Chinese medicine in and of itself is the essence of holistic care as it addresses the mind, body, and spirit. When a person presents to my clinic with a chief complaint, all three of the above mentioned aspects are addressed as they are not only inter-related, but also inter-dependent. The wonderful thing about collaborating with other modalities is that we can carry that concept forward as we use multiple treatment strategies to address the mind, body, and spirit. For example, in my work with a diabetic patient, I may recognize that their digestion is weak (called Spleen/Pancreas qi deficiency). My job is to find the root of that weakness, which may be that the person is a nurturer who does not know how to nurture themselves. That kind of work may be appropriate for a counselor/psychologist/life coach. As the person is working on nurturing/nourishing his/herself, amounts of pharmaceuticals, acupuncture, herbs, therapy, etc. would likely decrease as the person's overall health increases!
April L. Schulte-Barclay, DAOM, LAc
Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Links:
[1] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/chinese-medicines-role-integrative-medicine#comment-456
[2] http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/integrative-medicine-parts-make-whole/acupuncture-and-chinese-medicine/april-schulte-barclay-
[3] http://twitter.com/lumigrate
[4] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/chinese-medicines-role-integrative-medicine#top
[5] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/login?destination=node/301%23comment-form
[6] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/register?destination=node/301%23comment-form
Comments
Good to see that you got here, April!!!! -- Our busy-ness of schedules trying to coordinate talking your way to this area (and phone tag) didn't get us with you finding your way into the area of the website I've established for you, so I'm going to put a link right here now to that, and then we'll want to get you set up with a different username that's not so much your email address, but will allow people to see your name or clinic name or whatever you are using for your 'Branding'.
But for everyone's info, this is the acupuncturist who was in the same building I was years ago and who was talking at the fibromyalgia forum that Chris Young and I had started together, and I ran late from a hair appointment and walked in just as she was talking about the liver qi and pointing on her body to the area that I'd been run AROUND about pain with a surgeon I'd been referred to, as allopathic medicine (and I) had suspected gall bladder, which I have a family history of. Later that day, Dr. Young about jumped off his table perch when her perspecive about something answered a question he'd had for EVER that allopathic paradigm couldn't explain in his mind. It was VERY COOL, and was truly part of the reason I thought Lumigrate would be a good business for me to do in order for MORE PEOPLE to have access to this wonderful information I was seeing presented at the Forum Dr. Young and I had co-created and I'd lined out the speakers for with the help of the attendees. And I believe April and Dr. Young both understand and appreciate as well as I do, how much providers learn from the people who medical concerns. They're vehicles for us to learn about new resources and other providers to refer to, and we're just taking this to a bigger web via the Internet and Lumigrate.
Looking forward to LOTS MORE about acupuncture from April and other acupuncturists who might want to contribute here in this section. I've asked April to carve out time for a year now to write on Lumigrate and she now has that available and so HER OWN FORUM AREA is at the following link:
www.lumigrate.com/forums/integrative-medicine-parts-make-whole/acupuncture-and-chinese-medicine/april-schulte-barclay- [2]
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [3] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!