According to the Oxford dictionary Holistic is defined as:
“The treatment of the WHOLE person, taking into account their mental and social factors rather than just the symptoms of a disease”.
In Western medical terms we are accustomed to thinking of disease or medical conditions as specific entities: insomnia, eczema, IBS, etc.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on a holistic viewpoint. The aim is to restore a persons health, balance and harmony on all levels – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – by stimulating the body’s own self-healing ability.
Acupuncture achieves this through the use of single use sterile needles at specific points on the body. Each point has beneficial effects that once activated assists the natural self healing process.
For the treatment to be the most effective an in-depth consultation is crucial.
To start the consultation you will be asked to fill in some basic medical history, emergency contact, how you prefer to be contacted and informed consent.
Following this will be a discussion, just you and your acupuncturist, this is confidential. This is your time to chat about all the symptoms you are experiencing, whether physical, mental or emotional. No symptom is irrelevant. This will give your acupuncturist an idea of what may be causing your issues and how they can use their knowledge and skills into assisting your body to heal itself.
Due to this holistic approach, five patients could book in with ‘headaches’ and they may all have different acupuncture treatments due to other symptoms that present.
Please bear in mind: if you see a physiotherapist or a GP in the UK that offers acupuncture this is likely to be a western approach (not holistic) and will treat you for your physical condition (for example back pain).