Author Biographies

Rosa N. Schnyer, Dipl. Ac.

Mrs. Schnyer was born in 1960 in Mexico City, Mexico. She began her education in Asian medicine by studying shiatsu with Takashi Sensei in Mexico City in 1980. Between 1980 and 1983, Rosa continued her shiatsu training with Susan Krieger, Yoji Yamamoto, Pauline Sasaki, and Lindy Ferrigno in New York City. From 1984-87, Rosa attended the Tri-state Institute of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in Stamford, CT from which she graduated with a Diplomate in Acupuncture. In 1987, That same year, Rosa passed the NCCAOM acupuncture exam and was awarded a Diplomate of Acupuncture from that certification commission. During 1987, Rosa also studied Western botanical medicine with Simon Mills and Eastern approaches to holistic health at the State University of New York.

From 1991-92, Rosa studied Chinese herbal medicine with Ted Kaptchuk. From 1992-93, she studied advanced acupuncture techniques for pain management with the famous Japanese acupuncturist, Miki Shima through his Japanese-American Acupuncture Foundation. And from 1992-96, Mrs. Schnyer also studied Chinese herbal medicine through the Institute for Traditional Medicine (ITM). In Oct. 1995, Rosa enrolled in Blue Poppy Seminar's Postgraduate Certification Program in TCM Gynecology taught by Bob Flaws, from which she graduated in April 1997.

Mrs. Schyner has been in private practice, first as a shiatsu therapist and then as an acupuncturist since 1983. From 1983-88, she worked at Dai Bosatsu Zendo in Livingston Manor, NY. In 1988, she also practiced in Argentina and Peru. From 1988-90, Rosa practiced at Aguaviva, a center for personal development and holistic health in Santiago, Chile. Then from 1990-92, she operated the Kwan Yin Center for the Healing Arts in Charlotteville, VA. In 1992, Rosa moved to Tucson, AZ, where she opened a second Kwan Yin Center for the Healing Arts, at which she currently maintains a private practice.

Besides her private practice, Rosa is also acupuncture research specialist for the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona. From 1993-94, Rosa was involved in an NIH-funded pilot study of acupuncture and unipolar depression in women. She is currently engaged in NIH-funded research into 1) acupuncture and unipolar depression, 2) acupuncture and depression during pregnancy, and 3) self-hypnosis, acupuncture, and osteopathic manipulation in the treatment of muscle tension in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

Rosa has taught shiatsu at Dai Bosatsu Zendo from 1984-86. She was an assistant faculty member at Tristatre Institute of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in 1988. From 1992-94, she taught shiatsu at the Desert Institute of the Healing Arts in Tucson where she also was the curriculum coordinator for the shiatsu program from 1995-96. Since 1996, Rosa has been an adjunct faculty member at the Arizona School of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, and she is currently advisor to the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.

Rosa's other professional credits include serving on the Board of Directors of the Acupuncture Society of Arizona from 1993-98, serving on the Board of Directors of the Guatemalan Acupuncture & Medical Aid Project from 1996-98, and serving as the president of the Acupuncture Society of Arizona in 1993 and 1994. In 1991 and '92, Rosa was the regional respresentative of the Acupuncture Society of Virginia. Besides being a member of the Acupuncture Society of Arizona, Rosa is also a member of the Society for Acupuncture Research.

Rosa's publishing credits include coauthoring Curing Depression Naturally with Chinese Medicine with Bob Flaws as well as several articles on acupuncture and the treatment of depression in journals such as the Journal of the Complementary Medicine Association and the Journal of Psychological Science. Chapters on acupuncture and depression wirtten by Mrs. Schnyer will be appearing in forthcoming books on women's health.

Rosa is married with two children. Her other interests and activities include hiking, sailing, gardening, music, and dance.