Dr Joshua Shain DTCM — The Root Cause

Dr Joshua Shain DTCM L.Ac.

Doctorate in TCM

Joshua Shain earned his doctorate in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University of Bridgeport in 2020 while holding an appointment as a full-time faculty in the UB Acupuncture Institute where he taught classes in Chinese Materia Medica, Chinese Herbal Formulae, as well as Ethics & Ecology of Chinese Medicine among other topics. He also has been supervising interns at their student acupuncture clinic since 2015.

Diplomate of TCM Dermatology

Dr Shain has completed an advanced post-graduate program in TCM dermatology in 2023 and is currently listed in the international TCM Dermatology registry.

Diplomate of Oriental Medicine

A Diplomate of Oriental Medicine is a practitioner who is certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM®) and has met the certification requirements for both acupuncture and Chinese herbology. It is a considerable professional achievement to earn the designation Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). NCCAOM certification indicates to employers, patients, and peers that one has met national standards for the safe and competent practice of acupuncture and Chinese herbology as defined by the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) profession.

For additional information, about the Diplomate of Oriental Medicine, please visit the NCCAOM Website.

(HSK) Mandarin Proficiency Exam Level 7

The Mandarin Language proficiency examination is the official test for Chinese language proficiency. After three years of intensive language and cultural studies Dr Shain has attained a level 7 on the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK)

Master's Degree In Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

Acupuncture school is a rigorous medical program that takes 4 years to complete.

Joshua Shain attained a Master's degree in Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine from AOMA: Graduate School of Integrative Medicine, one of the top ranked Chinese Medical schools in the country. While there he quickly became reputed as having expertise in herbal medicine and was awarded the Michael Garcia Award for Herbal Excellence, an honor bestowed onto only one student per class.

Diplomate of Chinese Herbology

A Diplomate of Chinese Herbology is a practitioner who is certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM®). It is a considerable professional achievement to earn the designation Diplomate of Chinese Herbology (NCCAOM). NCCAOM certification indicates to employers, patients, and peers that one has met national standards for the safe and competent practice of Chinese herbology as defined by the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) profession.

For additional information, about the Diplomate of Chinese Herbology, please visit the NCCAOM Website.

Diplomate of Acupuncture

A Diplomate of Acupuncture is an acupuncturist who is certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM®). It is a considerable professional achievement to earn the designation Diplomate of Acupuncture (NCCAOM). NCCAOM certification indicates to employers, patients, and peers that one has met national standards for the safe and competent practice of acupuncture as defined by the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) profession.

For additional information, about the Diplomate of Acupuncture, please visit the NCCAOM Website.

Bachelor's of Science

Dr Shain earned a Bachelor's of Science from the University of Connecticut in 2003. His major was Physiology and Neurobiology; minor in Neuroscience. Dr Shain was one of 13 University Scholar's in the class of 2003, a designation reserved for students that created and undertook graduate level research study as a bachelor's degree student. His project was on the effect of Ginkgo Biloba extract on Neurogenesis in the hippocampus of the femal rat. Ginkgo Biloba is a well-known Chinese herb.

Dr Shain is a practitioner of Traditional East Asian Medicine, also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine. After completing a Bachelor's degree at UCONN, he moved to China for 5 years to dive deeply into Chinese language, martial arts and culture as well as the study of Chinese medicine. Subsequently, he attained a Master's degree from AOMA in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in 2012. Later, Joshua earned a Doctorate in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the University of Bridgeport Acupuncture Institute in 2020. Since then, Dr Shain keeps current with continuing education and in 2023 completed an internationally recognized Diploma of TCM Dermatology.

In 2015, Dr Shain has maintained a position at the University of Bridgeport Acupuncture Institute, as adjunct faculty, then from 2017-2021 as full-time faculty. Currently, Dr Shain still maintains an adjunct appointment as well as a Clinical Educator at for the University of Bridgeport College of Health Sciences. Currently Dr Shain's private office is only making house-calls for herbal consultations for dermatological conditions.

Martial Arts & Tai Chi Chuan

Tai Chi Chuan (pinyin: Taiji Quan 太极拳）has been an integral part of Dr Shain’s practice. He has been studying and practicing the meditative movement art since 2004 when he first went to China.

Joshua started training at sunrise in Guangxi University with Master Mu, doing kung-fu basics for an hour daily, before training in Yang Style fist and straight sword. After finding and training with several different master’s, including a one month stint at Wudang Mountain with Master Yuan Xiugang 袁修刚, Joshua found himself moved to the city of Fuzhou, Fujian. There he found grandmaster Lü Yaoqin 吕耀钦, and trained in Natural Style Kungfu 自然门功夫 for more than 3 years. Upon returning to the states, Joshua was given permission to teach the style. Currently, Dr Shain is no longer teaching martial arts, preferring to train simply in Tai Chi Chuan with Shifu Bob Shannon at the Aiping Tai Chi Center.