The Medicine of Peace: Integrative Tools for Healing Pain, Stress & Trauma | Frankfurt, Germany: 22-24 May, 2026

This 3-day seminar provides health professionals with practical tools to support individuals and communities affected by pain, stress, and trauma. It is designed for clinicians working with refugees and displaced people, survivors of war and violence, at-risk youth, marginalized essential workers, and communities with limited access to integrative healthcare. Participants will learn evidence-informed, community-based techniques that can be used in clinics, hospitals, and public health settings.

For the first time, AWB is offering this course to both:

• Licensed or certified acupuncture practitioners, and

• Health professionals who want to learn trauma-informed, non-needle treatment approaches: Acupuncturists, physicians, nurses, massage therapists, mental health professionals, and all other health care providers are encouraged to attend.

Seminar Topics (Instruction in English)

• Working with core trauma-informed principles: safety, trust, transparency,  empowerment, cultural  respect
• Biology of trauma & the essential role of somatic therapy
• Ear acupuncture and/or ear seeds for pain, stress, and trauma
• Hand magnet therapy to reduce pain
• Aromatherapy (essential oils) for stress reduction and nervous system regulation
• Creating community healing circles – with a team approach
• Trauma-informed self-care for practitioner and community sustainability

Location

ABZ Mitte
Frankfurter Straße 59
63067 Offenbach, Germany (near Frankfurt)

Schedule

• Friday, 22 May 2026 — 11:00–18:30
• Saturday, 23 May 2026 — 9:30–18:30
• Sunday, 24 May 2026 — 9:30–18:30

Registration Fees* (Lunch & snacks included)

• €350 — Early Bird (before 1 February 2026)
• €400 — Standard
• €250 — Students

24 NCCAOM PDAs available for acupuncturists (pending)

*1.5% currency conversion charge is NOT included in the price above. The 1.5% currency conversion charge will be added at checkout for non-US based customers.

Instructors

• Carla Cassler, DAOM, LAc – AWB Director of Programs and Community Clinics
• Abby Seaver, LAc – AWB Trainer and Project Team Leader
• Guest speakers from AWB EU refugee-support projects

About ABZ Mitte (Seminar Host)

ABZ Mitte is the leading center for Chinese Medicine training in central Germany. It offers comprehensive, high-quality instruction and continuing education in acupuncture and related disciplines.

Accommodation & Transport

Affordable lodging options are available within walking distance, with special seminar rates. ABZ Mitte is a 15-minute train ride from Frankfurt Central Station. Public transport and parking information is available here.

Questions & Registration

Contact: carla@acuwithoutborders.org

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Instructor Bios

Abby Seaver, LAc

Abby Seaver is a licensed acupuncturist from California with a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine from Samra University in Los Angeles. Her clinical background includes advanced internships in integrative medical settings—such as the Samra Acupuncture Spinal Center and the Minority AIDS Project—as well as intensive hospital training in Beijing, where she studied with senior physician-acupuncturists specializing in acupuncture, herbal medicine, and evidence-informed clinical practice.

Since 2019, Abby has served with Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB), where she works as a field team leader in disaster-relief and humanitarian response environments. She has extensive hands-on experience in trauma-informed community acupuncture, emergency response protocols, and population-level care. Beginning in 2021, she joined the AWB team working in refugee shelters in Tijuana, Mexico, and now collaborates closely with Partieras y Medicinas Ancestrales, providing direct patient care as well as training midwives in integrative techniques. 

Abby also has a strong record of nonprofit and community health engagement, including collaborative projects serving homeless veterans, first responders, and underserved communities in Southern California. In addition, she works within elite sports medicine, treating professional athletes through the World Surf League and the US Open Medical Team—experience that informs her teaching on sports-related injury management and performance care.

With a blend of clinical depth, humanitarian field leadership, and international teaching experience, Abby offers a grounded, practical, and culturally sensitive approach as a course instructor. She is committed to high-quality, patient-centered care and to sharing trauma-informed, community-based acupuncture methods with practitioners worldwide.

Carla Cassler, DAOM, LAc

For more than 40 years, Dr. Cassler has served as a clinician specializing in acupuncture, herbal medicine, and massage therapy, with a focus on women’s health, pediatrics, pain, and trauma. Her work integrates extensive clinical experience with a deep commitment to community health and international service.

Since 2012, she has been a key leader with Acupuncturists Without Borders, helping develop trauma-reduction programs in regions impacted by conflict and disaster, including Israel, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Greece, and Mexico. As Director of Programs and Community Clinics, she designs and oversees domestic and international field initiatives that bring trauma-informed care to vulnerable populations.

Her community leadership includes founding the Bay Area Veterans Acupuncture Clinic (BAYVAC) and establishing a trauma-focused acupuncture program on Kibbutz Gan Shmuel in Israel, where she treated residents, combat veterans, and Holocaust survivors. Earlier in her career, she co-founded the Chelsea Women’s Health Team in New York City and served as a staff acupuncturist at San Francisco’s Lyon Martin Women’s Health Center, working within collaborative integrative care teams.

Dr. Cassler holds a DAOM degree from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where she developed a clinical model for integrating acupuncture into the Veterans Administration’s medical system. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for training practitioners in how to deliver trauma-informed, community-centered care and for advancing access to integrative medicine worldwide.