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Here is an excerpt from Larisa's book Escape From the Labyrinth on how to find an acupuncturist, you can read more about Larisa's new book here!
Finding Your
Acupuncturist You
might be wondering how to find a good, qualified acupuncturist? As
much thought and analysis should be going into choosing your
acupuncturist as choosing a doctor. Though it can be a long process, it
really is a case of you get what you put in. If you take the time and
effort to find a good acupuncturist, you will reap the rewards for a
long time to come. The
best possible method of finding a skilled acupuncturist is by referral.
After all, when someone has already visited the acupuncturist and had a
successful treatment that improved their condition, you have a direct,
firsthand account of what you can expect. But obtaining a referral from
a friend, or even a doctor, can be difficult when you are the only one
in your social circle or area who is searching for alternative forms of
treatment. The
next step, then, is the internet. When it comes to looking for services,
the internet is a colorful and highly modified version of the phonebook.
However, the internet makes it a lot easier to present yourself in
whatever way you want. There’s nobody there to stop an acupuncturist
with little to no experience from describing themselves as a “guru”
with a 100% success rate. You often need to dig through a jungle of
information to find the underlying truth. There are many acupuncturists
who use impressive wording and even made up accreditations to cover up
their lack of experience. Unfortunately, the internet is also an arena where businesses openly compete against one another. They can anonymously trash each other, post negative reviews, or even pay for positive reviews. For example, any doctor or acupuncturist can pay a search engine to optimize their name to appear under a list titled “The Best Acupuncturists.” I get asked to join these services dozens of times a month by mail, email and even personal visits by their sales reps.
That
being said, I strongly believe in a few requirements that any
acupuncturist MUST meet. They must have graduated from an accredited
Oriental Medicine college, chiropractor school, or if they are a doctor
taken acupuncture courses in medical school. They must have passed the
National Board Exam (administered by the NCCAOM-National Certification
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), which is necessary to
be licensed to legally practice in your state. All acupuncturists must
also have a license allowing them to practice in your state. You can
find out the status of an acupuncturist’s license by going onto your
state’s Department of Professional Regulations website. Don’t
pay too much attention if they post an impressive list of lectures and
seminars they attend annually. Every acupuncturist has to spend a
required amount of time a year at continued education seminars in order
to keep their license active (the number of hours required varies state
to state). This practice is in place for many professions such as
lawyers and doctors. The only difference is that doctors and lawyers
usually don’t put up the list of continued education classes they’ve
completed because it is a given that they have to keep themselves up to
date on what’s happening in their profession. Through these mandatory
classes the government is able to ensure that professionals are
constantly aware of what is happening in their field, and that they are
improving their level of care. Even though seminars and lectures do help
acupuncturists gain knowledge, you must remember that that they are
simply another source of information for the acupuncturist and not
something “extra” that they are doing that other acupuncturists
aren’t. All acupuncturists have to attend these lectures and classes
and they are not a replacement for real life experience and expertise. |
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Pay
attention to how they present their education, experience, and
background. One of my patients came to me with herbs and supplements
that were recommended to him over the internet by a “professor.” My
patient was very impressed by this man who claimed that he had a lot of
patients and often gives lectures. I decided to check out the website of
this so called “acupuncturist”. Turns out he had a great website
full of articles he had written, but there were no links as to where
those articles had been published. There was also no mention of his
education. That is until I scrolled to the very bottom of the page. That
was when I found out that he was indeed a professor – a professor of
oceanology! Beware of these “acupuncturists” or “herbalists” who
“treat” patients and give consultations over the phone and internet. If
an acupuncturist is not informing you about when they graduated from
acupuncture school, what they have been up to since then, or how long
they have been practicing – but instead says they have been
“interested”, or “involved” in alternative medicine since
childhood, or travelled in Tibet – this should be a red flag for you.
They are just trying to make you that think they have a lot more
experience and credentials than they really do. Also watch out for those
who say they have 30 years of experience, but in small print they count
their time as a yoga teacher or biochemist as part of those thirty
years. It’s certainly beneficial to have life experience, but this
isn’t the same as studying and practicing acupuncture. There
is absolutely nothing wrong with an acupuncturist who has recently
graduated from acupuncture school. There have been many young, recently
graduated acupuncturists who are amazing at what they do. They have the
latest information and a lot of energy and enthusiasm to be the best.
However, they do need to be honest about their credentials and actual
acupuncture experience. As you will read later, this is important to
know when you’re choosing an acupuncturist. Keep
in mind though, that sometimes it’s necessary to choose an
acupuncturist based on how complicated your condition is. For example,
if you’ve just recently developed lower back pain that occurs after an
intense workout, or a stomach ache a few times a month, you can choose
an acupuncturist with less experience, but with other wonderful
qualities. You’re sure to have an improvement after one or two
appointments, since these conditions are usually not complex or
difficult to treat. Choosing an acupuncturist with less experience may
also be easier on your wallet. But
if you are trying to find relief from long-term, stubborn and chronic
conditions that Western medicine isn’t providing much help with, you
will need to choose your acupuncturist wisely if you want your condition
to improve after a few treatments. I’d also like to stress here how
important it is to choose a qualified acupuncturist if you have cancer.
Time is crucial, and it’s necessary to start treatment right away. But
remember that while acupuncture alone does not treat cancer, Oriental
medicine can certainly treat the side effects of cancer treatments and
build up the immunity of a patient after chemo and radiation treatments.
Remember: if any acupuncturist promises to cure your cancer it should be
a BIG RED FLAG! Acupuncturists are not MD’s, and if yours starts
giving advice like one, look for the door. You may lose precious time
that can save your life. Every
professional should know the limits of their trade. Acupuncturists are
no exception. Location,
as anyone knows, is very important – especially when choosing where to
go for acupuncture treatments. In the beginning of your treatments you
might have to go twice a week if you have a chronic condition. It’s
hard to make a commitment like that if you have to travel far (although
I have a few select patients that do just that). But don’t sacrifice
your health by choosing the acupuncture office across the street. Sometimes,
especially with complex conditions, it’s worth it to travel a few
extra miles. I have patients that travel to see me from far away suburbs
and even neighboring states because I can give them a stable improvement
in their condition. At the same time, I help them find another
acupuncturist close to their home that can do more basic, weekly
treatments. If you want to save on parking and gas, choose an
acupuncturist based on how close they are. But if you’re looking to
get real results from your treatment you should choose your
acupuncturist according to their education and experience. Once
you’ve chosen an acupuncturist you should talk to them before making
the first appointment. Briefly describe your condition and ask them what
treatment plan they would suggest for you. Make sure he gives you
answers that are unique to your condition, and that are not general
promises to quickly cure you. Asking these important questions will give
you a more comprehensive picture about the education, skill level, and
experience of that acupuncturist. Be
sure you understand how long each appointment will last. An initial
consultation should not be less than 30 minutes, and I personally
believe it’s essential to have the patient fill out a detailed
consultation form that asks a number of both general and specific
questions about the condition of their health. The acupuncturist should
have the patient send them the consultation form prior to the first
appointment to have ample time to review it and prepare themselves. Often the initial
consultation itself can last up to an hour. It’s not rare in my
practice for a patient to come seeking relief “just for insomnia”,
and when he comes in I find out that his mother, father and brother all
died of heart disease, his pulse is 100, and he has high blood pressure.
In cases like this, insomnia is just the tip of the iceberg. Much more
time is needed during the consultation to figure out how to treat the
deep-seated condition behind the insomnia. I
think the treatment itself should be about an hour long. In my practice
the needles stay in for at the least a half hour - though anxious
patients, or those with fibromyalgia, can only lie down for fifteen
minutes at a time. I make sure that my patients lie in a quiet, dark
room with light music playing and aromatic oils in the air. After the
acupuncture treatment is over, I almost always use additional Oriental
medical treatments such as gu’asha, cupping, or moxa therapy. Though
this requires extra time, preparation and effort on the practitioners’
side, I believe they should be interested in investing the extra
resources to be sure their patient gets a complete treatment and a fast
result. Going
to an acupuncture office shouldn’t feel like waiting in line at the
deli counter – “Next customer, please!” Acupuncturists that
overbook their schedules and are always juggling patients tend to never
have an extra slot for an emergency visit if you ever need one. I
personally try to leave one or two appointment slots free everyday in
case one of my patients needs an emergency appointment. Also, trying to
treat more than two or three patients at a time can affect the quality
of the treatment. If your acupuncturist is trying to balance an
overbooked schedule, don’t be surprised if you are not getting the
treatment you think you deserve. The
results that you can expect from your acupuncture treatment depend a lot
on the acupuncturist’s needle technique (how they go about placing
needles into your skin). The quality and result of your treatment can
vary depending on experience, training, sensitivity of the
practitioner’s fingers, and the quality of needles used. Needle
technique is a major reason why 75% of people that would like to try
acupuncture never make an appointment. It’s not because they doubt its
effectiveness, or because it’s not covered by their health insurance
plans. They are simply afraid that placing the needles into their skin
will hurt. The image of needles penetrating the skin brings up images
from horror movies, and sends chills down people’s spines. But you
should know that an experienced acupuncturist is able to feel when the
needle has reached its proper depth based on how much resistance the
tissue gives. When I’m placing needles, I pay careful attention to the
surrounding skin, muscles, and the patients’ facial expression. At the
tiniest sign of discomfort, I’ll change my method of placing the
needles into the skin to better suit the patient. |
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