What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?
TCM has been practiced for thousands of years. Many people feel that it is extremely effective in treating a wide range of medical conditions and concerns. Most TCM Physicians, like myself, are viewed as “ACUPUNCTURISTS.” This can be a limiting belief, because under the umbrella of Chinese Medicine are a gamut of modalities that can best be utilized for client health. Herbal Medicine and various mind-body practices, such as Acupuncture, Vitamin Injection Therapy, Guided Meditation, Electrical Stimulation on acupuncture points, Moxibustion, Infrared Heat Therapy, and more, are used to treat and prevent health concerns presented in my practice.
How do I approach client healing in my practice, Holistic Health Palm Beach?
I listen and pay attention to my client. This is first and foremost and is key to successfully helping a client feel better. The first session is 1 1/2 hours. At least 40 minutes of that is spent talking. Acquiring a thorough insight into a client’s life, including their background and history, not just medically speaking, but including their life experiences, is the only way to diagnose the actual cause of their symptoms and choose the most effective course of treatment.
I believe that the willingness to listen to the client has lead to successful healing within my practice. Most clients may initially come to me because they are in pain, fatigued, or have specific injuries. However, in the end, they reach a deeper level of emotional healing, or an improved level of wellbeing, as a result of the process. What I absolutely love about Chinese Medicine is that it is a true WHOLE BODY APPROACH. There is a ROOT and a BRANCH that cause illness. The root is usually deeper, sometimes forgotten past experiences of injury or emotional trauma, that began to lead to the symptoms that are ailing the client at the moment.
The branch is representative of current symptoms, i.e., anxiety, low back pain, poor appetite, weight gain, etc.
TCM recognizes that fear affects the kidneys, worry affects the spleen and stomach, and issues with decision making often mean that there is a deficiency in the gallbladder. Anger affects the liver. Sadness and grief go to the lungs. Clients with a wide variety of stomach, digestive, appetite or sleep issues my have an excessive amount of worry in their life. A client experiencing night sweats, who has a very red tongue with little to no coating, wakes easily at night or has frequent urination, may have what TCM refers to as Kidney Yin Deficiency. Chinese herbal formulas work wonders to help relieve these symptoms. When coupled with Acupuncture, Electrical Stimulation and Cupping Therapy, the client may feel immediately better or begin to hold on to that feeling of well being over a series of in-office sessions and herbal therapy where indicated.
About the author: Caroline Blanke-Pena, of Holistic Health Palm Beach, is a licensed Acupuncturist and Diplomate of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture, Asian Body Work and Chinese Herbology. She has been studying Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for 6 years. Caroline has always been interested in how to integrate the Western and Eastern Medicine practice of treating clients and having clients achieve the ultimate goal of FEELING HAPPY AND HEALTHY. In school, she was trained in traditional methods of practicing and applying Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Cupping, Injection Therapy and Asian Body Work. Her clinical experience, however, opened her eyes to an integrative approach, whereby medical doctors and Chinese medicine practitioners referred patients to each other when it was deemed to be in the patients’ best interest.
