Dr. Robert Gendreau, DAOM, L.Ac

About Dr. Gendreau

As a Doctor of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dr. Robert Gendreau helps his patients overcome health challenges such as internal medicine concerns, mental health issues, musculoskeletal pain, promoting fertility naturally, and much more through the use of acupuncture, tui na massage, cupping, and gua sha. With over a decade of experience, he has been practicing since 2013 after graduating from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, California. Throughout his life, he has lived, worked, and studied all over the United States and Asia and as a result has come to see himself as an “acupuncturist for the people”, especially since he’s been fortunate enough to treat homeless patients, CEOs, teachers, Hollywood celebrities, parents, politicians, frontline works, villagers in the third world, and everyone else in between over the last decade. In addition to his experiences abroad, he has had the opportunity to study with world-class acupuncturists both here and overseas as he continues to further his mastery of TCM, with his most recent being a month-long experience in Hangzhou, China. In terms of clinical work, Dr. Gendreau feels that he brings warmth, authenticity, and strong clinical experience to every treatment, even if he’s prone to throw a few puns or restaurant recommendations into the mix time to time. Nevertheless, as a relative newcomer to his mother’s native Midwest, he’s looking forward to serving patients in the Chicagoland area well into the future.

Q&A with Dr. Gendreau

What are you most passionate about professionally? Personally?

Professionally, I’m passionate about helping people regulate their stress, emotions, and pain without the need for medication. I also live for delving deep into challenging cases and helping find solutions for the most difficult of patients’ symptoms. Personally, I’m a huge fan of history and cultural studies, as well as reading and getting outdoors.

What three traits define you?

Compassion, Humor, and Authenticity.

What would you do even if you didn’t get paid to do it?

Nerding out about my medicine! I read a lot and I’m always on the look out for rare TCM books.

What are you surprisingly good at?

Puns – perhaps much to the chagrin of family, friends, coworkers, and patients.

What’s one thing you couldn’t live without?

Curiosity. I try to learn something new every day.

How long have you been working in your field?

Since 2013.

What’s the biggest proof that you’re good at what you do?

There have been great cases in the last decade, but the one that sticks out the most is one from when I was fresh out of school. I helped a young woman who had been on a feeding tube and bed-ridden for a year get off both in just under a month using a combination of herbs and needles.

What’s your biggest accomplishment?

So far, it’s definitely been attaining my doctorate…but there’s always room for more achievements going forward!

What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had?

My first job was being a line cook at a seafood restaurant. To this day I can make some pretty stellar scallops!

What problems do you consistently solve for your clients?

Stress and pain management.

Do you have any other passions of personal goals that you would like to share?

I lived in Japan for a time and speak a fair amount of the language. I’d love to get fluent so I can travel there more often to learn more about Japanese-style acupuncture and apply it to my clinical work.