You will need to allow between ninety minutes and two hours for your first acupuncture appointment. We will begin by discussing your current state of health and your health history. During this time please feel free to bring up any and all issues that you may have regarding any aspect of your physical, mental, or emotional well-being. Don’t be surprised if I ask you questions that seem unrelated to your concerns. Chinese Medicine looks at health and wellness through a different system than what we are used to, and seemingly irrelevant information often proves to be important!

After we have talked, I will perform a diagnostic physical exam. I will check pulse points on each wrist, examine your tongue, and palpate acupuncture points on your arms and legs. The information gathered from this examination, along with our earlier discussion, will provide me with the information necessary to develop your treatment plan. Acupuncture needles may or may not be used during this initial session.

The experience of my clients has been that acupuncture treatment is most effective when you follow this first appointment with a minimum of four one hour-long treatments, scheduled once weekly. (Acute conditions may require twice-weekly appointments for the first week or two.) After that time, you may space your appointments farther apart, depending upon how you are feeling and our treatment goals.

Treatment results vary from person to person. While I would love to tell you that your shoulder pain will resolve within a single treatment or that your headaches will disappear in a month, this isn’t always the case. Each individual is different and responds to acupuncture in a unique way. However, the majority of my clients do see significant change within 4-6 weeks of treatment.