TREATMENT
Course of Treatment
During the initial visit, I will ask you about your personal history, medical history, family, and social life. Many seemingly irrelevant details are an important part of each person’s current state of health. The talking is followed by a non-invasive Chinese physical exam. This visit will last approximately two hours.
Subsequent treatments will last just under one hour. Occasionally, more time will be needed depending upon your condition.
In the beginning, clients are seen once or twice a week in order to create an energy balance that can be maintained between treatments. This energy balance will last for progressively greater periods of time. Treatments are then extended to every other week, every three weeks, monthly, and eventually seasonally. Five Element Acupuncture is a process of becoming well and staying well.
Herbal Medicine
Chinese herbs may be used as an adjunctive therapy to support the acupuncture treatments. Chinese herbal medicine is an energetic medicine. It does not work chemically in the body as western medicine does. The plants are used in their whole form, so the “active ingredients” are minute, and their energetics are strong. Taking herbs is a subtle, nuanced and beautiful way to have a treatment at home, every day.
Chinese Herbal Medicine comes in several forms:
Oral ingestions: Raw (you cook it at home), Granules (you mix with warm water), tablets, and tincture (great for children, just mix with juice or applesauce).
External applications: include: plaster, paste, patch, soaks, and rubs.
At any point in your treatment, I may recommend Chinese herbal medicine be added to your treatment plan. Herbal consultations can be included in your sessions. Please feel free to ask about this service.
Cupping & Gua Sha
Cupping is the placement of small glass cups onto the body using heat-induced suction to stimulate the circulation of energy and increase blood flow.This is often recommended for areas of chronic muscle tension, or where adhesions have formed over time. Patients often report that it feels like a deep tissue massage in reverse, because it is pulling out rather than pressing in.
Gua sha is similar to cupping, in that it is also used to move stagnant blood systemically in your body. In this technique, oil is first rubbed onto your skin, and then I use a small tool, gently sliding or “scraping” along your skin.
Insurance
Please check with your insurance provider. If you have out-of-network acupuncture coverage, I can give you the proper form to submit for reimbursement. I do not accept any insurance directly.
Appointments can be paid for with cash, check, credit, debit or FSA cards, at the time of appointment.