Learn About Our Services
The first visit is scheduled for 60 minutes. The first part of the visit I listen to what conditions have brought you for treatment as well as take a history of health issues. I also will ask questions that tell me about the function of different systems from an Oriental Medicine perspective. Please bring information on medications and supplements that you are taking.
Then I will do an exam, looking at your tongue, feeling the pulses on your wrist which in acupuncture are 12 pulses that relate to the 12 main meridians, and proceed with a physical exam based on Asian Medicine that gives me the appropriate information to base a treatment specifically designed for you.
Then I will proceed to doing a treatment with acupuncture if that is what we decide is the appropriate response to your issues. And/or I may decide to use an herbal formula.
Follow Up Visits
Acupuncture and herbal treatment has a cumulative effect, as each treatment builds on the next. I am working with you to keep encouraging your functioning into better balance. It varies from person to person depending on their situations how many office visits and how often it would be recommended to have treatment. As with other aspects of treatment, I always base this on the individual. Acute conditions often take fewer visits, although sometimes closer together. Chronic conditions often take longer as the person has been out of balance longer although the visits may after the beginning, be spread further apart.
Fees
First Visit (Exam and Treatment) $125.00
Follow Up Visits $95.00
Children (under 15) $ 50.00
Herbal Preparations vary
Payment is expected at the time services are rendered. I do accept payment by Visa, Master Card and American Express, as well as Checks.
Missed Appointments:
Your appointment time is set aside for you. If you must cancel or change an appointment, my policy is that you will be charged if you do not give at least 24 hours notice. This is to give us time to fill the appointment as there may be people on the waiting list.
Please be prompt for your appointment as the most common cause for my lateness is that a previous patient has come late. If someone is very late I may not have time to do a treatment and it will have to be rescheduled.
Insurance:
I am not a participating provider for any insurance companies and do not submit claims for patients. I do provide you with a standard insurance compliant superbill that can be submitted to your insurance, if they pay for acupuncture treatment. Herbal remedies are not covered by insurance as they are food, not medicine.
Acupuncture developed in China more than 2,500 years ago. It was based on astute observations of nature- the ebb and flow- growth and development. They believed we are integrated beings of body, mind and spirit and that there are pathways and networks of vital forces called qi (pronounced chee) that are what we call in acupuncture, meridians.
As acupuncturists we use very fine needles to encourage the flow of qi where it is blocked so that it can nourish all parts of our being. When the proper flow is established, the being is more balanced.
In Oriental medicine there are ways to observe the subtle changes that show the imbalances, sometimes before there are clear physiological problems.
Increasingly acupuncture is accepted by the medical community to treat a wide range of conditions. I use it for conditions of chronic pain, reduction of stress disorders, for gynecological health, digestive disorders, allergies, and emotional well-being amongst other ailments.
This style was developed in Japan based on classical Chinese acupuncture principles, especially 5 Phase theory. Interestingly, it was developed by primarily blind practitioners of which there is a 400 year old tradition in Japan. Because of the importance of their sense of touch, there is much emphasis on the use of subtle palpation of the pulse in the wrist and of the body.
It differs from many other styles of acupuncture because of the very gentle, delicate needle techniques that are used and are often not inserted. With other tools the skin is rubbed or gently pressed. These techniques are deceptively gentle but very effective. People find the treatment very pleasant and painless and thus it is good for people wary of needles and children.
This is a form of herbal medicine where combinations of herbs are used together to affect health and well being. There are whole complexes of formulas and variations that can be used to address specific problems or conditions. This is an area where very careful observation of the patient is necessary to find the right formula and then to vary it according to how a person changes.
The traditional way is to give loose herbs that are boiled down, which I can do. Yet I find that people prefer the herbs in several forms mostly powders, liquids or capsules/tablets that are often specifically put together or chosen for the particular person at a certain time.