drjuliamandes@gmail.com
410-929-2293 | email, text or schedule online
About Me
I am a graduate of the Maryland University of Integrative Health with a Doctorate of Oriental Medicine. I have been a licensed acupuncturist since 2013. I served as faculty in both the Acupuncture and Chinese Herb Programs at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, where I was also a Lead Teaching Clinic Supervisor in the student clinic. Sadly, the school closed in 2024, ending my ten-year teaching tenure; otherwise I would still be there, learning alongside my students. I maintain a clinical practice in both Baltimore City and Columbia, where I see patients one-on-one and one at a time, ensuring plenty of privacy, consideration, and care.
I specialize in non-judgmental and inclusive reproductive medicine: fertility, gynecology, obstetrics, hormonal changes, and ageing. I am well-versed with integrating Chinese medicine into modern assisted reproductive technologies such as IUI and IVF. Additionally, I maintain a general internal medicine practice, treating conditions such as chronic pain, mental health concerns, and chronic illnesses like Lyme Disease, fibromyalgia, post-viral and autoimmune conditions. I am sensitive and consent-based, and I understand how hard and vulnerable it is to ask for help and how much bravery it takes to try something new.
Since the age of eighteen I have been an herbalist in some form or fashion, as well as an equestrienne, cowgirl, riding instructor, farmer, world traveler, community organizer, and felony court reporter. Chinese medicine, however, is my passion.
I derive great pleasure from designing customized herbal formulas for my patients, creating unique herbal blends to support each person's body, mind, and spirit. In the acupuncture clinic, I also have the great honor of fashioning traditional treatments to alleviate suffering and help people step forth into their full potential.
I entered into this vocation because of my deep and abiding love for humanity and belief in our innate capacity to heal, to help reduce suffering, one person at a time, and when that’s not possible, to help people bear suffering with more ease. Chinese medicine helps us live well and prepares us to die well. I found this medicine through my own 20-year dance with chronic pain and illness, and it has helped me to continuously heal, and to consider myself healed, even while experiencing symptoms.
One of the profound gifts of this medicine is that it offers thousands of years of Chinese medical wisdom to inform my practice. The cannon of traditional acupuncture and plant medicine is just as clinically relevant today as it was in ancient times. When I listen carefully enough, I can hear the wisdom of the ancestors whispering in my ears as I help bring forth this lineage into the modern world, with humility and awe. I am here to be of service to you.