Individual Acupuncture Portland Style

In this country, and certainly in the Western medicine model, there is no other option than an Individual Acupuncture Treatment. Acupuncture is predominantly done in a private setting here as well. In fact, you might think, “What other kind of treatment is there beside individual acupuncture treatment?” Well, there is Community Acupuncture, but we talk about that in a different place.

What can you expect in an Individual Acupuncture Treatment? 

The human body is such an interesting mixture of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.  The way they work together affects how a patient responds to treatment. What works for one patient with a specific set of seemingly same symptoms, may not work on another. The beauty of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is that it takes that into account. Thus, when you come into our clinic, your acupuncturist will begin the treatment with a conversation about the things that are going on with YOU. It is in this initial conversation, where your practitioner will sit and listen to you. From there they will determine how to address the emotional and physiological components of your treatment. (Mind you, acupuncture treatments can be deeply relaxing or energizing.)

Individual acupuncture treatments focus on you and your specific needs.

This one-to-one relationship allows you to move your health according to your own process and your own unique needs. Our acupuncturists are skilled at listening to what you say, and in many cases, can understand the underlying things that you aren’t saying. Not because you are hiding anything, but because it hasn’t occurred to you yet. Patterns arise, that after years of practice, become clear to the practitioners.

Get ready for a deeply relaxing experience.

Once the conversation has shone the light on what path the practitioner wants to take that day,  your acupuncturist will then insert the needles. The number is dependent on what’s going on with you that day. You will then rest, reclined on one of our beds. Each room has relaxing music playing, with options for heat on the beds or not, additional heat in the room, or not. You will usually rest by yourself approximately 20 minutes (we give our patients a bell in case nature calls, or they become uncomfortable for any reason). After you have rested with the needles, your acupuncturist will return and check on you.  At that point, they may manipulate the needles, insert other needles, or do some body work which would be discussed in advance with you.

When this second round of treatment is complete, your acupuncturist again returns and checks in with you. They may offer additional instructions around food and exercise options, or herb formulas that would enhance your treatment. The exact set of steps for your treatment will be dependent on you, that day. It is part of the brilliance of this medicine.

In this setting we use all of the modalities of Traditional Chinese Medicine: including Acupuncture, Acupressure, Chinese Herbs, Cupping, Shiatsu, Qi-Gong and Moxabustion. Learn more about each of these modalities here.

What makes RiverWest Acupuncture unique?

Its all about the Relationships.

We view every person as a whole human being and not just as their symptoms or illness. We believe in taking the time to carefully listen to our patients and their story, including their living situations, emotional states and histories when evaluating, diagnosing and creating treatment plans.

First — the relationship that we have with our patients,

Some of them are over 20 years, so it makes it common for us to treat generations of families. The highest praise we can receive is a referral from our patients. Over the years we have enjoyed getting to know our patients closely, watching as their health and lives, transform exponentially.

Second — the relationship you have with yourself.

Our strong belief maintains that the body has an innate ability to heal itself when the emotional and the physical components can access the wisdom of the body.

It is through this one-on-one time that our practitioners take to listen to you about your challenges, that allows them to not only see the reason that you came to us in the first place, but it allows them to work with you to see what’s underneath, at the core of the problem, that then creates the symptoms that are expressing themselves in your body. If all that is ever treated are the symptoms, then it is harder for our bodies to be able to do the deep healing it is so capable of.

Third — the relationship between our providers.

Each provider has their own specialty. We collaborate as a team. Thus, you may have come to us for a very specific problem, and while you are paired with a particular practitioner, it may be in your best interest to have us collaborate during a treatment in order for you to get the best results. This also allows you  to create resonance with your practitioner.

Fourth — the relationships we have formed with other health care providers.

While we know we are exceptional at getting results, there are times when it’s necessary to refer you to an MD, or a chiropractor, naturopath or other specialist. Over the years we have created many relationships with other providers, that we trust, that we can refer you to.

We invite you to schedule an appointment with us today — call 503-246-0103.