Frequently Asked Questions for Acupuncture

  • Acupuncture is commonly sought for pain, headaches and migraines, stress, sleep difficulties, musculoskeletal problems, nausea, and general wellness.  However, because acupuncture works to regulate the nervous system and engages innate mechanisms for healing via the parasympathetics all conditions may benefit from acupuncture treatment. 

  • Most people experience little to no pain when the needles are inserted. You may feel a brief pinch similar to a mosquito bite, pressure, warmth, tingling, heaviness, or a dull ache around a needle. Individual sensitivity varies.

  • Yes. Professional acupuncture practices use single-use, sterile, disposable needles, which are discarded after each treatment.

  • New patient acupuncture sessions are 90 minutes long and return acupuncture sessions are 60 minutes long, however you should plan for 15 minutes before and after your session to allow time to get on and off the table. 

  • The first visit includes a health history and discussion of your goals, followed by an assessment and treatment.  I will have consent forms to complete when you arrive.  There is no need to complete a health history questionnaire in advance, however, bringing in a list of current supplements and medications would be very helpful.  Similarly, if you have a long history of medical intervention or surgery, a written timeline would be helpful.  For some folks it is also often helpful to bring a list of questions or items that you would like to be addressed during treatment. 

  • Because I generally incorporate a good deal of manual therapies during treatment, I provide a table with sheets to allow you to disrobe to your comfort level in the treatment room.  If you are comfortable disrobing, you may wear whatever you like to your session.  If you prefer not to disrobe, please wear loose, comfortable clothing that allows access to the areas being treated. Depending on the treatment, you may need to expose portions of your arms, legs, back, abdomen, or other areas.

  • Some acupuncture points and techniques require particular caution during pregnancy. Always tell your practitioner if you are pregnant or might be pregnant so that treatment can be appropriately modified.

  • At the current time I do not accept insurance.  However, upon request I am happy to provide a statement of treatment to provide to your insurance company should they cover acupuncture.   

Frequently Asked Questions for Herbal Medicine

  • Traditional herbal preparations can have a strong, earthy, bitter, sweet, or aromatic flavor. The flavor of the herbs is stimulating to the body and has a medicinal impact, so I often prefer using teas, decoctions, powders, or pressed pills to allow the body to detect the scent and flavor of the plants being used.  If the flavor of the herbs is strongly unpalatable, we may choose to select a different herbs or encapsulated herbs. 

  • This varies according to the reason for treatment. Some short-term concerns may require only a brief course, while chronic conditions may involve longer-term treatment with periodic reassessment and formula changes.

  • The response varies depending on the person, condition, formula, and treatment goals. Some people notice changes relatively quickly, while other situations require consistent use over a longer period.  The active constituents of plants are very potent, but in their whole form tend to be balanced and attenuated by secondary and tertiary metabolites.  In as much, herbs tend to gently and gradually effect change and produce many fewer side-effects than a pharmacological approach. 

  • Herbal medicine is very safe when herbs are appropriately prescribed, sourced, prepared, and monitored, but "natural" does not automatically mean risk-free. Herbs can cause side effects, may produce an allergic response or interact with medications.  Also a problem in the modern world is contamination of herbal and nutraceutical supplements with mold, heavy metals or pesticides.  It is for this reason that I only purchase herbs from suppliers that batch test every supplement for contamination and only purchase organic or wild-harvested herbs in bulk from reputable sources. 

  • Sometimes, but it depends on the specific herbs and medications.  For this reason, it is particularly important to update me about all changes to prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements you are taking before starting a formula or refilling a formula. 

  • It depends on the formula and your individual circumstances. Some formulas may be better tolerated with food while others may have different timing recommendations. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions like this should they arise. 

  • Herbs are great for children, but dosage, formulation, and safety considerations are different for children than for adults.  I am always happy to provide guidance on how best to evaluate safety and dosage when administering herbs to pediatric patients. 

Frequently asked questions for Somatic Grief Support

  • The cornerstone of modern grief counseling is talk therapy, which is generally aimed at managing the painful emotions associated with loss.  While talk therapy allows us to acknowledge grief, feel supported in grief, and stay functional while we are grieving, it often bypasses the innate or embodied expression of grief that arises in the absence of verbal processing. 

    Most wisdom traditions have a very elaborate relationship with grief reflecting its implied value to society. They acknowledge that grief is something that simply needs attention, space, time, support and permission to run its course.  In these traditions grief is treated as a brilliant tool to assist us in the process of the many deaths and rebirths that we undergo in the course of a lifetime. As we lose our connection to ancestry and tradition, it becomes more common to bypass the opportunity to grieve our loses in the moment, leaving us to manage the incomplete grief living on the periphery of our awareness in order to stay functional.  Modern grief counseling has arisen to support this task. 

    Ultimately though, until grief is allowed to move through the body, it will be difficult for it to find completion.  In recognition of the limitations of talk therapy, many grief therapists are now transitioning into or adding into practice more body centered grief therapies such as EMDR, Neurofeedback, Somatic Experiencing, Art therapy, Dance therapy or psychedelic assisted therapies.  The grief work I offer is done in the same vein as these embodied therapies, simply allowing for space and awareness for grief to move and be fully experienced. 

  • You may, and if you do, that is welcome. Tears are one expression of grief moving through the body. But crying is not the measure of a successful session.  Some people experience grief as shaking, deep sighing, warmth, or simply a profound sense of release without visible emotion. There is no performance expected and no outcome to achieve. Whatever arises is honored.

    When grieving is interrupted as it arises organically in the moment, it may feel like we spend an eternity courting its return so that it can express itself fully in our body and reach completion. Just like sleep that can't come when we constrict around it, neither will grief. Grief is an allowing. Just showing up with the intention to allow grief is enough. That intention will remain active well past the time you leave the treatment room. During treatment the only task is to simply relax in open awareness of what you are feeling in your body and allow whatever can be expressed in the moment to show up.

  • For most people, yes. The body is designed to grieve, and allowing grief to move through is generally a deeply natural and safe process. It is not surprising, however, that safety is a common fear. The experience of uninhibited grief in the body is a powerful one that affects every system. For the most part, the physiological and psychological changes following a productive grief release are overwhelmingly positive for our health.

    Common physiological changes include improved circulation, decreased inflammation and pain, better sleep, improved digestion, down regulation of the nervous system, deeper respiration, and improved immune response. Common psychological changes include diminished anxiety and depression, a greater sense of wellbeing and connection, enhanced creativity and motivation, and a healthier relationship with addictive food/substances. Grieving can even make you more beautiful! People often tell me that after a significant grief release everyone comments on how radiant they look.

    These same positive changes, however, can require an adjustment period for the body and mind both. The combination of improved oxygenation, blood flow, sleep, muscle tension and positive changes to lifestyle and relationships signal to the body that it can now eliminate the accumulations that it was using to finance latency and heal. While these signs of healing may be uncomfortable, they can almost always be easily accommodated with basic self-care.

    Examples of transitional symptoms include flu-like symptoms (soreness, swelling, congestion, fever), changes to urination or bowel movement, or skin conditions. The long-term risks of repressing grief are many and in my opinion are far more of a concern for health. When the body uses physical and psychic resources to keep grief held static in the body it cannot use these resources to fuel our daily living. Long-term inflammation, pain, over-eating, drug use, depression, anxiety, impaired circulation and oxygenation are all detrimental to the body in profound ways. Emotional detachment can also lead to impaired relationships and being accident prone. In cases where health feels severely compromised caution is always merited. Please let me know if you have any condition you have concern about such as epilepsy, severe cardiac disease, or unresolved ongoing trauma or psychiatric instability and we will adapt the treatment to make sure it can be done in safely and at a pace that feels comfortable.

     

  • Maybe. My goal for this practice is not to create an isolated container for grief, but to create the conditions where having an embodied experience of grief is possible. This experience then provides the touchstone for reclaiming a relationship with grief that can be carried into daily life. Grief is not a problem to be solved or treated. Grief itself is the healer as it breaks open our constricted vision of what is possible and empowers us to make different choices. In as much, I will not be booking series of sessions or even initiating follow up. You will know exactly what you need when you need it.

  • Yes. Grief does not only follow recent loss. Many people carry old, unprocessed grief for years or decades — grief that was never allowed, never witnessed, or never found its way to completion. If you feel a chronic flatness, a heaviness you cannot name, or a sense that something important is locked inside you, the call to this work may feel very compelling.

  • The type of preparation you do for a session is up to you. For logistical reasons, the only required task is to complete the medical intake and consent forms on the “somatic grief support” page of this website. Also accessible on that page are the grief questionnaire and session preparation guide which you may also chose to explore. These offer more comprehensive suggestions for how you might prepare for a session.

  • Yes. The space and treatment schedule are designed specifically with privacy in mind. The front door will be locked and sessions are scheduled to allow plenty of uninterrupted integration time.