About Dr. Stephen Thompson DC DACM CNT BCTMB
Dr. Thompson has been in the field of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine for 18 years, Clinical Massage Therapy for 20 years, Nutrition Therapy for 8 years, finished his doctorates in Chiropractic Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2019, is an Assistant Professor and clinic supervisor at Northwestern Health Sciences, and most recently is an Integrative Medicine Fellow with AIHM (2025). Outside of his clinical practice and teaching, Dr. Thompson consults and lectures on Integrative Medicine, and human performance. Dr. Thompson believe that wellness is not a destination but an ongoing lifestyle that promotes one’s best self.
It Starts with Why
Growing up, I was fascinated with medicine due to both of my grandfather’s medical practices. I knew from an early age that I was to continue with the family legacy of medical service to my community. When I decided to go to medical school, I chose to go into Chinese Medicine and bodywork because I wanted to present a non-surgical and non-pharmaceutical option for my patients.
I was raised around allopathic (western) medicine and still have respect for the advancements of disease care and emergency medicine. Research, though, tells us that the majority of illnesses and diseases that someone presents to their general practice doctor with are lifestyle based diseases; meaning that if one manages their movement, nutrition intake, and stress levels, much of the diseases that weigh down our medical system would reduce dramatically.
I chose to practice the style of medicine I practice because I recognized the influence trauma has on our ability to cope with stress, resilience to environmental influences, and our ability to navigate life. I take a trauma-informed approach to much of my work because I acknowledge that most of us have plenty of (small t)rauma and many of us have (big T)rauma.
What I do
I have been in practice for 19 years in a variety of different clinical spaces. I realized early in my professional career that I wanted to focus on patients that western medicine had given up on or did not have an understanding of the etiology of certain diseases. Because of this, I have developed a great love for treating complex, difficult to treat diseases. Syndromes like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, lyme disease, long Covid, and arthritis fit nicely into this specialty. My treatment strategies include functional medicine, Chinese Medicine, chiropractic, functional nutrition, clinical bodywork (proprietary system called P/AIRS), and rehabilitation exercises.
One of my other specialties is women’s health where I focus on pre- and post-maternal health, birth induction, PMS symptoms, and menopause symptoms. Chinese medicine offers a wealth of information and treatment options for common ailments that impact women throughout their lives.
CONNECT: DrThompson@stockheart.com or 612-314-3321