Hamid Montakab graduated from the Medical School of Paris, did his residency in surgery, and completed a 3-year education in acupuncture and further clinical training in China, followed by two years exploring the local healing in the Philippines and India. He practiced for five years in America, obtaining the NCCA certification and a degree in Chinese Herbalism, and founded the Academy of Chinese Healing Arts in Switzerland in 1986. In 1995, Montakab co-founded the Swiss Professional Organization for TCM (SPO-TCM), and has been published several times, including on the interaction between acupuncture and insomnia. Currently he practices in Savièse and lectures in Winterthur, Switzerland and other European countries.