“The primary aim of acupuncture treatment is to treat the whole person, addressing the core issue, rather than working more superficially by treating symptoms exclusively. This means that, as a practitioner, my task is to integrate all the patient’s presenting information – age, sex, gender, constitution, main complaint, lifestyle (exercise, food and sleep), and all other presenting signs and symptoms – into a diagnosis that will ensure an effective treatment plan.”
Education
After emigrating to the UK in 2000, I began my studies at the College of Traditional Acupuncture in Leamington Spa in 2002, graduating with BA Traditional Acupuncture from Oxford Brookes University1 in 2005.
My next degree level study was almost 20 years later, when I gained my MSc in Chinese Herbal Medicine at the Northern College of Acupuncture/Health Sciences University in 20242.
The years between degrees were filled with wide-ranging informal studies and short courses during which I increased my knowledge of the subject and found the specific areas within the vastness of East Asian medicine on which I now concentrate in clinic.
Teaching
I have taught acupuncture extensively in the UK over the years, most recently at The Acupuncture Academy in Leamington Spa. I taught theory & practice, tutored year 1 and 2 students, supervised clinical year students, and helped develop & produce video teaching materials as part of the online component of the curriculum.
Currently I mentor practitioners and offer online and live CPD workshops in specific subjects.
Research
I have an interest in Chinese medicine research and was involved in a large project which was published in the British Journal of General Practice: Acupuncture for ‘frequent attenders’ with medically unexplained symptoms: A randomised controlled trial (CACTUS study).
My MSc research project investigated the similarities between a 700 year old Chinese medical text – the Discourse on Spleen and Stomach – and the modern concept of the gut microbiome. This is a subject of great interest to me and I am currently developing the Masters project into a publishable article.
Registration & memberships
I am currently a registered AHPCSA practitioner, and retain memberships of both the British Acupuncture Council and the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine as an overseas member.
- Chinese medical education in the United Kingdom often involves a dual institution approach, with a university validating a college programme as a degree. ↩︎
- Currently I am registered in with AHPCSA as an acupuncturist. Due to my very recent graduation as a herbalist I am NOT yet registered as such in South Africa. I will follow the standard SAQA/AHPCSA process as soon as the necessary documents are forthcoming from the UK institutions concerned. ↩︎