Our Doctors
Dr. Taya Stanley
Dr.Taya Stanley was raised in the Sierra Foothills of California near the Emigrant and Carson Iceburg wilderness areas. Her upbringing fostered a strong love for the human spirit and respect for nature, its beauty, power, intrinsic balance and ability to heal.
At the University of California, Santa Cruz her research on the relationship between external influences on internal psychology and perception led her to be awarded Highest Honors in Anthropology in 1997.
From 1997 to 2005 she lived in both Europe and the United States working as the International Coordinator and Training Consultant for Sundoor School of Transpersonal Education. During this time she completed her graduate studies at the Japanese founded Institute of Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College Berkeley and Five Branches University, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After finishing her studies with an internship at Hong Zhao Medical University in China, she achieved a Masters of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine specializing in Medical Qigong, becoming a Nationally Accredited Diplomat in the field, State Licensed Acupuncturist and Primary Health Care Provider.
In 2005, she began to work in The Yellow Mountain Institute with Dr.Barbara Briner. Through the Institute they offer seminars and classes in both United States and Europe. In 2006 she and Dr.Barbara Briner began to offer their services to the foothill communities through The Sierra Acupuncture Integrative Health Center. The Center offers itself as a health resource for the local community, as well as a teaching Center for graduates of the Yellow Mountain Institute and Sundoor.
Today Taya splits her time between seeing clients and teaching locally, at the Sierra Acupuncture Center, and teaching abroad. She achieved a Doctor in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine DAOM with Five Branches University. She and Dr.Barbara Briner are currently working on a book focusing on the confluence of western medicine, modern psychology and Eastern teachings on health and the human spirit.
Dr. Barbara Briner
Dr.Barbara Briner received her MD in 1991 from the University of Basel in Switzerland. After receiving her Swiss physician's license she specialized in Psychiatry, and worked for years in numerous specialty clinics and hospitals before, in 1998, opening a private practice in the capital city Bern. Today, she runs the Sierra Acupuncture Clinic as an acupuncturist, Medical Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine consultant in the United States.
Her clinical and practical experience has given her an incredible compassion, respect, and depth of understanding into the human condition. Barbara holds a pioneering position in the new field of Integrative Medicine. In addition to her western medical training, she has studied a wide array of healing models from different cultures to develop new definitions of illness, health and healing. She pursued a secondary graduate and doctoral degree in Oriental Medicine in California. After studying at the Japanese school of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College Berkeley, she graduated from Five Branches University in Santa Cruz, with a Masters of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine, specializing in Medical Qigong. She is a Nationally Accredited Diplomat in the field, State Licensed Acupuncturist and Primary Health Care Provider.
In 2005 she expanded her studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine by interning at hospitals in China associated with Hong Zhao University. In 2011 did she earn a doctorate (DAOM) in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Five Branches University, San Jose, CA. For the last twelve plus years is she practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine at The Sierra Acupuncture Health Center in Sonora, California. The center offers itself as a resource for the local community and a teaching clinic for Qigong.