Richard Grossman Ph.D.

Doctor of Oriental Medicine
Santa Monica and Topanga Canyon CA

Richard Grossman, Ph.D. is a doctor of Oriental Medicine.  He practices Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in Santa Monica and Topanga Canyon, California (near Los Angeles).  He also practices Nutritional Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Functional Medicine, Detoxification, Chinese and Western Herbal Medicine, Indigenous Sound Healing™  and Natural Health Care.  Dr. Richard Grossman's fascination with healing started quite early in his life. The son of a pharmacist, he grew up surrounded by doctors and spent summers and weekends in his father's pharmacy. In those days, pharmacists still compounded medicines, and Richard was always intrigued by that process.

Growing up in the medical world had its downside, however, as every illness and complaint was thoroughly medicated. As a result, by the time he reached his teens, he was overweight and unhealthy, with digestive problems that medical science could not resolve.

His spiritual search also started early. The young Richard was a seeker, reading writers like Carlos Castaneda, Ram Das, Yogananda and others; looking for God and meaning; asking questions that adults couldn't or wouldn't answer. By the age of 15, he had concluded that the only reason to be alive was to help others out of their suffering. The how was not yet clear. But he was searching for himself in deep, core ways and thought that if he could connect with the growing Hippie movement, someone there might have something to teach him. So the day after he graduated from high school, at 16, he hitchhiked from Los Angeles to Berkeley, where he joined an anti-war commune and became a vegetarian.

Unfortunately, the early idealism of the vegetarian community was no better for his health than the medical community. He fasted and lived mostly on peanut butter, honey and raw vegetables. Without grounding in diet or nutrition, he went from slightly overweight to dangerously underweight, and his health continued to deteriorate. It was only when he moved to Oregon, a year and a half later, that something changed.

That something came in the guise of an 86-year-old woman trained in Native American healing. By this time, Richard was thin, weak and getting weaker. He had nearly been hospitalized in Portland, but had no money or medical insurance. This healer took him in, introduced him to raw and cooked foods, goat's milk yogurt, wild-crafted herbs, massage, the healing power of nature and prayer, and, as he tells it, brought him back from death's door. This non-medical model for healing was a pivotal moment for his health and his life path.

Richard's spiritual journey took him next to India. There, on the banks of the Ganges, he studied meditation and the deep connection between body, mind and spirit. He began to understand that, without a spiritual component, you might practice medicine, but you couldn't practice healing. And it was the healing path that called him. He was just 18 years old.

Over the next 10 years, Richard explored various forms of spiritual teachings and healing arts. He studied Asian philosophy, martial arts, massage, macrobiotics, juice fasting, yoga, aikido and herbal medicines. And he felt the growing call to dedicate his life to healing and health, or, in the words of his 15-year-old self, to help others out of their suffering.

That call was answered in 1979, when he enrolled in the program of Oriental Medicine at the California Acupuncture College in Los Angeles. Three years later, he was one of three students from his school to attend a post-graduate acupuncture training in Beijing, in the Peoples Republic of China, sponsored by the World Health Organization. Upon his return, he began a thriving private practice and continued his studies, earning a Masters in Acupuncture, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine degree, a Ph.D. in Oriental Medicine, a Diplomat in Acupuncture, a Diplomat of Pain Management, and a Diplomat in Acupuncture Orthopedics.

Fifteen years ago, his lifelong interest in healing and spirit merged again, joined, this time, by the power of sound and music. The result was soundJourney.  Richard’s travels to Ecuador and Peru allowed him to begin a life-long dream of studying with indigenous shamans in their native lands, which further deepened his work with healing sounds.

Richard currently lives in the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains. He continues his private medical practice in addition to his performance and recording schedule.