My Approach
There is a reason for you to first seek acupuncture treatments, let’s say, you suffer from chronic headaches. You expect the acupuncture treatments to reduce the frequency and intensity of your headaches and you should!
However, as an acupuncturist, I will not treat your headache per se, nor just your head, I will treat the “whole you”, a person with chronic headaches. I love Chinese medicine because it is a holistic approach (see the Acupuncture page), which means a person is always considered as a whole, with all of his or her parts examined in depth; body, mind, thoughts, emotions and even the environment in which a person lives.
In addition, I am interested in a lot of things and I am always curious to learn other methods, complementary approaches and new ways of working. Thus, the way I think and I work evolve constantly, the goal remaining the same, bringing my patients towards the best possible energetic balance.
I also will always encourage you to develop a greater level of independence or try other therapies, if it can help improve your condition. And, when possible (because it's not always possible!), I want to help you become more aware of how you may be contributing to your own problem, whether with a bad posture or food choice or a lack of exercise, etc. We cannot change what we don’t know or don’t see!
Having said that, I strongly believe that acupuncture is an effective complementary medicine that helps in maintaining energy balance and in preventing diseases and that is why I do encourage you to receive preventative treatments throughout the year.
Traditional Acupuncture - With needles
LASER Acupuncture - Without needles
Auriculopuncture - Ear acupuncture
Cupping Therapy
Traditional Acupuncture - With needles
LASER Acupuncture - Without needles
Auriculopuncture - Ear acupuncture
Cupping Therapy
My fields of interest
In the course of my acupuncture training and university programs, I have acquired the necessary knowledge and developed the required skills to deal with all kinds of health issues (Please, read the “Overview of health problems treated with acupuncture” section on the Acupuncture page).
Anxiety disorders and panic attacks;
In Chinese medicine, the body and mind are one
According to Chinese medicine, there is no division between the body and mind, the two elements being considered as just one entity. This principle is important in understanding a disease and its development as well as in conceiving a treatment plan.
On the one hand, if our organs are in balance, so will be our emotions which will allow our thinking to be lively and adequate. On the other hand, when a pathology creates an imbalance in an organ, emotional imbalances are also likely. Conversely, our repressed, obsessive or excessive emotions can damage the "Qi" and its free flow, which could cause the onset of physical and / or psychological symptoms.
For example, anger causes Qi to flow in the opposite direction to its normal downward flow. We can then say that the “Qi rebels” (it rises) and we will observe symptoms in the upper body such as headaches, migraines, dizziness, red face or red eyes, etc. Acupuncture treatment will aim at redirecting the Qi to its normal downward direction, at promoting its abundance and facilitating its free circulation.
I Am Here To Help You
Medical or psychological support may be necessary
« Normal » stress vs. chronic stress
We cannot say it enough, the stress of everyday life and stresses resulting from specific and exceptional situations are rather normal and even essential. Stressful events trigger a cascade of biological reactions that result in the production of essential hormones (adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine) that aim at mobilizing the body, allowing us to take action quickly and effectively.
Stress becomes damaging when it is so common that the body and mind are always in a state of hypervigilance or alertness, ready to pounce, and there is never enough time to relax and adequately rest. With a continual lack of rest, states of chronic stress or anxiety can easily develop. The damage of chronic stress on mental and physical health is well documented.
Symptoms of chronic stress treated with acupuncture – According to modern western medicine
- Fatigue
- Disturbed sleep
- Headaches
- Digestive problems (diarrhea, constipation, gastric reflux, etc.)
- Heart palpitations or increased heart rate
- Nausea, etc.
Anxiety disorders and panic attacks
Anxiety is being worried, nervous or concerned about an upcoming event or a situation that has an uncertain outcome. Anxiety levels can be easily increased by overestimating or exaggerating a potential adverse outcome.
There is no real equivalent, in Chinese medicine, for the term anxiety, but the concept of anxiety disorders and the symptoms are quite similar, only organized differently. Each anxiety disorder has its characteristics, but all of them have in common excessive and irrational fears, worries or apprehensions.
Symptoms of anxiety treated with acupuncture
According to Chinese Medicine
According to Modern Western Medicine
Symptoms of Panic Attacks Treated with Acupuncture – According to Chinese Medicine
Palpitations, mental agitation, internal sense of urgency, feeling hot of flushed in the face, headache; tightness or pain in the lower abdomen, in the umbilical area or just below (hypogastrium) and / or in the epigastric region (upper central region of the abdomen); feeling of a lump in the throat; cold feet. In women, painful or irregular periods, breast swelling and tenderness.
Symptoms of Panic Attacks Treated With Acupuncture – According to Modern Western Medicine
Heart palpitations or rapid heartbeat, excessive sweating, muscle tremors or twitching sometimes generalized to the whole body, numbness or tingling, dizziness or a feeling of imminent fainting, hot flashes or, on the contrary, chills, nausea or abdominal discomfort, feeling of tightness in the chest, as if compressed by a weight, feeling of suffocation or strangulation, shortness of breath, feeling of unreality, loss of control, going mad or fear of dying.
Depression and Burnout
Symptoms of depression treated with acupuncture
According to Chinese Medicine
According to Modern Western Medicine
Fatigue, great sadness, lack of energy, lack of motivation; loss of interest in work, loss of interest in social and / or family activities; sleep problems (too much or not enough sleep); loss of appetite or excessive appetite; digestive problems; significant weight loss or gain; difficulty concentrating or making decisions, feelings of guilt or failure, suicidal thoughts.
Psychosomatic problems are treated well with acupuncture
I believe there is no better explanation for the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating psychosomatic symptoms than the notion of unity of the body and mind that is at the center of Chinese medicine. To better understand this concept, you can go back to the previous section entitled: In Chinese medicine the body and mind are one. En médecine chinoise, le corps et l’esprit ne font qu’un.
Addiction issues and managing withdrawal symptoms
The NADA protocol is a set of 5 acupuncture points on the outer ear that was specifically developed, in the early 1970s in China and the United States, for the treatment of addictions and withdrawal symptoms. This protocol, which has been since much studied, has proven its positive effects and is now widely used around the world. Quebec is no exception.
For example, these treatments are offered to people using the Montreal Dependency Rehabilitation Center (formerly named Center Dollard-Cormier) and the Research and Help Center for Drug Addicts (CRAN), also in Montreal.
Treatment of Withdrawal Symptom With the NADA Protocol
Acupuncture treatments help reduce withdrawal symptoms and improve the quality of life.
Some of the points aim at removing toxins lodged in organs, such as the kidneys, liver and lungs, that are often damaged by excessive use of alcohol, drugs or by medication.
Other points will have an influence on emotional state by bringing a general feeling of calm, stabilizing impulsive behaviors, reducing depression and anxiety and increasing willingness. This treatment brings even more significant effects, such as reduction of pain and tension, improvement of sleep, decreased dreams and nightmares and improving general well-being.
Request an Appointment Today
Request an Appointment Today
Acupuncture Session
What to expect on your first visit
The first session lasts about 90 minutes and aims at obtaining details on the reason you are consulting in acupuncture and other additional information. For some, it seems like a number of topics covered have nothing to do with a current condition but, trust me, every detail helps. This is one of the reasons I love Chinese medicine, the way it conders things to be interrelated.
All of the information obtained will allow me to make an “energetic evaluation” of your general condition and your emotional and/or physical issue. The energetic evaluation is determined by analyzing your energetic vulnerabilities, the balance of power between correct energy and pernicious influences, called “evil energy”, in traditional Chinese medicine. For more information, please see my Acupuncture page: Health explained as a state of energetic balance
From the energetic evaluation, I will determine the therapeutic orientation of the first treatment, which means, for example, the acupuncture points and the type of needles.
If it is the very first time you come for an acupuncture treatment I will, beforehand, explain the procedure and possible reactions and answer any questions or concern you may have.
Acupuncture Session
What to expect on follow-up sessions
Follow-up sessions last approximately 60 minutes. We first discuss your current state of health and review the changes you may have noticed after the first treatment or the following few days. Has the intensity of your health issue decreased? Does your recurring symptom appear less frequently? Did something new come up? Or did you discover a link between two apparently distinct elements?
The acupuncture treatment is always adapted on your current condition. If there is a reason for me to choose a different technique, you will be, of course, informed in advance.
Appointment frequency and number of treatments required
Recommendations for treatment intervals and estimates of the number of treatments necessary to significantly and sustainably improve your condition will depend on a number of factors:
- Your age, constitution, the general state of your current health, etc.
- How long you’ve had the problem. A few days, weeks, years?
- Is the problem you are consulting for related to another issue that you’ve had for some time and is now getting worse?
- Does the environment in which you live contribute, directly or indirectly, to your current problem?
If you are already seeing another healthcare professional for the same issue, it will be important to discuss how you can integrate different approaches and make sure you do not overdo it. Your body needs time to adjust between treatments.
I typically suggest scheduling one appointment per week but I may suggest that you schedule two in the first two to three weeks. Usually, after one treatment, benefits are sustained for a few days before the symptoms return. By continuing treatments once or twice a week, your energetic balance gradually improves and the benefits last for longer periods of time. When we reach the point where the gains are kept for 10 to 14 days, the frequency of sessions can be reduced to one acupuncture treatment every two to three weeks. Again, when the gains are maintained over longer periods of time, treatments are spaced out and a few appointments can then be scheduled per year, in order to maintain optimal health. Naturally, during this time, life goes on and the treatment plan is continually adapted to your needs, to what you are experiencing, to your current reality.