Come learn from Drs. Steve Marsden, Erin Bannink, & Brett Ellis
with our 2026 Explorations in Classical Medicine for Veterinarians
Continue to expand your treatment options for all your patients through the lens of this holistic modality.
The CIVT-ATTH 2026 Explorations Course (formerly called "Advanced Course") takes place in beautiful Shelburne, VT.
Back by popular demand, CIVT and A Time to Heal's Explorations in Classical Chinese Medicine for Veterinarians is an opportunity for veterinarians experienced with classical Chinese medicine to learn more. You’ll learn how to integrate this powerful system of medicine into daily practice to solve your most challenging cases. We emphasize classical Chinese medicine, in a very friendly, relaxed environment. Come and learn classic Chinese medicine, reflected in the theory and medicines that have persisted for centuries.
It is recommended that attendees of the Explorations Course should already have a foundational class in acupuncture and herbs from either CIVT, IVAS, A Time to Heal, and/or Chi Institute.
2026 Course Brochure
Register for the 2026 Explorations Course today!
2026 Course Dates (Lecture days run 8am-6pm)
Thursday, October 15th (AM- Dr. Brett Ellis (Fascia) | PM- Pulse Lab)
Friday, October 16th (Dr. Steve Marsden- IBD)
Saturday, October 17th (Dr. Erin Bannink- AM- Cancer Herbal Therapies and Antioxidants | PM- Burnout)
Sunday, October 18th, 2026 will be a travel day for attendees (no class)
2026 Schedule and Instructor Bios:
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Brett Ellis as one of our lecturers this year!
Thursday, October 15 (AM):
Brett F. Ellis, DVM, CVSMT (Ohio State University, 1999) co-owns Veterinary Associates Hospital, OH, with his father, Dr. Jon Ellis (who was the 22nd person to graduate from IVAS back in 1980!). This is a mixed animal clinic with four associates practicing traditional and integrative medicine on dogs, cats, horses, cows, sheep, goats, and pigs. Dr. Ellis got his Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Therapy certification from The Healing Oasis in 2017 and in 2023, attended A Time to Heal’s Introductory Course (now called Foundations) in 2023. A regular attendee of the Advanced (now called Explorations Course) with A Time to Heal, he became an instructor in 2026. In his free time, Dr. Ellis is an avid mountain biker and Bikejor (dryland dog mushing with bikes) enthusiast.
2026 Topic: Fascia
Recent fascial research and the recognition of the interstitium as a body-wide, fluid-filled connective tissue network and “new” circulatory organ system offer new insights into how acupuncture produces local and systemic effects. This presentation will examine fascia as a sensory and mechanotransductive organ and the interstitium as a continuous matrix that integrates tissues throughout the body.
We will review their roles in force transmission, cellular signaling, immune surveillance, fluid dynamics, and neurovascular communication, with particular attention to how needle insertion and manipulation generate mechanical and biochemical signals beyond the point of insertion.
By integrating contemporary fascial science with traditional acupuncture principles, this lecture will propose a framework in which acupuncture influences the whole organism through modulation of the connective tissue continuum, offering new directions for veterinary acupuncture research and clinical application.
Thursday, October 15 (PM):
Pulse Lab
Drs. Steve Marsden, Nate Heilman, and Brett Ellis will break the group into three and do pulse labs with Qi Veterinary clients.
Friday, October 16:
Steve Marsden DVM, ND, MSOM, Lac. Dipl.CH, CVA, AHG (WCVM, Saskatoon, 1988) lectures for IVAS, the AHVMA, the AVMA, and numerous other organizations. He is co-founder of the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies and is a director emeritus of the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland OR. He authored the Manual of Natural Veterinary Medicine (Mosby); and Essential Guide to Chinese Herbal Formulas (CIVT). Dr. Marsden is extensively trained in alternative medicine, including Chinese herbology, acupuncture and naturopathic medicine. In 2010, Dr. Marsden was named Teacher of the Year by the AHVMA; and in 2009, the Small Animal Veterinarian of the year by the CVMA.
2026 Topic: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a common and significant problem, not only because of the misery experienced by clinically affected animals, but also the host of conditions that arise from subclinical disease. Allergies, Addison’s disease, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and even type I diabetes all arise from IBD, even when GI symptoms are not present.
Western treatment of IBD in small animals is not nuanced, consisting chiefly of immune suppression. Animals are often not cured by this approach, necessitating long term therapy and leading to a host of side effects, often leading to multiple drugs being tried over time, most of which eventually fail.
It’s just not realistic that simply suppressing the immune system would work for IBD. A tremendous number of factors influence the health of GI, including the microbiome, GI motility control, immune function, the inflammatory potential of the patient, diet composition and processing, and the presence of any mental emotional disorders. It’s just not feasible to do all the tests necessary to fully flesh out this bewildering array of factors so as to arrive at a definitive treatment for an animal. A referral to a GI specialist may solve your problem, but not those of the pet or owner, since specialists seldom recommend anything that you have not contemplated already – unless it’s something a lot more toxic.
IBD cases thus take the steam out of you given their unrewarding treatment with western medicine. Chinese medicine, in contrast, allows you to navigate these IBD cases with alacrity. Where western medicine sees one problem – an overactive immune system – Chinese medicine sees at least a half dozen possible presentations, each with their own typical clinical picture and treatment. You can thus make a much more nuanced appraisal of the IBD patient using Chinese medicine, making definitive treatment of these cases once again a reality for you.
In Dr. Steve Marsden’s lectures, we will explain and review these various diagnostic possibilities at length, including the herbs, diets and acupuncture treatments most suited to managing them. Case examples will be provided to help ensure you recognize them when you see them. You’ll go from cringing when you see IBD cases on your day sheet to welcoming them, because of the success you know are now in store.
Saturday, October 17:
Dr. Erin Bannink, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology)
Veterinary Oncologist | Integrative Medicine Educator | Metaphysical Teacher
Dr. Erin Bannink is a board-certified veterinary oncologist with over 15 years of experience in integrative medicine. She earned her DVM from Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2002 and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology) in 2008. In addition to her conventional oncology expertise, Dr. Bannink is certified in veterinary acupuncture through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) and holds a Graduate Diploma in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Herbal Medicine from the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies (CIVT), where she also serves as a faculty member. She has received advanced training in Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine and lectures internationally on integrating Chinese herbal medicine with chemotherapy in veterinary cancer care.
Dr. Bannink practices Integrative Oncology at Oakland Veterinary Referral Services in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, combining state-of-the-art diagnostics with time-tested holistic modalities to support optimal outcomes for pets with cancer. She also offers monthly educational webinars and tele-consultations for veterinarians and shares wellness resources for pet caregivers through her platform www.MettaPets.info.
Dr. Bannink is also the founder of Divine PowerHouse, a center for spiritual development and personal transformation rooted in the ancient Hermetic Mystery School lineage of King Salomon. Through Divine PowerHouse, she teaches metaphysical classes, guides clients in spiritual growth, and supports individuals in redefining and experiencing greater success—not just in their professional lives, but in alignment with inner peace, purpose, and conscious creation. Learn more at www.DivinePowerHouse.com.
2026 Topics: Antioxidants | New Perspectives on Burnout
AM
Herbal Therapies and Antioxidants with Conventional Cancer Treatment: Separating Evidence from Assumption
A review of the current evidence base for integrative veterinarians, with practical strategies for collaborative communication with conventional oncology colleagues
Overview
Integrative veterinarians are frequently told — by colleagues, by clients, and sometimes by their own training — that herbal medicines and antioxidant supplements “cannot” be given alongside chemotherapy or radiation therapy. This lecture examines where that guidance actually comes from, what the published evidence does and does not show, and how to have a more productive, evidence-grounded conversation with board-certified oncology colleagues. The goal is not to argue that every herb or supplement is safe in every context. The goal is to replace a blanket prohibition with a more precise, defensible, and ultimately more collaborative framework — one that serves the shared interest of every clinician in the room: the best possible outcome for the patient.
Learning Objectives:
Trace the historical origin of the “avoid antioxidants during cancer treatment” recommendation and distinguish mechanistic plausibility from clinical evidence of harm.
Critically appraise the studies most frequently cited against concurrent antioxidant use — including their actual design, strength, and limitations.
Explain why herbal medicines should not be reduced to “antioxidants,” and why pharmacokinetic interactions (CYP450, P-glycoprotein) are often a more clinically relevant concern than oxidative mechanism.
Apply a tiered, evidence-based framework for deciding when to avoid, time-separate, or use specific compounds with specific conventional treatments.
Use practical, collegial communication strategies to engage conventional oncology colleagues as partners rather than adversaries in integrative case management.
PM
New Perspectives on Burnout: Why Rest Alone Doesn't Solve the Problem
Burnout has become one of the greatest challenges facing veterinary professionals — yet the most common solutions (time off, work-life balance, self-care, resilience-building) often provide only temporary relief. After a brief reprieve, many professionals find themselves back in the same cycles of exhaustion, overwhelm, and emotional depletion.
What if burnout isn't simply the result of working too hard?
In this lecture, Dr. Erin Bannink — board-certified integrative veterinary oncologist, founder of Divine PowerHouse Center for Healing and Enlightenment, and senior spiritual guide and metaphysical teacher in the Hermetic Mystery School lineage of King Salomon — presents a framework for understanding burnout that goes beyond conventional approaches.
She proposes that burnout isn't simply a deficit to be rested away. It's a sign that the demands of your work and life have outgrown your current capacity to hold them. Rest can temporarily change how depleted you feel — it doesn't change the size of the structure you're pouring your effort, ambition, and care into. Without addressing capacity directly, even well-intentioned interventions tend to produce the same pattern: depletion, partial recovery, re-entry, depletion again, because the container never changed size.
Drawing on decades of clinical experience, neuroscience-informed stress physiology, contemplative practice, and her training in ancient wisdom traditions, Dr. Bannink explores how chronic patterns of thinking, identity, nervous system conditioning, and internal belief can quietly perpetuate burnout — even when external circumstances improve.
Attendees will leave with:
A new diagnostic lens for understanding why standard burnout interventions (rest, boundaries, time off) often fail to produce lasting change
A framework for distinguishing depletion caused by skill or workload from depletion caused by capacity limits
Practical tools for expanding working capacity, applicable immediately in clinical practice
A model for sustainable performance that doesn't rely on cyclical escape and recharge
Whether you're feeling overwhelmed, questioning your longevity in the profession, or looking for a genuinely effective approach to sustainable well-being, this lecture will challenge conventional thinking on burnout and offer insight you can begin applying immediately.
Course Location
Shelburne, Vermont
2026 Course fee (includes continental breakfast and lunch each day)
$1450
Enrollment is limited to 30 veterinarians.
Information about CE & Certification
Cancellation Policy:
A refund of 50% of course fees when written notice of cancellation is received 20 or more days before the course's start date. No refund or credit with less than 20 days notice.
Register for the 2026 Explorations Course today!
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