About My Practice

While acupuncture  is often referred to as “alternative medicine,” I think it is more accurate to see it as a “complementary” approach. In addition to being an acupuncturist for almost 35 years, I have been a licensed and up-to-date physician for over forty years.  My medical training is an integral and invaluable compliment to the acupuncture. Although I do not serve as the primary physician for my patients, I do serve as a medical consultant, often reviewing, commenting and making suggestions about the results of laboratory studies and other tests that have been ordered by their other doctors. In this way, I get to know my patients better and am able to explain their medical condition more fully. This helps my patients make more informed decisions about their health.

I contact any potential new patient by phone before seeing them in person.  This allows me to introduce myself and to listen to their problems, giving me an idea of whether I might be able to be of  help.   It  enables them to ask questions, so that they feel informed about acupuncture and how I work.

The first visit lasts 2 hours, during which time I get an in-depth history,  perform my examination, make an evaluation and then do a treatment. Follow-up visits last about 45 minutes. I stay in the room with my patients during the treatment.  I do not  put needles in and leave the room.

Patients talk with me and I get to know them well. I learned as a doctor, that ninety nine times out of a hundred the diagnosis is right there in the history. I listen carefully. It is not uncommon that in a conversation during the treatment some forgotten or unmentioned fact comes out and reveals the cause of the illness. It is usually from the past, but it may still be current.  I always try to figure out the original cause, when it began, how old is the illness. How chronic an illness is strongly affects the frequency and duration of treatment. Very old conditions can improve greatly, but they are hard to completely cure.