Q: Does it hurt? I'm afraid of needles...??!!
A: The 'needles' are hyper-thin filaments, which activate the movement of Qi or body-forces. This sensation may feel peculiar at first, or slightly uncomfortable, but not hurtful.

Q. My insurance pays for acupuncture. Can you take health insurance?
A. This clinic does not work with health insurance. The fee is flexible and you can have treatment for low fees, if your resources are restricted

Q. Will you diagnose me?
A. For a thorough explanation please see article by Arya Nielsen "Why We Do Not Diagnose" click the following link: http://www.guasha.com/article5.html

Q: Why do I feel fear about this treatment?
A: Because of misconceptions about what it is, one does not know what to expect. It is wholly unlike any apparently similar thing such as shots, piercing, etc. The actual treatment is an experience of a peaceful internal feeling moving around within the body - once this is experienced, all fear about it vanishes. The tiny, superthin filaments are sterile and used once only, trashed immediately after treatment. Great care is taken during treatment to get feedback about what you are experiencing until you are safe with it.

* ...local porcupine, day after rains... *
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"No object, either in nature or made by human hands, can exist without an archetypal process at its core."
--Alice O. Howell

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Q. How does acupuncture work?
A: Every place on the body is also a place in the mind. When two or more points are treated, communication begins within the psyche itself. The body 'makes up its own mind,' and changes in circulation and metabolism are the result. The effect of an acupuncture treatment is like having a new thought, or learning a new thing.

Q: I'm a fulltime student. I'm interested but I can't afford the fee?
A: The fee is flexible, due to this being a cooperative service, not a consumer product. Acupuncture can harmonize body and mind so education can be more rewarding and healthful. An hour of acupuncture is equivalent to about 5 hours' sleep. This clinic is particularly dedicated to, and experienced in, care for women who are at colleges nearby.

Q: I'm a dancer/athlete. How can this benefit me?
A: Acupuncture and herbs can quicken recovery from intensive workouts, reduce muscle ache and repetition strain, increase range of motion, refine effort/shape, build stamina, quicken sport injury healing, treat chronic shinsplints and remedy scoliosis. Treatment of the cycle can help prevent anterior cruciate ligament tear at day 14. Acupuncture supports ideokinetic facilitation (spontaneity).

Q: Do you have a place to change?
A: There's no need to change. Comfortable, loose clothing such as sportswear makes it easier to access points on abdomen, back, legs and arms. A washroom is available. On treatment days please leave off commercial perfumes out of respect to other patients who may be allergic. Essential oil fragrances are okay.

Q: Is acupuncture womencare the same thing as Gynecology?
A: This particular practice here is very purposefully not medical model, so it would be misleading to describe it as a kind of gynecology. Its treatment for the total woman. But it is true acupuncture healing arts can be effective with many gyn syndromes. The cycle can be free of symptoms such as: pain, incoordination, headache, skin eruptions, body-ache, nausea, vertigo, moods, heavy periods, no periods, breakthrough bleeding, breast pain/nodules. With persistence over time acupuncture and herbal treatment can resolve these entirely. Treatments benefit the whole person and help offset potential future trouble.

Q: What do you mean by womencare?
A: Womencare is what could be called 'motherwork,' where anyone might be a mother in this sense - mothering meaning: caring-for, nurturing, compassion, empathy, the gentle-hearted tenderness for living creatures, the overall concern with the intelligence of relationship, the love of peaceful society and basic happiness in life.

Q: Can you help during pregnancy?
A: This particular clinic can better help between or before pregnancies by helping prepare the body, and in early pregnancy if there's nausea or back pain during third trimester, and right after birth if there's exhaustion, sadness or baby blues. Chinese herbs and acupuncture can safely and effectively remedy many troublesome conditions during pregnancy. There are many women acupuncturists locally, who are more experienced and capable in treatment during pregnancy.

Q: Why is the clinic in a home instead of in a public office?
A: This is the expressed preference of many people seeking acupuncture, particularly mothers who seek treatment for their children. It is economical, it benefits the residential communities where the clinic is located, and it allows interpersonal boundaries to retain their flexibility in treatment. In asian traditions, acupuncture and herbal skills were passed down in family lineages and practiced in a home context. This practice style is continued by many american acupuncturists today. It also fosters the concept of home as a spiritual refuge and as a resource for healing--the home as a place of peace and safety. It becomes possible to surround the treatment area with the healing support and protection of nature--trees, small wild creatures running free--which help the healing process.

Q. Can acupuncture help my children?
A. Conditions like chronic tonsillitis, eczema, indigestion, chronic cough and asthma are the classic conditions which respond quite well. But many other syndromes get amazing recovery in children. Most children take acupuncture very well, but it is possible to also treat using cups, guasha, moxibustion and tuina (acupressure), as well as the gentle, effective and safe herbal remedies. Of course, it works out better when parents understand the treatment and are in sympathy. This clinic does best toward the middle-school age, since its possible to communicate better with them.

Q. Are the herbal remedies safe from contaminants?
A: The asian herbal remedies provided here are from companies which regularly and very rigorously test for purity. Possible contaminants would also be eliminated during the extracting process in remedies that are extracts. In addition the remedies are independently certified for "Good Manufacturing Practice" by international certifying agencies.

Guan Ye Jin Si Tao (St Johnswort herb)

Copyright © 2010 Acupuncture Womencare. Laughing Woman artwork by Abigail Burns.
This page created by Sarah E. Pratt (sepratt@mtholyoke.edu).