Training school

Hi Katielou

As an aupuncturist, I'm always delighted that more people might want to learn about this useful healing art, but I'm always puzzled when folk with existing therapies want to "add" it to whatever it is they already pratice. It makes me think that maybe there's not enough trust in their existing therapeutic training, and that by adding acupuncture it might help to patch it up. I've certainly met physiotherapists that use acupuncture when everything else has failed to work, only to then get a result.

Acupuncture is much more than simply chucking a few needles close to the hurty area. The Chinese foundations of medicine treat sickness on physical, emotional and even spiritual levels, making no separation between these areas. I'd suggest that if you are serious about learning one of the world's longest surviving therapeutic techniques, avoid anywhere that teaches so-called "acupuncture" in a few weekends, as you will miss the part of the training that really allows you to connect with another human being in need of help. "Dry needling" is not acupuncture, as it doesn't have the necessary "language" to deal with people at all levels.

For a thorough training in acupuncture, why not try the Northern College of Acupuncture in York. It has one of the leading research progammes in the country, and a solid reputation in the profession. Val Hopwood runs an MSc in Acupuncture in Coventry that combines Chinese and Western thinking, including clinical reasoning from both directions, which can be studied in short modules.

Finally, I notice you run a mobile service. This is particularly problematic for acupuncture, as it's quite difficult to manage the necessary cleanliness appropriate for acupuncture with cats jumping on the bed. Ask me how I know!

Thank you for the advice. The course in Nottingham is spread over 2 years so didnt think there would be much difference to the one in York. I do believe in my knowledge and training, acupuncture is something Ive always been interested in as opposed to it being a last gasp attempt to fix someone.

Ill look into the York course and report back.

Thanks for your time, Katie

Hi Katie, I started off practising massage, and then shiatsu, then acupuncture and so i can appreciate the direction your heading in; my advice would be to choose a course that is accredited or undergoing accreditation by an independent body such as the BAAB, this way you can be sure of being in a strong position in the event of increased regulatory requirements etc. There are certainly a few well known acupuncturists on the lecture circuit that have combined acupuncture with sports therapy/otseopathy,physiotherapy etc and who specialise in treating musculo-skeletal problems - so there are some opportunities in this direction.
Best wishes, Tony

In response to Tony's posting, yes, there are those folk who combine acupuncture with other therapies, but this tends to be a Westernised version that disregards "Qi" or "energy". Not that this approach is ineffective, it's just very limited. Two weekends' training does not an acupuncturist make! I'd make a very poor osteopath or physiotherapist with that little training.

There is currently a drive to "medicalise" acupuncture and marginalise its historical theories, and doing so makes it poorer rather than richer. When a patient comes to see me for say, knee pain, I have the starting point that allows me to attempt to improve any accompanying insomnia, digestive disorders, IBS, migraine and so on. To treat the knee pain alone would leave me feeling like a "western" practitioner, where the "person" is separated from the "problem". An unfortunate extension of this approach is that there is a danger of perceiving the person AS a problem, this being very evident in the NHS facility where I did some training.

I reitterate, Acupuncture and Dry Needling are not the same.

i think a sports therapist has a wide enough skill set to achieve the goals needs and aspirations of their clients, I would refer to suitably qualified practitioner rather than try to add to my port folio of skills, i master in my primary therapy and let oters master theirs
regards
BGFL

I would disagree with you David that "the folk who combine therapies tend to use a Westernised version", I think that many traditionally trained acupuncturists have arrived at acupuncture from an earlier experience of another therapeutic system, particularly some kind of bodywork and most of the acupuncture teaching institutions teach some form of bodywork in parallel or as an adjunct to acupuncture. I think this approach allows the practitioner greater flexibility in their treatment strategy and personally, I often combine massage, acupuncture and herbs depending on the individual patient and their underlying pattern. The argument about whether a physiotherapist or GP should treat someone after a 2 weekend course is of course an important debate to have but I do not think it applies to Katie's initial post as she appears to be considering a much longer training.

Best wishes, Tony

"Finally, I notice you run a mobile service. This is particularly problematic for acupuncture, as it's quite difficult to manage the necessary cleanliness appropriate for acupuncture with cats jumping on the bed. Ask me how I know!"

Just use a laser instead. It's been around for a long time and I've read that for example an oral surgeon called Yo-Cheng Zhou used laser acupuncture anaesthesia to conduct over 10,000 tooth extractions between the 1950s and 70s.

The issue here seems to partly be one of terminology and definition. "Acupuncture" is not a Chinese word, it's European and carries the baggage of European conceptualisation. The Chinese have their own understanding and they are quite happy for us to use any translation we like. Chinese medicine is riddled with mistranslations, and it causes no end of misconceptualisations.

Of course, I advertise myself as an Acupuncturist, but I think of myself as a doctor or physician, maybe a mechanic. The discipline is Zhen Jiu, the needle is only half of that...