Healing from within

Hamilton, Ohio – She did it on purpose.

Really.

Theresa Mhanna sat in front of a mirror and repeatedly jabbed needles into her face and neck.

After reading about acupuncture and studying some books from the library, Mhanna thought she’d give it a go.

“I saw where western medicine wasn’t doing the best job, so I started reading about eastern medicine,” she said. “I bought a set of needles off E-Bay and started practicing on myself. It wasn’t great at first, honestly, but it was how I started.”

Mhanna will share her journey into Traditional Chinese Medicine during the Fitton Center’s Celebrating Self Luncheon Wednesday, October 1. Her story runs parallel to One City One Book, who returns to Hamilton this fall with Lisa See’s Lady Tan’s Circle of Women. Its themes delve into TCM and eastern practices like acupuncture, herb therapy and tai chi.

It will be an interactive presentation, with guests able to experience some Traditional Chines Medicine methods firsthand.

“In Chinese medicine we address the physical, but also the emotional and the spiritual,” Mhanna said. “They want to heal from within. It uplifts your spirits. It’s about practicing a healthy lifestyle.”

From sticking needles into her own face in front of a mirror, Mhanna went on to more formal study – lots of it, in fact - on her way to establishing her Red Dragon Oriental Medicine practice.

Three years at the American Institute of Alternative Medicine in Columbus. Two years at an intensive herbology program in Philadelphia where she also learned compounding. A doctorate from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego.

“I knew there had to be something better than what the western world was doing for its sick people,” Mhanna said. “These practices have been around thousands of years, and they work.”

Mhanna bridges the gap between east and west working for TriHealth, one of the region’s largest healthcare organizations which includes both Good Samaritan Hospital and Bethesda North in Cincinnati.

TriHealth was named fifth in the nation for most human healthcare brand and in 2025 was recognized as one of Ohio’s healthiest employers for the fourth consecutive year. Mhanna works out of the Byers Chiropractic Center in Waynesville, Ohio.  

“Acupuncture has become a mainstay of in many of the hospitals and with the insurance companies,” she said.

Mhanna is licensed by the Ohio Medical Board and the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, both of which require continuing education and rigorous testing to maintain her licensure.

Tickets to the One City One Book Celebrating Self luncheon - sponsored by Niki & Chris Motley - are $26 for Fitton Center members, $32 for non-members, and are available online right here, by phone at 513-863-8873, ext. 110 or in person at the Fitton Center box office. Guests may reserve full tables of eight or half tables of four when ordering by phone. Otherwise, seating is general admission.

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

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