The First Visit
Before your first visit, I ask that you complete the Comprehensive Intake Form and bring it with you to your consultation. The initial consultation with first treatment typically lasts 1.5 hours. Bring with you any copies of important previous tests, recent lab results, and a list of any medications or supplements you are currently taking.
![Acupuncture Office Desk]()
Eating something light 1 hour before an appointment is important as food is the fuel that gives your body the energy to fully integrate the treatment.
Please aim to arrive 5 minutes early, wear comfortable clothing, and turn off your wireless devices.
Lastly, please avoid strenuous activities or workouts after our treatments, and avoid cocktails on treatment days. Essentially your treatment is integrating and continuing for many hours after you walk out our door and all the aforementioned disrupts the effects of Acupuncture.
Eating something light 1 hour before an appointment is important as food is the fuel that gives your body the energy to fully integrate the treatment.
Please aim to arrive 5 minutes early, wear comfortable clothing, and turn off your wireless devices.
Lastly, please avoid strenuous activities or workouts after our treatments, and avoid cocktails on treatment days. Essentially your treatment is integrating and continuing for many hours after you walk out our door and all the aforementioned disrupts the effects of Acupuncture.
Treatment
During our sessions, we will discuss your physical, mental, and emotional health. I will note symptoms while delving into the root cause of the disease for which you are seeking treatment. I also take your pulse in the beginning of and throughout the session. The pulse is a very powerful diagnostic tool in Eastern Medicine and can tell us a lot on its own. We will also look at your tongue for diagnostic purposes. I ask further questions to help me make a diagnosis and develop your treatment plan. You are highly encouraged to share with me anything that is “coming up” for you, or that you want to work on during our session.
![Acupuncture Office Treatment Room]()
All of this information is key in establishing a complete diagnosis for Traditional Eastern Medicine treatment. It is our golden roadmap: a customized treatment plan that will enable the healing process in the most accurate and effective way.
After our conversation and diagnostic intake, Acupuncture needles are then inserted into specific Acupuncture points and are retained for around 30 minutes. Other therapies such as Cupping, Gua Sha (a massage technique with a jade tool), electro-stimulation on body areas and on specific Acupuncture points, Motor and Trigger myo-fascial release, and essential oil therapy are frequently incorporated.
All of this information is key in establishing a complete diagnosis for Traditional Eastern Medicine treatment. It is our golden roadmap: a customized treatment plan that will enable the healing process in the most accurate and effective way.
After our conversation and diagnostic intake, Acupuncture needles are then inserted into specific Acupuncture points and are retained for around 30 minutes. Other therapies such as Cupping, Gua Sha (a massage technique with a jade tool), electro-stimulation on body areas and on specific Acupuncture points, Motor and Trigger myo-fascial release, and essential oil therapy are frequently incorporated.
Aftercare
Stay hydrated, eat well that day, and definitely avoid stress and alcohol for 24 hours after sessions. I will advise you as we work together with specific guidance for post-treatment e.g. hydration, nutritional guidelines for the next few days, covering up after Cupping therapy, etc.
Always feel free to contact me with any post-treatment questions or concerns.
![Acupuncture Office Waiting Area]()
Always feel free to contact me with any post-treatment questions or concerns.
Follow Up
Treatments
Your treatment plan will include a recommendation for follow-up visits that I believe you will need in order to see true improvement in your case. Follow-up visits typically last one hour. Your initial treatment plan will also include your Acupuncture therapy, Herbal Medicine, Nutrition counseling, and Lifestyle Modification.
My process is a combination of critical methodology, medical analytics, as well as intuitive work; I ask that you be open to conversation to see where it leads us. However, our shared space is protected, safe, and HIPAA-enforced private. With that said, there is no pressure to tell me anything and you get to decide exactly how much that you would like to reveal as we work together.
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My process is a combination of critical methodology, medical analytics, as well as intuitive work; I ask that you be open to conversation to see where it leads us. However, our shared space is protected, safe, and HIPAA-enforced private. With that said, there is no pressure to tell me anything and you get to decide exactly how much that you would like to reveal as we work together.
FAQs
What does acupuncture feel like – a.k.a. “does it hurt”?
This is a common question and one that I myself had before I first tried acupuncture. People feel a range of sensations once the needles are inserted which are not painful. These mild sensations can include feeling an ache, warmth, slight soreness, or heaviness. Medical needles to draw blood or give shots bear no resemblance to what we use. Acupuncture needles are very thin, so thin that they bend like a strand of hair.
The best part……
Besides getting healthy, the best part of an Acupuncture treatment is how totally relaxing a treatment is: acupuncture is like a bath for your nervous system. Many people feel like they are in a meditative state during a treatment, and many others even fall asleep. This is one reason why we are known for treating stress so effectively.
How many treatments will I need?
Most health problems take more than one treatment to resolve. Expect to have five treatments before reassessment. Many chronic problems may require ten or more treatments before significant benefits are seen. However, you should see an overall improvement in your health as your main complaint improves.
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How does Acupuncture work according to science?
Some theories about how Acupuncture works:
- influences the autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the enteric (gut) nervous system: thus it supports metabolism and catabolism, organ function, and brain wave activity.
- influences the release of neurotransmitters, substances that transmit nerve impulses to the brain, thus have an impact on anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.
- stimulates the release of pain-relieving endorphins.
- stimulates circulation and quickens the blood, thus healing injury and trauma more quickly and effectively.
- influences the electrical currents of the human body (an electric vessel with electrical charges and actions that determine cell growth, cell movement, organ function, synaptic
activity, metabolic energy, and more.
This is a common question and one that I myself had before I first tried acupuncture. People feel a range of sensations once the needles are inserted which are not painful. These mild sensations can include feeling an ache, warmth, slight soreness, or heaviness. Medical needles to draw blood or give shots bear no resemblance to what we use. Acupuncture needles are very thin, so thin that they bend like a strand of hair.
The best part……
Besides getting healthy, the best part of an Acupuncture treatment is how totally relaxing a treatment is: acupuncture is like a bath for your nervous system. Many people feel like they are in a meditative state during a treatment, and many others even fall asleep. This is one reason why we are known for treating stress so effectively.
How many treatments will I need?
Most health problems take more than one treatment to resolve. Expect to have five treatments before reassessment. Many chronic problems may require ten or more treatments before significant benefits are seen. However, you should see an overall improvement in your health as your main complaint improves.
How does Acupuncture work according to science?
Some theories about how Acupuncture works:
- influences the autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the enteric (gut) nervous system: thus it supports metabolism and catabolism, organ function, and brain wave activity.
- influences the release of neurotransmitters, substances that transmit nerve impulses to the brain, thus have an impact on anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.
- stimulates the release of pain-relieving endorphins.
- stimulates circulation and quickens the blood, thus healing injury and trauma more quickly and effectively.
- influences the electrical currents of the human body (an electric vessel with electrical charges and actions that determine cell growth, cell movement, organ function, synaptic
activity, metabolic energy, and more.