Three Strengths of TCM
My two major projects are TCM Graduate TV and The Strength of TCM. TCM Graduate TV is the name of my Youtube channel where I try to make TCM acupuncture more applicable (and accessible) in the clinic. The Strength of TCM is the name of my podcast and continuing education courses. Both names are important to me because they remind me of who I am trying to help and through what vehicle I am going to use. I want to help recent graduates gain more confidence in the skills they went to school for. I want to do this through the strengths of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The First Strength: The Patient’s Current Reality
Many patients, when they first come to see me, tell a common story: they’d been to another medical practitioner who ran a bunch of tests, found nothing wrong with them, and subsequently told them that their problem was all in their head. Well, of course it is. It’s not in my head - or my body for that matter. And why is this such a problem, anyways? If a patient is of sound heart-mind, then we should believe everything coming out of their mouth. Their current reality and how they feel inside their body is of utmost importance.
I believe my role in the clinic is to treat the patient as they present themselves to me in that very moment - with regard to their lifestyle situation, the current socio-political climate, the weather, the geography, their diet, amount of exercise, and any other factors that contribute to their overall health.
The Second Strength: Zoom-Out Theory
I often call Chinese medicine theory ‘pack-rat theory.’ This is because the ancients never threw a theory out when another theory came about. Some of the ancient theories even overlap and borrow from each other. What this allows us to do as practitioners of this amazing medicine is to zoom out and see our patient as a whole person, and to hark back to my previous point, in their current reality. I often tell patients that they are not humans; instead, they are trees and Chinese medicine allows me to zoom out and see all the branches of signs and symptoms so I can see common roots to treat. It also allows me to see what those roots are tapped into - for better or worse.
I believe Western medicine is exceptional at zooming in and, while helping to heal many emergency concerns, fixing very pin-point concerns - often neglecting an integrated ‘whole systems’ approach. Chinese medicine does the opposite. Each have their strengths and blind spots and compliment each other so well.
The Third Strength: Heavy Hitters
I love TCM-style acupuncture and herbology. I love how the same acupoints in Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion keep coming up over and over again. I love how Maciocia has his favourites as well. While one may argue that acupuncture has become ‘herbalised' I don’t mind one bit. This allows focus and an ability to master the basics over a long period of time. I also love how, because acupuncture is ‘herbalised,’ we can equate acupoint prescriptions to herbs and vice versa. Doing so allows us to augment our treatments in either realm with the other. It’s a beautiful thing.
I’ve been in practice since 2007 and I keep going back to these three strengths over and over. They are my ‘foundations of Chinese medicine.’ I hope that by sharing my experiences you can borrow, steal and create your own foundations. Master the basics, perhaps follow a method or system for a time, and then make your own path.