Dr Ru Shan Shy needling a live patient at a Basics of Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture seminar

Basics of Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture · Bangkok · 26 – 28 March 2027

Not Sure Where to Start With Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture? Start Here, With 16 Live Patients in Three Days.

Scalp Acupuncture is about ten schools, each with its own map. Mix them and results come and go. Learn one map, Professor Zhu's, from two of his direct disciples, with your hands guided on 16 live patients. No scalp Acupuncture experience needed.

From AUD $3,694

Dates: 26 – 28 March 2027 · 9am – 5pm daily
Venue: Bangkok, Thailand (venue TBC)
CPD: To be confirmed
Format: 30 participants · 2 master instructors
3-Day Intensive 16 Live Patients No Prerequisites
30
Participants maximum
16
Live patient demonstrations
~40%
Of each day hands-on
2
Direct disciples teaching every hour
3
Days, start to finish

At first I thought I couldn't learn it. After the training, I feel so much more confident.

An Duong Nguyen, Chinese medicine student (Vietnam)
Why Results Stop Holding

You Know Your Points. Some Cases Still Don't Move.

Most Acupuncturists know this patient. The complex neurological case, the chronic pain that has outlasted every protocol, the treatment that held on Monday and had faded by Thursday. More points rarely fix it. What changes your results is knowing why a treatment worked, so you can do it again.

01

Results That Don't Repeat

A treatment works once and not the next time. Without a clear method behind your zone selection, it's hard to tell what changed.

02

Cases Beyond Your Training

Stroke sequelae, tremor, MS and chronic neurological pain sit outside what standard Acupuncture training prepares you for.

03

Learning in Pieces

A weekend here, a book there, a video online. Each piece is useful, but they rarely fit together into one way of working.

Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture was built for exactly these cases.

How You'll Learn It

One System, Learned in Order, With Your Hands Guided

Scalp Acupuncture isn't one system. There are around ten schools, each with its own zone map, and they were never unified. Mix two maps and results become hard to repeat. That's why it matters to learn one map completely, in the right order, from teachers who can watch you work. If you've struggled with scalp Acupuncture before, this is often why. If you're new to it, it's the reason to learn it properly the first time.

One Lineage

  • Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture as Professor Ming Qing Zhu developed it
  • Taught by two of his direct disciples, every hour of all three days
  • One zone map and one method, start to finish

In the Right Order

  • Assessment, then zone selection, then needling
  • Jin Qi, Chou Qi and Dao Yin built on that foundation
  • Reassessment, so you know why a treatment worked and can repeat it

With Your Hands Guided

  • About 40% of each day is hands-on practice
  • Dr Shy and Dr Chang correct your needle depth, angle and technique as you work
  • 16 live patient demonstrations with the reasoning explained

As Dr Scott Ling says, nothing shortens the learning curve like watching the teachers treat real patients, then practising with your own hands corrected.

The System

What Makes Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture Its Own System

Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture is not a set of extra points. It has its own theory, its own technique and its own clinical logic.

A Complete System, Not a Technique

Its own theory, zone-based anatomy and needling method, grounded in classical Chinese medicine and informed by neuroscience. It starts from the TCM diagnosis you already make.

  • Rooted in classical TCM theory
  • Scalp zones mapped to cortical representation
  • Starts from the TCM diagnosis you already make
  • Works alongside your existing practice

Technique You Can Watch Working

Jin Qi and Chou Qi stimulation with Dao Yin therapeutic movement, designed so you can observe the patient's response during the session and adjust your treatment. Professor Zhu held that Dao Yin, not the needles alone, was what mattered most to learn.

  • Jin Qi and Chou Qi stimulation methods
  • Dao Yin integrated therapeutic movement
  • Minimal needles, precise placement
  • Reassessment within the session

Supervised From Day One

When Dr Shy and Dr Chang took up Professor Zhu's teaching, they redesigned Basics around hands-on practice, because the manipulation has to be felt, and put live patient demonstrations into every day of the course. That means 16 demonstrations, about 40% hands-on practice each day, and two instructors for 30 participants. Each demonstration shows the whole treatment: how the teacher talks with the patient, chooses zones, needles, guides Dao Yin and ends the session.

  • ~40% hands-on practice every day
  • 16 live patient demonstrations
  • Two instructors, 30 participants
  • No prior scalp Acupuncture experience required
Dr Shy and Dr Chang teaching Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture
The Lineage

Professor Zhu Built It. His Disciples Teach It.

Professor Ming Qing Zhu spent decades developing this system. Dr Ru Shan Shy and Dr Sheng Chun Chang trained under him directly, and so did our founder, Dr Scott Ling. The zone map, the needling and the Dao Yin you learn in Bangkok are Professor Zhu's own.

Inside the Room

What the Three Days Look Like

Ninety seconds from Basics: live patients, the teachers' reasoning, and your own hands on the needle.

Your Instructors

Trained Directly by Professor Zhu. Now Training You.

Dr Ru Shan Shy
Dr Ru Shan Shy
Dr Sheng Chun Chang
Dr Sheng Chun Chang
Co-Directors, ZSA Taiwan · Direct disciples of Professor Ming Qing Zhu

Dr Ru Shan Shy holds a Bachelor of Medicine from China Medical University and received advanced academic training in Neuroscience at National Yang Ming University, Taiwan. A direct disciple of Professor Ming Qing Zhu and co-director of ZSA Taiwan, she combines hospital-level neurological clinical experience with decades of ZSA teaching — bringing rigorous academic training to serious neurological presentations including stroke rehabilitation, brain injury, tremors and complex pain.

Dr Sheng Chun Chang holds degrees in Pharmacy, Neuroscience and Chinese Medicine, is co-director of ZSA Taiwan, and is a former paediatric and gynaecological physician at Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital. Also a direct disciple of Professor Zhu, his rare combination of disciplines lets him translate fluidly between the biomedical mechanisms of Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture and its classical theoretical foundations.

Together they are two of the most experienced Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture educators in the world, having trained more than 2,000 Acupuncturists across Asia, America, Australia and Europe through 50+ intensive sessions.

  • Dr Ru Shan Shy — BMed (China Medical University); advanced academic training in Neuroscience (National Yang Ming University, Taiwan)
  • Dr Sheng Chun Chang — degrees in Pharmacy, Neuroscience & Chinese Medicine; former paediatric and gynaecological physician, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital
  • Both direct disciples of Professor Ming Qing Zhu & co-directors of ZSA Taiwan
  • More than 2,000 Acupuncturists trained across four continents over 50+ intensive sessions
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After Three Days

What You'll Be Able to Do in Your Clinic the Following Week

You won't master Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture in three days, and nobody honest will promise you that. You will leave knowing which map you're working from, having needled it yourself under correction, with a method you can use on Monday.

Work from one map

Locate the zones of Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture on a real head, and know exactly which map you're using and why.

Choose zones from your diagnosis

Start from the TCM diagnosis you already make, and pick zones for a reason you can explain to a colleague.

Needle the way you were corrected

Insert and stimulate with Jin Qi and Chou Qi at the depth and angle Dr Shy and Dr Chang checked in your own hands.

Add Dao Yin while the needles are in

Guide the patient's movement during the treatment, so you can see the response before they leave the room.

Reassess, then adjust

Check the response within the session, so you know why a treatment worked and can do it again next time.

Know where to go deeper

Basics is the first step on a clear ZSA path. The Advanced courses then take one clinical area at a time.

Clinical Scope

Where Acupuncturists Use Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture

Basics teaches the system across its full clinical scope. The Advanced courses then go deeper, one area at a time.

🧠

Neurology & Stroke

Stroke, paralysis, tremors, MS, Parkinson's, neuropathy, TBI, brain injury sequelae, cognitive function

⚡

Pain & Movement

Migraine, chronic and complex regional pain, fibromyalgia, back and neck pain, joint disorders, sports injuries, post-surgical recovery

🫀

Internal Medicine & Women's Health

Digestive, respiratory and cardiovascular presentations, autoimmune, fertility support, menstrual and menopausal symptoms, endometriosis

👶

Paediatrics & Mental Health

Developmental delays, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum, anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, stress-related disorders

Particularly powerful for immobile, wheelchair, or paediatric patients — ZSA's scalp-only needle placement eliminates the need for body repositioning during treatment.

Who This Training Is For

For Acupuncturists Who Want More Than Another Set of Points

No prior scalp Acupuncture experience is required. A TCM background is helpful but not mandatory. ZSA is designed to integrate with — and enhance — any existing clinical practice.

Licensed Acupuncturists and Chinese medicine professionals
Western medicine doctors seeking integrative approaches
Physiotherapists, dentists, GPs, and allied health professionals
Acupuncturists treating complex neurological or chronic presentations
Students and new graduates building clinical foundations
Experienced Acupuncturists seeking to expand their clinical range

No prerequisites required. A background in TCM or Acupuncture is helpful but not essential.

The Program

What Happens on Each of the Three Days

Each day builds on the last — from theoretical foundation through to observing live patient treatment. The training is presented in Chinese with English translation provided throughout all three days.

Day 1

Foundation & Zone Mastery

  • Introduction to ZSA — historical development, clinical characteristics & system overview
  • Zone localisation — scalp functional zones, treatment areas & clinical functions
  • Anatomical mapping — needle insertion points & zone division methodology
  • Hands-on zone location practice with direct instructor feedback
  • Live patient demonstrations — 4 patients across the day
  • Q&A — clinical reasoning discussion
Day 2

Technique & Clinical Application

  • Precision needle technique — depth, angle & stimulation methods
  • Jin Qi & Chou Qi manipulation — the ZSA specialised Qi methods
  • Introduction to Dao Yin — integrating therapeutic movement into treatment
  • Clinical case studies — allergic rhinitis, dysmenorrhoea, asthma, neuralgia
  • Live patient demonstrations with real-time clinical reasoning breakdown
  • Supervised group hands-on practice
Day 3

Integration & Complex Cases

  • Key concept review & clinical consolidation
  • Complete treatment planning — assessment through to execution
  • Diagnosis differentiation for multi-system & chronic presentations
  • Spirit (Shen) & Qi in harmony — the unified clinical philosophy
  • Live patient demonstrations — complex cases, real-time reasoning
  • Hands-on practice & clinical implementation planning

Language: Chinese with English translation throughout · 9am – 5pm daily · No prerequisites

What's Included

Three Days. Two Master Instructors. One Complete System.

✓3-day intensive training9am – 5pm daily, structured across foundation, technique, and clinical integration
✓CPDCPD recognition to be confirmed
✓Two master instructorsDirect disciples of Professor Zhu at a 2:30 instructor-to-student ratio
✓16 live patient demonstrationsReal cases across all three days — neurological, musculoskeletal, internal medicine, and complex presentations
✓~40% hands-on practice dailyZone location, needling technique, Dao Yin integration — with direct personalised feedback
✓Head model for zone practiceStructural learning aid for scalp zone identification and needle placement
✓Digital and printed course materialsComprehensive clinical protocols and zone reference guides — including zone indications and ZSA characteristics — plus case study materials
✓Certificate of completionIssued to all participants on completion of the 3-day program

The training is presented in Chinese with English translation provided throughout all three days.

From the Room · Melbourne 2025 and 2026, Los Angeles 2026

“Use Less, and Be Better at It.” What Graduates Say

My biggest takeaway is the preciseness of the points. It makes such a difference. You use less, and you're better at it.
Ben Walder
Ben WalderMulti-discipline practitioner (Byron Bay, Australia)
Anytime you can learn needle technique, that's invaluable, because I didn't learn a lot of that when I was studying. I think you're going to get back ten times what you put in.
Dr Ben O'Brien
Dr Ben O'BrienChinese medicine practitioner (Perth, Australia)
It is really worth going. Doubts and fear should subside but the invaluable skills you will get is totally amazing.
Jude Interino
Jude InterinoPractitioner (Perth, Australia)
It's very eye-opening to learn from Dr Shy and Dr Chang. They're excellent lecturers — they take you from basic knowledge into deeper knowledge, step by step, from locating the scalp regions to applying them in real cases.
Dr Ronald Koh
Dr Ronald KohVeterinarian (Sacramento, California)
I have had scalp Acupuncture classes before. This is a different way of needling the scalp, and I like this way better because it is more gentle.
Dr Selma Gladney
Dr Selma GladneyAcupuncturist (Chicago, Illinois)
From the Founder
I started learning Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture in 2016 and followed Professor Ming Qing Zhu wherever he taught: to Shanghai, to Malaysia, to his clinic in San Jose, and into his hospital internships in China, where I watched him treat stroke patients on the wards. SustainHealth Academy began because of him. In 2018 we brought him to Melbourne for our first Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture seminar. After COVID, Professor Zhu retired from teaching, so I invited Dr Shy and Dr Chang, who taught alongside him across China, to carry his teaching on. They trained under him, as I did. What they teach in Bangkok is what he taught us.
Dr Scott LingFounder, SustainHealth Academy
Dr Scott Ling
Your ZSA Journey

Basics Is Where the Journey Starts

After Basics, you choose from five Advanced courses, each taking the system deeper into one clinical area. Alongside them sits the ZSA Lineage Apprenticeship: a one-day, one-on-one clinical apprenticeship where you treat real patients with Dr Shy and Dr Chang guiding your hands. It isn't a seminar, and you can take it any time after Basics.

The Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture journey: Basics (3 days), then five Advanced courses: Neurology, Movement & Pain; Stroke & Brain Injury; Women's & Paediatric Health; Internal Medicine & Supportive Cancer Care; Inflammation, Immunity & Healthy Longevity. Alongside them, the ZSA Lineage Apprenticeship, a one-day clinical apprenticeship.

The ZSA Lineage Apprenticeship has run four times since April 2025. The next Advanced course is Stroke & Brain Injury, Los Angeles, 7 – 9 January 2028.

Your ZSA Clinical Passport

Your road to ZSA Fellow

Your Passport lives in your SustainHealth Academy account. It records each ZSA course you complete with Dr Shy and Dr Chang, with its date, and shows the next date for every course you haven’t done yet. Complete Basics and all five Advanced courses to become a ZSA Fellow.

  • A stamp for each course, with its date and teachers
  • Your progress to ZSA Fellow, one Advanced course at a time
  • ZSA points for every course you complete and every colleague you refer, to spend on your next ZSA course
  • A public profile with a verification number for your clinic website or CV, if you switch it on
  • Your CPD record for every SustainHealth Academy seminar and webinar, ready to copy into your renewal
Open my Passport →
See the full journey →
Registration

Choose Your Preferred Payment Option

What you're paying for: three clinic days, 16 live patients, and two direct disciples of Professor Zhu correcting the needle in your own hands, with the head model and course materials included. One method, learned once, from the source.

Pre-launch pricing — all prices in Australian dollars (AUD), no GST. Paying by card? Checkout can show the amount in your own currency.

You're booking: Basics of Zhu's Scalp AcupunctureBangkok, Thailand · 26 – 28 March 2027

Pre-launch pricing ends 30 November 2026

  • ✓ 3-day intensive training (9am – 5pm daily)
  • ✓ Two master instructors at a 2:30 ratio
  • ✓ 16 live patient demonstrations across the three days
  • ✓ ~40% hands-on supervised practice daily
  • ✓ Head model for zone practice
  • ✓ Digital & printed course materials
  • ✓ Certificate of completion
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Bangkok, Thailand · 26 – 28 March 2027
Full price AUD $4,599
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Bangkok, Thailand · 26 – 28 March 2027
Locks today's Pre-launch price
AUD $500no GST

Pay a AUD $500 deposit to hold your seat at today's price. Monthly instalments are available when you book far enough ahead — your options are shown at the next step. Refundable less a 10% admin fee.

Balance due 15 January 2027 — 10 weeks before the seminar, charged automatically to the card you save at checkout.

Secure My Seat — AUD $500 Deposit

Tier dates are set ahead of time and may change without prior notice — the price shown at checkout is the price that applies.

All prices are in Australian dollars (AUD); no GST applies. Card payments can be shown in your local currency at checkout. Seats are allocated first-come, first-served. Final price may vary slightly at checkout due to payment processing.

Book with confidence. Change your mind within 14 days of booking, for any reason, and you get a full refund. After that, you can cancel up to 14 days before the seminar for a refund less a 10% admin fee, or take a full credit, with no admin fee, toward another AUD-priced seminar within 12 months. Can't make it? A colleague can take your place at no charge up to 7 days before. If we ever cancel, you get a full refund.
View Terms, Conditions & Refund Policy

Venue

Bangkok, Thailand

Venue to be confirmed. Please do not book flights or accommodation until you receive a confirmation email — sent at least 8 weeks before the event.

Reduced Rates

Student & New Graduate Rate — 10% off

In training, or within your first year of clinical practice? We support new Acupuncturists with a registration discount. Verification required.

Apply for the student rate →

Refresher Rate — 15% off

Attended this seminar before? Re-attend at a reduced rate to revisit and deepen your clinical understanding. Many Acupuncturists sit Basics twice, and our teachers recommend it, because everything later builds on it. Verification required.

Apply for the refresher rate →

Switch Rate — 10% off

Completed this seminar with another teacher or provider? Switch to us at a reduced rate. Verification required.

Apply for the switch rate →
FAQ

Common Questions

You won't have to take a video's word for it. Across the three days you watch 16 live patient demonstrations, and the cases aren't picked to be easy. About 40% of each day is supervised hands-on practice, so you leave having located the zones and needled them yourself. Patients still respond differently from one case to the next. What Basics gives you is the method and the clinical reasoning to use it from the following week.
No prior scalp Acupuncture experience is required. ZSA is taught as a complete system from the ground up. A background in TCM or Acupuncture is helpful but not mandatory — the seminar is structured to be accessible for both beginners and experienced Acupuncturists.
Yes. Many Acupuncturists come to us after learning parts of scalp Acupuncture from books, videos or another course. Basics gives you one complete map, taught in order, so the pieces fit together. If you completed this seminar with another teacher or provider, the Switch Rate takes 10% off your registration.
Five Advanced courses, each focused on one clinical area: neurology and pain, stroke and brain injury, women's and paediatric health, internal medicine and supportive cancer care, and inflammation, immunity and healthy longevity. Alongside them, the ZSA Lineage Apprenticeship is a one-day, one-on-one clinical apprenticeship where you treat real patients under supervision. It has run four times since April 2025, and you can take it any time after Basics.
No. Basics is a complete system on its own, and you can use it in your clinic from the following week. The later courses are there when you want to go deeper.
Live patient demonstrations cover neurological conditions, pain management, internal medicine and complex chronic presentations. Cases are not pre-selected for simplicity — you will see real patients presenting with real clinical complexity, which is central to the ZSA learning model. Each demonstration shows the whole treatment, from the first conversation with the patient to the end of the session.
The training is presented in Chinese with English translation provided throughout all three days. Clinical discussions, case reasoning, technique instruction and Q&A are all translated in real time.
Dao Yin refers to therapeutic movement exercises integrated into ZSA treatment. They are combined with the needling so you can observe the patient's response within the session. No prior Dao Yin experience is required — it is introduced and practised within the seminar itself.
Not the hands-on skill. In the room, Dr Shy and Dr Chang correct how much force you use and how often you stimulate as you work. A screen can't do that. Our webinars cover theory and case discussion; the technique is learned in person.
The theory can feel heavy at first. Graduates tell us it settles with practice, and some choose to sit Basics a second time at the refresher rate. As one graduate, Jude Interino, put it: "The content of the seminar and the theory part seems overwhelming, but did work out at the end."
CPD recognition for the Bangkok seminar is being confirmed and will be listed here. Every participant receives a certificate of completion, and we recommend checking recognition with your own professional association. Contact us at [email protected] if you need a letter of attendance or verification.
30 participants, with two master instructors — a 2:30 instructor-to-student ratio that keeps hands-on practice closely supervised and lets both Dr Shy and Dr Chang engage with each participant throughout the three days.
No. The live patient demonstrations and hands-on clinical practice cannot be recorded due to patient privacy, and ZSA relies on direct in-person transmission. Attending in person is the only way to receive this training.
You can register by bank transfer or credit card, and you can secure your place with a deposit. If you'd like to spread the cost, pay the deposit and you'll be offered a payment plan for the balance at the next step. When you choose bank transfer, your seat is held for 72 hours (3 days) while your payment is made and confirmed. You will receive an email with the exact amount, our bank details and a unique reference number. All prices are in Australian dollars.
Within 14 days of booking you can cancel for any reason and receive a full refund. After that, cancellations more than 14 days before the seminar receive a refund less a 10% administration fee, or you can take a full credit, with no admin fee, toward another AUD-priced seminar within 12 months instead. Within 14 days of the seminar, payments are not refundable, but a colleague can take your place at no charge up to 7 days before. If we cancel the seminar, you receive a full refund. We recommend not booking non-refundable travel until you have written confirmation that the event is proceeding. View Terms, Conditions, Cancellations and Refund Policy
Yes — submit your request here after completing enrolment and your invitation letter will be emailed to you within a few minutes.

Learn One Map Properly, From the Source, With Your Hands Guided.

Dr Shy and Dr Chang have trained over 2,000 Acupuncturists across four continents. Join them in Bangkok, 26 – 28 March 2027.

Seats are limited to 30 participants to keep the hands-on ratio high.

Not ready to decide? Watch a full case free first.

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30 participants · 16 live patient demonstrations · Spots held for 72 hours on bank transfer.