What to Expect
BEFORE YOU VISIT
To ensure optimum comfort, we recommend wearing comfortable, loose fitting clothing. If you want to bring an extra set of clothes to change into, feel free to do so. Additionally, we recommend that you avoid coming in on an empty stomach or consuming caffeine prior to your appointment, as these can interfere with the effectiveness of treatment.
Please see ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE.
Please download our New Patient Form and bring them completed to your first appointment. Alternatively, plan to arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time to fill them out in person.
AT YOUR FIRST VISIT
- Prior to treatment, your acupuncturist will meet with you to discuss your health history and the conditions you’re currently experiencing, as well as address any of your concerns. Based on your specific situation, your acupuncturist will suggest a course of treatment, which may be anything from, “We’d like to see you once a week for six weeks,” to, “We’d like to see you every day for the next four days.” This suggestion will be based on your acupuncturist’s experience with treating different kinds of conditions. If you have questions about the suggested length of treatment, or think you need to adjust your treatment plan, please let us know.
- After this consultation, you will move into the community space, where you will choose a recliner to sit in. Take off your shoes and socks, pull your sleeves and pant legs above your elbows and knees, and remove watches or any jewelry blocking access to wrists or ankles. Make sure your cell phone is turned off or on silent.
- Acupuncture needles are sterile, stainless steel and hair-thin, and patients typically feel no or very minimal discomfort as they are inserted. Once the needles are in place, all you have to do is relax and let the acupuncture do its work. You can even go to sleep if you feel like it. While you are resting with the needles in place, you may feel some slight tingling, heaviness or other sensations of energy movement. If you experience any kind of discomfort, just let us know and we will make adjustments.
- Your acupuncture treatment will likely include points on your hands, arms, feet, legs, head, ears and/or neck. Since acupuncture channels flow across the entire body, it is customary for needles to be placed in areas other than the focal point of pain or discomfort. For example, back problems are often treated with needles placed on hands and feet, rather than directly on the back.
- A typical treatment starts with 10 minutes of one-on-one treatment with your acupuncturist, and then a rest in the open room, to allow the needles to do their work. The total appointment lasts about 45 minutes to an hour – however long you need, your body knows best. When you feel like you’re finished, simply make eye contact with your practitioner or gently clear your throat. If you fall asleep, you may choose to be “done” when you wake up.
- After treatment, you may feel energized, relaxed or even hungry. How you feel following acupuncture may vary from session to session, so we recommend setting aside some time after each appointment to rest.
Treatment Frequency
Generally speaking — 10 treatments is an initial course of treatment. The entire course of treatment depends on the issue and the individual. There is no limit or minimum, however.
Acute or Severe
••••
Daily
3-14 days if often enough for acute conditions
Moderately Severe
•••
3x per Week
For when you’re close to the end of your rope
Moderate
••
2x per Week
Twice a week is also good for chronic or long term conditions
Chronic
•
Once a Week
Also for retention and wellness, and during cold, flu or allergy season
Clinic & Cancellation Policies
Our clinic works because our patients value the resource we offer. Please make yourself aware of the following policies so you can participate in keeping this clinic an affordable and cooperative resource.
- In respect for our intention to offer affordable health care, we ask for a 24-hour advance notice to cancel or reschedule appointments. Failure to cancel within this timeframe will result in a $40 fee. This includes missed appointments without notice.
- We are a scent-free clinic. Please refrain from wearing perfume or other scented products, as other patients may be allergic. Patients who come in smelling of perfume, scented personal care products, aftershave, smoke, incense or wet nail polish may be asked to reschedule.
- To maintain a calm and therapeutic atmosphere, we ask that all patients turn off or silence their phones before entering the clinic.
- Please bring all personal belongings with you into the treatment room.
- The soothing ambiance in the community space is created by the patients as they relax together. This kind of collective stillness is a rare and precious thing in our busy world. Please help us to maintain this by speaking in whispers and refraining from socializing while in the room.
- Part of our clinic’s success lies in patients learning “the routine” and taking responsibility for appointments. Scheduling and making payments happens online or at the front desk before each session – that way, you can simply relax and enjoy your treatment.