Conversations with Doris: Body & Soul through the Years
In this series, we share conversations with Doris Rathgeber, founder of Body & Soul – Medical Clinics.
Doris arrived in Shanghai with her husband over 20 years ago. During that time, she received her degree as a doctor of TCM, started her family, founded the clinics, expanded to four locations, and much more. She truly feels “China has given me everything”.
Finding Possibilities in Challenges
When Doris arrived in 1995, she felt lost. After the preliminary visit with her husband, she worried so much she barely ate or slept for two months. During her first couple months, she was totally focused on missing home. Finally, a talk with her husband made her realize she had to make some changes. Doris started studying Chinese, exploring Shanghai and joining in expat groups.
A hand reader in Hangzhou once predicted Doris would have a successful second career in something she was passionate about that was completely different from her sales background. However it was without thought of a future career that Doris decided to pursue her personal interest in massage therapy. Much to her surprise, her mentor (Dr. Liu, who still works with her in the clinics) enrolled her in a local TCM internal medicine program. Thus began a challenging learning process that would lead her in a new direction.
Earlier in life, Doris had dreamed of being a doctor and Shanghai reawakened that possibility in her. She feels there are many such opportunities that Shanghai expats can embrace.
The Founding of Body & Soul: A Healing Setting
Doris became very familiar with local hospitals during her training. However, they didn’t offer the environment she envisioned to showcase TCM. She wanted patients to have a place that was good for the spirit and fostered healing. Doris also wanted to make things as convenient and trustworthy as possible, thus integrating laboratory and pharmacy services. Having a professional, multilingual staff would enable people from all over the world to comfortably access TCM services. After starting to see patients at home, Doris and her husband formed the company and opened the first Body & Soul clinic.
This was a unique enterprise, especially at that time, so everything had to be done from scratch. Because many of the regulations didn’t encompass what Body & Soul was doing, it has often felt like forging a whole new path. With determination and a dedicated team, Doris was able to achieve her vision.
Growing and Evolving
Body & Soul began over 15 years ago with a TCM foundation and has expanded to encompass the best of east and west. There are now four clinics and a lifestyle center located throughout Shanghai, staffed by practitioners in various disciplines from all over the world. By combining the best of eastern medicine and western science, including the latest diagnostic techniques, patients receive treatment that is as natural as possible, while as scientific as necessary.
The Body & Soul team of over 100 professionals takes pride in their long-term dedication to helping make Shanghai a healthier place. Many staff have been with Body & Soul for years, some since the beginning. Doris acknowledges the key role they all play in the atmosphere and therefore the success of the clinics. She shares her thoughts on how that’s come about:
“I open up on a personal level to my employees. We do charity work together and our whole team supports each other when someone has problems. You have to adapt to being an employer in China. People are open, funny and curious but not necessarily driven by rules. Building these personal relationships has created a strong team.”
Body & Soul combines Eastern medicine and Western science to provide the most natural, effective health solutions in four convenient locations throughout Shanghai. Services offered are covered by insurances and include TCM and acupuncture, osteopathy, chiropractic, physical therapy, psychological counseling, podiatry and functional medicine among others. Feel free to get in touch with us to schedule an appointment. Follow us on Wechat for more health and wellness tips!
