, a community clinic in downtown Portland. In 2005, Turtle earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from Bryn Mawr College, in Pennsylvania. Prior to pursuing a career in natural medicine, Turtle worked as an environmental and peace educator for young people.
Turtle practices medicine largely because she delights in hearing people’s stories and encouraging herself and others to live rich, engaged lives. She believes that natural medicine offers us the chance to renegotiate our responses to life’s challenges, to see health and disease as parts of the human experience. In addition to acupuncture, Turtle uses bodywork, Chinese herbs, moxibustion, and qigong in her practice. She believes that each needle, each herb, each moment that we spend in contact, has the power to facilitate the restoration of balance within, and to help us move toward greater wholeness.
When Turtle isn’t practicing or teaching Chinese medicine, she is doing her qigong practice, volunteering, singing with Portland’s Threshold Choir, dancing, spending time with her family and friends, and being outdoors as much as possible.