East Asian medicine (EAM) is a complete medical system in contiguous use for thousands of years. It offers a complementary yet distinct model of health and illness to biomedicine, the dominant medical paradigm. You could think of it as a different kind of map describing the same world we know.

Biomedicine deals primarily with morphological issues: if the chief complaint can be captured in a lab, imaging, or exam, it can be diagnosed and treated. EAM organizes around functional patterns, resource management, and the natural lifecycle of the human body. It emerges from a view that mind and body are inextricably related expressions of being adapting to our constantly changing natural world.

A healthy body, in this tradition, is one able to shift with the seasons, recover from harm while having been changed by it, and process experience with ease rather than dis-ease.

There doesn’t need to be something wrong with you for us to work together, and there is nobody too broken to benefit. EAM is particularly effective at subclinical conditions: issues that are symptomatic but have not yet caused tissue change. It also offers relief from compounding symptoms in more progressed concerns, and can support the process of being at all points in the human life cycle.

EAM is not a substitute for biomedicine. It is a different approach which can offer support in different ways. I’m intensely grateful for what biomedicine can do, and I think these maps are better together.

According to the World Health Organization, acupuncture can alleviate symptoms of the following concerns:

Orthopedic
Arthritis
Back Pain
Neck Pain
Knee Pain
Frozen shoulder
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Muscle Pain
Muscle Weakness
Muscle Cramping
Sciatica
Post-Operative Pain

Digestive
Abdominal Pain
Constipation
Diarrhea
Indigestion
Ulcers
Gastritis

Emotional
Anxiety
Depression
Insomnia
Nervousness
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Reproductive
Premenstrual Syndrome
Amenorrhea
Dysmenorrhea
Menopausal Symptoms
Infertility
Sexual Dysfunction

Respiratory
Asthma
Bronchitis
Common cold
Sinusitis
Smoking cessation
Tonsillitis
Tinnitus
Toothache

Neurological
Headaches
Migraines
Parkinson’s Disease
Stroke Sequela
Peripheral Neuropathies

Other Concerns
Substance dependency
Blood pressure regulation
Prostatitis
Incontinence
Chronic Fatigue
Immune System regulation
Stress Reduction

Most often, no.

I hope to insert needles as painlessly as possible. There is also sensation associated with needling. How this feels varies from person to person. I have heard it described as everything from surprising, to painful, to weird, to tingling. Many folks don’t feel the needles at all.

After insertion, the site of needling can feel heavy or achey. This is a good sign in treatment, it means we’ve accessed resource in the body.

If we are retaining needles for a time, you might feel shifts in sensation in your body while you rest. This may include small swells of discomfort followed by relief or settling.

That said, needles should be generally easy. If you ever experience persistent sharp, burning pain on needle insertion or during retention, let me know. This means the needle needs to be adjusted.

If you’re concerned about the potential pain of needles or afraid of needles please communicate this with me during intake. We can do low or no needle sessions while still utilizing the theory of East Asian medicine to your benefit.

Please wear loose, comfortable clothing which gives me easy access to your arms below the elbow and legs below the knee. Occasionally, I may ask to access other areas of the body, such as the abdomen or the back. In those cases, I use draping to keep you covered and comfortable.

Our work is working if your primary complaints are improving and you are feeling more attuned to the present more often. Sometimes this will take time, and very occasionally things might temporarily get worse before they get better. If I expect this to be the case, I will tell you in advance.

Somatics as an interdisciplinary field of study is concerned with how we articulate the felt experience of the body, what it means to sense, and how we correlate sensation with interpretation. 

As an intentional form of care, somatic support focuses on helping people notice the body's internal sensations, perceptions, and experiences. By noticing how we feel and how we hold ourselves, we can uncover our core organizing beliefs.

Somatic processing cultivates this awareness through through dialog, movement, meditation, and touch. A few examples of specific somatic practices are body scanning, mindfulness experiments with posture or contact or movement, and noticing or naming sensation in the body. 

Somatic support can help you learn to listen to your body and notice habitual patterns of response. Greater connection to our bodies helps us to with act and react in alignment with our values and desires.

Somatic sessions with me are largely focused on discovering an embodied sense of self and examining the relationships between physical sensations and your interpretation of experience. Regarding frameworks, I primarily utilize Somatic Internal Family Systems and the Hakomi Method.

No, I am not a therapist, and I do not offer therapy. My work is not and should not replace psychotherapy or mental health counseling from a licensed care provider. I am happy to provide referrals to experienced therapists if you are seeking that form of care.

I offer somatic care as an educator and skilled peer who takes ethical care seriously. I have been trained and supervised in somatic exploration and therapeutic relationship skills by psychotherapists, bodyworkers, social organizers, and movement teachers. I have hundreds of hours of experience in session.

The care I offer may not work for you depending on your needs and history. I believe you know what you need, and if we aren’t a good fit I will help you find another provider.