Hello!
My name is Kate Thomas (she/her), and I’m a Licensed Acupuncturist and owner of Fireweed Acupuncture.
I specialize in working with people on their mental wellness, emotional health, managing stress, and chronic health problems, such as headaches, digestion, fatigue, and more. I have studied holistic healing methods for nearly 15 years and bring this experience into each patient interaction, collaborating to help you find the best way forward on your health journey. My focus when working with you is to help you develop regular wellness practices that help you feel more vibrant and fulfilled in your daily life.
I have a Master of Acupuncture (MAc), a Diplomate of Acupuncture (Dipl.Ac), and I am a Licensed Acupuncturist (LAc) in the State of Iowa. That means I have a Master’s degree, I passed three national boards (on Chinese medicine theory, acupuncture, and Western biomedicine), and I am licensed to perform acupuncture by the Iowa Board of Medicine. In addition to that, I also have a background in Western herbalism, flower essences, and hands-on healing methods, including massage therapy and Reiki.
Healing Philosophy
It is important to use the most gentle intervention available. I believe our bodies most often need gentle nudges, instead of shoves, in the direction we’d like them to go. Vitalist herbalism, a branch of herbalism, focuses on using the gentlest possible method - including nourishing daily traditions - to regain and maintain health. This also applies to acupuncture treatments!
Health is dynamic and ongoing, not an endpoint, and we can constantly nudge ourselves closer to our version of health with our daily practices. Chinese medicine refers to this as 養生 yang sheng, or nourishing life: the act of daily practices that contribute to our lifelong health and disease prevention.
Much of our health is out of our control, and so - especially with chronic conditions - our daily practices sometimes help us manage and cope with our experiences the best we can. This isn’t a personal failing or something that can be overcome with hard work; often, the things that need to change are outside of our bodies, so we do our best with the tools we can access at the time.
Selected Education
Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Health Coaching Certification - Precision Nutrition (PN) - June 2023-present (online)
Master of Acupuncture (MAc) - Northwestern Health Sciences University – Jan 2019-Dec 2021
Practitioner Skills I & II - Blue Otter School of Herbalism (online) - July 2021; Oct-Nov 2021
Intermediate/Advanced Herbalism - Matthew Wood (in person) - 2018
Intermediate Herbalism - Herbal Academy of New England (online) - 2017-2018
Bachelors of Arts, Speech Communications, Rhetoric, Gender Studies - MSU Denver - 2012-2016
Massage Therapy – Blue Sky School of Massage Therapy, Wisconsin – 2009 – 2010
The longer version:
In 2010, I graduated from a massage therapy program in Wisconsin and passed the national certification board exam for therapeutic massage (NCBTMB); while in that program, I also completed all three levels of Reiki training and was introduced to other healing modalities, such Cranial Sacral therapy and acupressure techniques - my first introduction to Chinese Medicine! I thought then about going to school for acupuncture, but I didn’t have a Bachelor’s degree, so the dream was a long way off.
In 2010, I moved to the Denver/Boulder area in Colorado. While there, I started taking workshops at a local herbal apothecary, and my interest in herbalism grew. While living in Colorado, I also started to get acupuncture regularly, which helped me through some health concerns I was experiencing and opened my eyes to the different layers of health that Chinese medicine can affect.
Since 2010, I have continued studying Western herbalism through workshops and self-study. I have completed advanced training with the Herbal Academy of New England and herbalist Matthew Wood in Minnesota. While sitting in one of my herb classes in Minneapolis in the summer of 2018, a classmate used Chinese medicine terms to explain how a Western herb worked. At that moment, my interests collided, and I knew I had to learn more about how the two were connected! And, in the funny way that life sometimes works, everything lined up. Finally, I could move forward on that long-ago dream; in the almost ten years since graduating from massage school, I had gotten my Bachelor’s degree, and Minneapolis had an acupuncture school. By January 2019, I had started classes in my Master’s program.
In December 2021, I graduated with my Master of Acupuncture (MAc) from Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) in Bloomington, Minnesota. While there, I received over 2000 hours of education and training on the human body and health from the perspective of both Chinese medicine and Western medicine, including over 600 hours of hands-on clinical experience. My internships included working with the student population, local community, and professional athletes in three on-site clinics and several shifts off-site in the community. These off-site clinics included working with low-income populations in the Integrative Clinic of Minnesota and working with in-patient hospital patients hospitalized for surgeries, pre-/post-birth care, and monitoring for various conditions at M Health Fairview (a hospital in downtown Minneapolis, MN).
I have continued to refine my acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and herbal knowledge and techniques by taking seminars and self-study, particularly related to mental/emotional wellness, digestive health, and chronic diseases. I’m a lifelong student and driven to gain more knowledge to best help my patients.
I consider my approach to patient interactions to be pragmatic, grounded in clinical experience, theoretical knowledge, and the lived experience of having and managing multiple chronic illnesses. I have lived most of my life with several chronic pain conditions and dysautonomia, and I am neurodivergent; the experience of living with chronic illnesses is inherently integrated into my clinical practice.
When I am not in the clinic, you can find me taking care of my house plants (over 70 and counting!), enjoying drinking tea, reading, taking pictures while telling anyone who will listen about what wildflowers are nearby, birdwatching, and spending time with family. My husband and I moved from Minneapolis to Des Moines in April 2022, and we’ve been enjoying discovering the area and getting to know the community!