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Credentials

Tara Bissell attended the College of William & Mary, receiving  a BA in East Asian Studies in 2000.  She attended Canadian College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in British Columbia from 2002-2003 and completed a diploma in ​Jin Shin Do® Bodymind Acupressure® from the Canadian Acupressure College in 2004. Tara earned her Masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in 2012. 
She has a license of acupuncture from the state of Kentucky, and has her national acupuncture certification through the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM).   ​
Tara Bissell, L.Ac., MSOM

Tara enjoys getting to know her patients and supporting them in reaching their health and life goals.  She believes that this medicine can bring healing and relief to all levels of our being and loves sharing the timeless value of Chinese medicine with others. 
Her Path to Classical Chinese Medicine 

Tara became interested in Asian Studies during college, majoring in the subject and doing a study abroad in Japan.  After graduation she discovered some books about Chinese Medicine and had an 'ah ha' moment as she saw the broad scope of health practices and self-cultivation that is involved in the profession.  Knowing that this was the perfect way to bring together her diverse interests in nutrition, acupressure, exercise, philosophy and feng shui, with a lifetime of study and the impossibility of ever growing bored, she promptly set off to Victoria, British Columbia to study this fascinating medicine. 

While in school in Victoria, Tara experienced anxiety for the first time.  She pursued many different modalities searching for relief and understanding, and found that the  Jin Shin Do® Bodymind Acupressure®   brought the increased self-awareness and transformation she was seeking.   She changed her focus for the next year to study that more intensively under some very special teachers at the Canadian Acupressure College.  After several years working with acupressure only and becoming an office manager for an acupuncturist, Tara returned to the west coast to get her master's degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in Portland, Oregon.  Inspired greatly by Portland but ready to be closer to family, Tara moved to Asheville, NC to begin working under a fellow OCOM alumnus. 

She met her husband, Andy, and they had their son, Gideon, while living there.  They moved back to Lexington, KY for Andy to attend school and for Tara to work in a busy acupuncture clinic.   In 2019 a colleague introduced her to Joseph and Emaline.  Discovering that they had all gone to school in Portland and had much in common, she began coming up to attend the Dream Group and the Yi Jing groups at The Light Clinic.  Tara and family are excited to now be living in Frankfort, and to be part of this wonderful community!