First Visit

Intake and diagnosis

Part of what makes Chinese medicine so effective is the specificity of diagnosis. Two people may complain of the same symptom, like a headache, but may be treated differently depending on their underlying diagnosis.

Your diagnosis may change from appointment to appointment, improving with treatment overtime and sometimes regressing in periods of stress.

During your first visit, I’ll spend 15 to 30 minutes learning about you. I may ask about your sleep, eating habits, digestion, urination, elimination, sex drive, and menstruation.

Please also share info on your exercise habits, methods for coping with stress, and health history.

Looking at your tongue is another amazingly accurate method of diagnosis in Chinese medicine. I will likely feel the pulses at your wrist as well.

In some cases, I’ll palpate your abdomen, back, legs, and arms and perhaps conduct orthopedic tests.

Your initial treatment

An acupuncture treatment, which lasts from half an hour to an hour, is included in your initial appointment.

If you would like to add bodywork to your appointment, please book it as an add-on online or let me know ahead of time, so I can plan extra time to accommodate massage.

At the end of your initial visit you will receive a treatment plan and a recommended schedule to help you best achieve your health goals.

In addition to acupuncture, I may recommend that you incorporate massage, cupping, herbal therapies, or dietary supplements. Lifestyle, exercise, and dietary suggestions will likely be included in your recommended treatment as well.

Frequent health reassessments

Because you are constantly changing, every treatment will involve some level of re-examination. This frequent reassessment will help me and you gauge your improvement.

We will address symptoms that are bothering you that day. Because I am responding to your health in real time, it is unlikely that you will receive the exact same treatment every visit.

In most cases, acupuncture treatments can be accomplished with your clothes on. To reach some points on the back, sacrum and upper legs, you may need to remove clothing. If so I’ll step out, so you can change and cover yourself with a drape before I reenter.

Get in touch with your concerns, or book an appointment online.

Learn more
What I treat
About cupping
Why massage with acupuncture