Acupuncture works through the insertion of very fine needles into acupuncture points which are precise locations that can be accessed all over our bodies. The channels or meridians are pathways that describe relationships between these points. Needling encourages energy to flow where perhaps it has become stagnant or stuck.  

Symptoms often present as manifestations of mental or emotional distress, or as a response to an accumulation of compromising experiences. Acupuncture supports in a holistic way, the points speak to us on physical, emotional and spiritual levels, reminding our bodies of their self-healing mechanisms. 

The effects of treatment are cumulative and as well as supporting with presenting symptoms, acupuncture is a preventative medicine and can be incorporated into regular rhythms and routines of caring for yourself. You can incorporate  acupuncture into a treatment plan that involves allopathic medicine and other kinds of healthcare.

The first session is both our initial consultation and a treatment, and this can last up to 3 hours. The initial session takes more time because I will take an in depth case history and we will speak about what's brought you for treatment. Follow up sessions are usually 75 minutes but can vary in duration as the treatment is responsive to what is needed in the moment. The duration of the treatment and the number of needles used is not a measure of the strength of the treatment.

Each session we take time for feedback, to hear how your experience has been since our last session and this noticing and listening is an important part of understanding how best to work together and informs your treatment plan; like any relationship, we will be getting to know each other. 

Multiple times across each session I will take your pulses by holding your hand as you lay down on the massage table and feeling the pulses around your wrist with my other hand. This gives me further information about the treatment needed.

The most commonly used acupuncture points are located on the legs (below the knee) and feet, and the arms (below the elbow) and hands. The needling technique used most often in Five-Element acupuncture is to insert, turn and then remove the needle, with only a brief moment of physical interaction, I find that this needling style can be a confronting provocation. Describing sensation, describing things we can’t see, articulating around our internal experience can feel difficult and I think that any language (descriptive, metaphorical, image-based) is useful in this attempt. We both experience energetic sensation whilst needling and the way that it feels to both of us is useful information! 

Everyone experiences treatment differently. Some people describe treatment to be very subtle, others experience it as being intense. It can vary on different days. Some people feel transformative changes immediately, others don’t notice specific changes beyond feeling a little better which can for them be enough to come back. One of the changes I noticed with starting Five Element acupuncture treatment was that I found it easier to navigate different places; I used to get lost a lot in new places, and feel quite distressed about it, and I noticed that this really eased and I had better recall on routes. We all resonate differently and there are so many factors which affect how we might receive treatment like nervousness, sense of openness to the practitioner, dehydration, rushing, medication, timing…

When I am needled I sometimes feel my energy returning like a drip slowly flowing through my body along narrow pathways and eventually making me feel solid and present again. Sometimes I feel the energy in the point being kicked up like a sandstorm in a tiny cavern, I feel that energy journey through my body in different directions, clearing space, reintegrating parts of me that I might feel directly in my viscera or energetically in my being or in my emotions. I feel myself arrive in my centre. Sometimes I experience this as a jolt, sometimes a slow and hazy settling downwards, sometimes other things. I feel connected to the centrality, dimensionality and breathy liveness of my spine, and I feel something like my mind and my eyes dropping down into my heart. Through treatment I learn these inner pathways, witnessing the movement of energy, water, blood, muscle, tissue, thought, and the different ways this affects my emotion, my posture, the ways that I hold my face, the ways that it feels to look at a person in the eyes, my digestion, my sleep, my relationships…and through these experiences and sensations I come into more intimate relationship with myself.

I would usually recommend coming for weekly treatments for 4-6 consecutive weeks, then moving to a fortnightly, then monthly, then seasonally or in times of crisis. The intention is to support your system’s flow and resilience, not to have you coming back every week. Some people will come for treatment regularly - every month or every six weeks - and others will come whenever they feel they need some additional support. This might not be the same for every person and my specific recommendation will be in dialogue with your particular needs and circumstances.

Something that comes up fairly often when speaking to people about their experiences of treatment is that they aren't quite sure what exactly has made the change - was it the acupuncture, the dietary changes, the diagnosis, the break up, the herbal treatments, the new job, the change in season, the realisation, or the time? When something doesn't feel right or good and we want to change it, we often try many things at once, one thing we try often suggests another which can make it hard to feel clear about ‘what worked’. One change or experience can be a portal for a cascade of change.

Acupuncture is an ancient healing practice used as preventative medicine and to treat physical and spiritual symptoms of disharmony. The fact that it has persisted over time is a testament to its efficacy. The intention of treatment is not to fix or cure but to tend to the underlying issue that may be causing imbalance in your system.

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I offer treatments at a sliding scale to support access. The initial treatment and consultation is £100 - £140 and follow up sessions are £70 - £90.

Once a month I run a lower cost clinic where treatments are priced at £40.

I hold a Licentiate in Acupuncture (Lic. Ac.). I am insured, fully licensed and a member of AFEA (Association of Five Element Acupuncture) and ARA (Acupuncture Regulatory Authority).