Acupuncture Treatments

During an acupuncture session, acupuncture points are carefully selected based on the patient’s symptoms, constitution, and overall health goals. Get in touch if you need any more information on our treatments. 

You can visit your acupuncturist for all the same reasons you might go to a GP, as well as for general wellbeing and health maintenance. Ask your practitioner about whether it could help you and see the British Acupuncture Council website for more information including videos and research factsheets. Traditional acupuncture treatment is completely individual to each patient. It works on the whole person to promote better functioning, thereby addressing symptoms at the root. This is what makes it effective for a wide range of conditions.

Many people use acupuncture for help with specific symptoms or conditions, while others choose acupuncture as a preventive measure to strengthen their constitution or because they just feel generally unwell. Acupuncture treatments are based on the concept of Qi, the vital energy that flows through meridians, or pathways, in the body. According to the Traditional Chinese medicine theory, imbalances in the flow of Qi (energy) can lead to illness or discomfort.

Acupuncture needles are inserted into acupuncture points along these meridians to restore the smooth flow of Qi and promote balance within the body. During an acupuncture session, acupuncture points are carefully selected based on the patient’s symptoms, constitution, and overall health goals. Acupuncture is considered suitable for all ages and it can also be very effective when integrated with western medicine.

What to expect

The first part in an acupuncture treatment involves an initial assessment by the acupuncturist. They will inquire about your medical history, current health concerns, lifestyle, and any symptoms you may be experiencing. This is an in depth consultation where we go very deep into your current and previous health systems. This information helps the acupuncturist understand your unique health condition and create a fully personalised treatment plan.

Treatments can help with:

Anxiety and panic attacks,
Arthritis including joint pain,
Asthma and other lung complaints,
Back pain, sciatic pain,
Depression,
Insomnia and other sleep issues,
Digestive disorders,
Eczema including psoriasis,
Emotional issues,
Fertility and pregnancy,
Grief,
Women’s health including menstrual issues, menopausal problems,
Mental health,
Migraines including headaches,
Pregnancy,
Prostate issues.

The practitioner will then often palpate the channels on your arms and legs, palpate your abdomen, looking at your tongue, feel your pulses and more. Palpating the channels and feeling your pulses relate to how your meridians are functioning. Feeling the abdomen and looking at the tongue give us a sense of how your organs themselves are functioning. These two aspects are interrelated but different and we want to know how each was performing separately.

Based on the information gathered, the acupuncturist will make a diagnosis according to the principles of a chosen acupuncture style like the ones explained earlier (e.g., Traditional Chinese Medicine, Five Phases, etc.). They will identify patterns of disharmony within your body, such as imbalances in Qi (life force energy) or disruptions in the flow of energy along specific meridians.

After the diagnosis has been made the treatment can start. This is the best bit where you can lie comfortably on a treatment table and relax. The acupuncturist will then insert fine, sterile needles into specific acupuncture points on your body. You may feel different sensations depending on the points selected, what your body needs and the way that the practitioner manipulates the needle. The number of needles used can vary depending on your condition and the acupuncturist’s approach but typically is between 4-10 needles. The needles are usually left in place for between 15 to 30 minutes.

In addition to just using needles, the practitioner could incorporate other techniques into the session. This could include moxibustion (the burning of a herb near acupuncture points), cupping (placing cups on the skin to create a suction effect), or some forms of massage.

After the treatment, the acupuncturist will discuss a plan with you. This plan will outline the number of sessions recommended, the frequency of treatments, and the specific acupuncture points to be targeted during each session. The purpose is to come to a shared agreement that will help you achieve your goals.

Booking your Appointment

First appointment, includes thorough health history review, physical exam, treatment plan and treatment – 1 hr 45 mins|£60

Subsequent appointments – 1 h|£50

Acupuncture Bundle 1 (5 sessions – 10% discount) – 1 hr | £215

Under 18s and full time students are charged at £40 per session.

My private clinic is for 1:1 sessions in my home clinic in Aldershot.
Sessions offer complete privacy in a relaxed, calm atmosphere.

I am able to offer a variety of services such as moxibustion, gua sha, cupping and TuiNa massage and facial (cosmetic) acupuncture.

My working hours are currently:

Weekdays between 9am-5pm, evenings are also possible by request.

Please give 24 hours notice of any cancellations to avoid charge. I accept payment by cash, card or bank transfer.

Acupuncture Treatments – Five Elements or TCM

Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners will prepare a tailored treatment plan which includes acupuncture points, moxa, cupping, and lifestyle advice. The therapies are used to help rebalance yin and yang by restoring the natural flow of Qi. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners also tailor therapies to harmonize emotions, the essence (jing) and the spirit (shen).

Good health is achieved by maintaining the body in a balanced state. Disease is a sign of an imbalance of yin and yang with disease-related imbalances sometimes being due to excess or deficiency of yin and yang. Typically, chronic illness is related to a yin dominance, whist acute illness is related to yang dominance. By emphasising a holistic approach to understanding normal function and disease processes the practitioner can focus on prevention and treatment of illness.

Five Element Acupuncture first treatment begins with acupuncture detox to draw out any energy stagnation in the body. Moxibustion is used to move qi and accumulate the energy towards the acupuncture point before it is stimulated. Unlike in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Five Element Acupuncture works on one point at a time and thus uses less needles during the treatment.

A Five Element Acupuncture Treatments Practitioner will search for energy blockages in the body’s meridians. These blocks are detected through pulse reading after each acupuncture point is stimulated. The detection of such energetic blocks is fundamental to Five Element Acupuncture and once these blocks are cleared each treatment will restore the body’s balance and equilibrium.

The Five Element System

The Five Element system has been practiced for thousands of years originating in China and Japan and is the method used for Traditional Five Element Acupuncture Treatments.

The five different elements are Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. All of us are made up of all the Five Elements which have to work together creating the system of Body, Mind and Spirit functions to Flow, Control and Feed.

We all have a dominant Element known as the Guardian Element or Causative Factor, with two other inner Elements that we can relate to. For example, you could be mostly a Wood Element with Fire and Metal element tendencies. The role of Guardian Element, our primary element is to protect and treat but it also enables all of the Five Elements to work together with the result that our Body, Mind and Spirit flourish. Each Element is tempered by the others. None exists alone and its action is always modified and enhanced by the element surrounding it. Good health is where an Element is given the space to unfold as it needs to, while being supported by and supporting other elements. Poor health is the result of Elements not working together.

Traditional Five Element Acupuncture identifies your Causative Factor, your inner Elements to treat and re-balance your Body, Mind and Spirit.

The Traditional Five Element Acupuncturist’s skill lies in identifying the precise nature of the underlying disharmony and selecting the most effective treatment. The choice of acupuncture points will be specific to each patient’s needs. Traditional Five Element Acupuncture can also be used as a preventive measure to strengthen the constitution and promote general well-being. Further reference reading regarding Acupuncture Treatments can be found on the British Acupuncture Website.

If you would like to understand more about the different types of Acupuncture or would like to book an appointment, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 07595185524 or book online.