Relaxed and content
In the course of a session I take your pulses, look at your tongue, and ask you various questions so I have a good idea of whether and how far you are out of balance and how the different areas of your mind and emotions are functioning. This gives me enough information to know how best to work. If you haven't had acupuncture before, you might be surprised to find that it can be a fairly enjoyable process, during which you lie down for about twenty minutes and generally emerge pretty relaxed and content.
Powerful and effective
I often combine acupuncture treatment with the InterX, sometimes hypnotherapy and occasionally homeopathy during a single session, because that way you are getting the most powerful and effective treatment, not to mention the best value. Of course if there are any particular treatments you specifically want or don't want, I would honour that, and we would discuss it all beforehand.
A recent German study of more than 1100 people, which claims to be the largest and most rigorous trial to investigate the benefits of acupuncture, found that, for lower back pain, acupuncture is "almost twice as effective as a combination of drugs, physiotherapy and exercise", and that “Acupuncture gives physicians a promising and effective treatment option for those experiencing chronic low back pain, with few adverse effects or contraindications. The improvements in all primary and secondary outcome measures were significant and lasted long after completion of treatment."
Approach
I practise Eight Principle acupuncture which is the standard method taught in China today. It essentially regards the body as a central heating system. A focus on heat and cold, quantity, viscosity, and temperature of fluids, and the free flow or stagnation of blood, fluids and energy around the body provides a simple but profound understanding of what is taking place and where. Different imbalances in emotions would also implicate different organs in the body. Once the picture is understood the correct treatment is clear. All needles are packed in sterile containers at the factory and used only once.
Herbal capsules
In addition to needles, I use combinations of Chinese herbs. Not, you will be pleased to hear, in the fearsomely stinky and tedious traditional form of woodland clippings in fish and chip paper which have to be boiled twice a day. No, I use capsules, which are cheaper and more pleasant, and which you can carry around and take easily and unobtrusively. I generally do not suggest Chinese herbs on a first session, as I try to work with what is in front of me to begin with, but if you have a condition that is proving resistant or it seems appropriate, I would suggest a proven Chinese herbal combination that's right for you.
Training
I was trained by Chinese doctors at Acumedic in Camden Town, London, on a course affiliated with the University of Beijing and am a member of the Chinese Medical Institute & Register (CMIR). I also attended a nine-month course on Chinese medical theory and acupressure with Pierre-Jean Cousin in the 1980s.
Most impressive experience from my own practice: Agonising period pain virtually disappearing in twenty minutes after insertion of four needles. (This was not a cure, but dramatic relief at the time)