What happens in a Classical Five Element Acupuncture session?


Classical Five Element Acupuncture is an in-depth and highly personalized method of treatment, in which each session is designed to meet your individual needs. The first session begins with a detailed interview and evaluation, which are used to make an initial diagnosis and develop a treatment plan. This evaluation is followed by the first acupuncture treatment. The first session takes about three hours in total. Follow-up sessions take about one to one and a half hours.

Each treatment includes an acupuncture protocol, in which hair-fine, sterile needles are inserted at acupuncture points in order to balance the body's energy system. Moxibustion therapy - the burning of an herb, mugwort, over acupuncture points - is often used along with acupuncture. An herbal prescription or bodywork (Zero-Balancing) may also be included in a session. Nutritional, exercise and lifestyle counseling are provided as needed.

The goal of Classical Five Element Acupuncture is to create lasting improvements in your health and well-being by treating the roots of illness. A series of treatments is needed to achieve optimal benefit and create deep, lasting change. At the first session, a treatment plan will be developed which includes a recommended frequency and number of follow-up sessions. Typically, patients are treated once a week in the beginning, until the body's energy flow is brought into balance. As the patient's condition improves and the energy flow becomes more resilient to imbalance, the effects of treatment last longer and sessions are tapered off. Classical Five Element Acupuncture is preventive as well as curative, and many patients choose to include periodic acupuncture sessions as part of their personal wellness program.