The Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture, Inc.(ITEA) was founded in 1996 and provides Masters in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture (CF-EA), a profound healing discipline of the whole person - body, mind and spirit. CF-EA is an oral tradition brought to the west by the late Professor J. R. Worsley. and this lineage is continued in its purity by his successor, Judy Becker Worsley. The Worsleys were guest faculty each year at the Institute, a tradition which Judy Becker Worsley continues.

The discipline of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture is based on the laws of nature. CF-EA uses the natural energies inherent in all living things to promote the body's ability to heal itself. It restores the balance of natural energy within people, and harmonizes their relationship to the world. In applying CF-EA, the complexity and potential of each individual is taken into account.

For many thousands of years, the Chinese have understood the five "elements" of nature to exist in everything. They have considered an imbalance in one of these elements to be the root cause of any disease in a person's body, mind, and spirit. Diagnosis of this root cause is done through highly developed skills - the ability to see a person's true color, to smell a person's true odor, to sense a person's underlying and constant emotional base, and to hear the true sound of a person's voice. Training in these diagnostic skills underlies the entire curriculum at ITEA, and students who complete the program have a high level of proficiency with which to begin a career in CF-EA.

ITEA's students and alumni call the program "life changing" and "an incredible opportunity for personal growth". The Director of the school is Hilary Skellon, the daughter of Professor Worsley and one of only six people in the world to whom he awarded the designation of Master Apprentice. Hilary has been in practice since 1982, earning the degree Master of Acupuncture in 1987. She began fulfilling her great love of teaching in 1985 and has taught continuously since that time. Hilary was Vice Principal and acting Principal of Professor Worsley's college in England from 1990 to 1994. Since that time she has been a member of the faculty of Five Element schools in London, Florida, and California. Hilary joined the Institute as Director in 1999.

All of ITEA's primary CF-EA faculty have been awarded teaching certification through study with Professor J. R. Worsley and Judy Becker Worsley, and the majority of these faculty members continue to train in the CF-EA lineage at its highest levels.

During the Institute's four year program, students develop the ability to discern energetic disharmony through subtle and highly refined observational and diagnostic skills. Students also learn western sciences, practice management and preparation to sit for the national acupuncture exam given by the NCCAOM. Class size is limited to ensure the highest quality of learning.

The program in contained within 12 Intensives of 15 or 16 days - four each year for the first three years. The Intensives are held in August/September, October/November, January/February, and April/May of each year. The fundamentals of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture are taught in the first year of the program. In addition to acupuncture principles and diagnostic skills, surface anatomy, medical terminology and pharmacology are introduced. In the second year of the program students intensify their learning and practice of the diagnostic skills, and their ability to hold rapport with all types of persons. Biomedical science study is also continued throughout this year and the next. Clinic is begun in the third year in addition to regular Intensives which focus on skills of practice management, professionalism, interaction with other healthcare providers and specific treatment situations.

Students may live and work anywhere during the first two years, but are required to relocate to Louisville, Colorado for the clinical years. ITEA has had students from all over the United States and from Europe and even New Zealand.


The Institute has a low cost community clinic staffed by third and fourth year students under supervision of qualified and experienced licensed Classical Five Element acupuncturists. Treatment is individual, and takes into account the marvelous complexity and potential of each person. A wide variety of people come for treatment, ranging from children to the elderly, and many have found it beneficial where other forms of treatment have been unsuccessful.

The Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture, Inc. is a non-profit corporation, approved and regulated by the Colorado Department of Higher Education. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). ACAOM is the recognized accrediting agency for the approval of programs preparing acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners. ACAOM is located at Maryland Trade Center #3, 7501 Greenway Center Drive, Suite 820, Greenbelt, MD 20770; 301-313-0855; fax 301-313-0912.

For further information, please see our website at www.ITEA-school.com.

You may request a catalog at no charge through the website, or by calling 720-890-8922.