About Dr Christine Shen
I became a Chinese Medicine practitioner because I believe the body already knows how to heal. My role is simply to help it remember — using the accumulated wisdom of 2,000 years of classical medicine, combined with modern integrative care.
Dr Christine Shen
Principal Practitioner
Rainbow Medicine
My Story
I grew up immersed in the traditions of Chinese medicine — a world where the body is not a machine to be fixed, but a living, intelligent system to be listened to. I trained in Sydney, completing a Bachelor of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture at the Sydney Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine alongside advanced postgraduate study in classical Chinese herbal medicine at ICEAM (Institute of Classics in East Asian Medicine), before establishing my practice to share this medicine with a new community.
What struck me about Sydney's patients was the gap between how much they were suffering and how little they understood about why. Chronic pain written off as "getting older." Hormonal chaos labelled "stress." Fertility challenges met with a shrug. I built Rainbow Medicine to be a different kind of clinic — one that takes the time to find the root cause, not just name the symptom.
Over the years I have worked with many wonderful patients — from newborns to elders, from competitive athletes to exhausted new mothers, from executives running on adrenaline to people quietly rebuilding their lives after illness. Each person has taught me something new about the remarkable resilience of the human body.
In 2018, I expanded from Lane Cove to Freshwater, bringing the Rainbow Medicine approach to Sydney's Northern Beaches — a community I have come to love for its openness to integrative and holistic care.
My practice spans acupuncture, classical Chinese herbal medicine, holistic psychotherapy and comprehensive diagnostic consultation. Whatever brings you here, I promise the same thing: I will listen carefully, think deeply, and work with your body rather than against it.
Clinical Philosophy
Chinese medicine asks not just "what is wrong?" but "why is this happening, and why now?" We invest time in comprehensive pulse and tongue diagnosis, detailed case-taking and pattern recognition to understand the underlying imbalance driving your symptoms — because treating the root is the only way to achieve lasting results.
Your body already knows how to heal. It has been doing so your entire life. When you cut your finger, you don't have to think about clotting. When you catch a cold, your immune system mobilises without instruction. My job is not to override this intelligence — it is to remove whatever is blocking it and give your body the conditions it needs to do what it does naturally.
In classical Chinese medicine, there is no separation between body and mind, between a digestive complaint and an emotional pattern, between hormonal health and sleep quality. Everything is connected. When I treat you, I treat all of you — your physical symptoms, your emotional landscape, your lifestyle, your constitution, your history.
Credentials & Training
How I Work
Your first consultation is 90 minutes. I take your full health history, understand your current complaints in detail, assess your pulse at all 12 positions and examine your tongue — gathering a picture of your whole system.
Using classical TCM diagnosis, I identify the underlying pattern of imbalance — not just the symptom, but the root cause driving it. This is where Chinese medicine distinguishes itself: two patients with the same complaint may have entirely different root patterns.
Your treatment plan is built specifically for you — the right combination of acupuncture points, herbal formula adjustments, dietary guidance and lifestyle recommendations to address your unique pattern.
Healing unfolds over time. We track your progress at every appointment, adjusting your treatment as your pattern shifts. Most patients notice meaningful change within 4–6 treatments; complex or chronic conditions are given the time they genuinely need.
Book a free 15-minute consultation to discuss your health concerns and find out how Chinese medicine can help you.
