Laura Derr, L.Ac
Welcome! I am so happy you are here. I am a licensed acupuncturist with a passion for supporting my patients through life’s biggest transitions and challenges. If you are trying to conceive, pregnant, postpartum, grieving a loved one who has passed or a shocking event in your life or even a former version of yourself, I am here to help you relax and process complex emotions through gentle holistic treatments. We all hold the stress of life’s most beautiful and most difficult moments in our bodies in different ways. This medicine offers an elegant and customizable framework through which to create ease in the physical body and a deeper sense of peace in the mind.
I came to acupuncture myself at the age of 14. My father was diagnosed with Lymphoma when I was 11 and shortly thereafter I developed crippling anxiety and severe heartburn that didn’t resolve with conventional methods. Acupuncture was the only treatment I found that both soothed my anxious mind and virtually took away my heartburn. I am so very grateful to have been introduced to acupuncture at such a young age because it became one of the main tools I turn to in times of upheaval. When my father passed, I had just turned 21 and I once again turned to acupuncture for emotional and physical relief during such a heartwrenching time.
Once I decided to study this medicine for myself I learned that the majority of the acupuncture points that worked so well to help my digestive issues were those points that treated emotional well-being. The mind and body are inextricably connected— acupuncture and Eastern medicinal philosophies and theories create a container for treating the deepest roots of what we are going through physically and mentally, thus enabling the release and processing of emotions we may not even have been aware of.
Acupuncture continues to be a key component of my own self care routine and has been of the utmost importance to my health in my own postpartum journey. As a mother to a wild 3-year-old I can say that postpartum and parenthood are an absolutely massive life change and deserving of the utmost care and reverence. Acupuncture helps me return to myself, feel deep rest, and find the extra strength to keep moving forward. It is my genuine honor to be able to bring the modalities I have learned over the years to my patients, especially during the uniquely challenging times in which we find ourselves as a collective.
Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine- Emperor’s College, Santa Monica, CA- 2019
California Acupuncture Board license number: 18973
Continuing Education Courses Completed:
The Treatment of Infertility-Jane Lyttleton
Obstetric Acupuncture Treatment During Pregnancy and Post-Natal Care- Sarah Budd
Integrative Approach for Common Fertility and Reproductive Disorders- Laura Erlich
Microneedling and Red Light Therapy Courses- Acu Micro
Treatment of Pain- Kiko Matsumoto
Welcome to Oak Song
Oak Song is a name that honors both my late father, a landscape architect and tree care specialist, and my mother, a professional musician, while paying homage to the powerful California live oak trees of my home state. The tree also serves as a beautiful metaphor for how this medicine looks at the body- acknowledging the whole system- the deep roots and not just the branches.