Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a holistic system of healthcare that has been developed and practised for thousands of years. At the heart of TCM is the idea that the body does not function as a collection of separate parts — everything is connected.
Rather than simply treating the symptom that has brought you into the clinic, I look at the wider picture of your health and wellbeing to understand why that symptom may be happening in the first place.
Every person is different
Two people can experience the same symptom but have very different underlying patterns. For example, two people may both experience headaches, but one person's headaches might be linked to stress and tension, while another's may be connected with their digestion, sleep, hormones or an underlying deficiency. This is why your treatment begins with a detailed consultation.
I look at things such as your main symptoms, sleep, digestion, energy, emotions, menstrual cycle, appetite, stress levels and general wellbeing. I may also look at your tongue and feel your pulse, as these can provide additional information about what is happening internally.
By bringing all of these pieces together, we can start to understand the individual pattern behind your symptoms.
Understanding the connections
TCM views the body as an interconnected network. When one area is out of balance, it can influence other areas too. For example, ongoing stress may affect the smooth flow of energy in the body, which can then influence digestion, sleep, tension, mood or the menstrual cycle. Likewise, digestive problems may affect energy levels, emotional wellbeing or the body's ability to properly nourish itself.
TCM uses concepts such as Qi, Blood, Yin and Yang, as well as the Five Elements and the body's meridian pathways, to help make sense of these connections. These are traditional frameworks for understanding health and imbalance, rather than a direct equivalent of Western medical anatomy or diagnosis.
So what are we actually treating?
This is one of the things I love about TCM. The aim isn't simply to put a needle into the area that hurts. Instead, we ask:
What is happening?
Why might it be happening?
And what does your body need to come back into balance?
The acupuncture points I choose are therefore based on you and the pattern that emerges from your consultation. This means your treatment may sometimes involve points that seem completely unrelated to your main complaint — because within the TCM framework, they may be helping to address the underlying imbalance contributing to your symptoms.
Treating the person, not just the problem
Your symptoms are important, but they are only one part of the picture. My approach combines the traditional principles of TCM with a naturopathic and Five Element perspective, allowing us to consider both your physical and emotional wellbeing. The goal is to understand your body as a whole, identify where things may have become out of balance, and create a treatment approach that is tailored specifically to you.
You don't have to fit into a particular pattern or diagnosis. Your treatment is individual to you.