Hello. My name is Monica Mae Leibson and I am a Registered Acupuncturist in the State of Michigan. I know that my job isn’t a typical one and I often get funny looks when I tell people what I do. So here’s a glimpse of a typical day of mine, in pictures.
Located in West Bloomfield MI, I work in an office complex with 3 acupuncturists, a naturopathic doctor, a craniosacral therapist, and an oriental bodyworker.
They are all wonderful! Find out more about them.
We have six relaxing and clean treatment rooms.
When a patient comes to see me, I start by doing a thorough medical intake where I review their health history as well as daily lifestyle. Even though most patients come in with a specific chief complaint, chinese medicine views the body holistically and so I check in on how all the other body systems are functioning as well.
To understand the nature of the patients symptoms through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I feel the pulse and look at the tongue. These diagnostic tools help me to assess where a patients energy is out of balance.
To learn more about tongue diagnosis, Julie Silver wrote this great article.
To learn more about pulse diagnosis.
Then comes the fun part, the acupuncture! This is a typical looking treatment for the back, although treatments are always catered to the specific person and ailment. The patient is lying comfortably on a massage table with clean linen. For my colder patients, or during the winter months, there’s a heating pad on the table and a therapeutic heating lamp as well. Patients love it!
Acupuncture is an ancient medicine that uses small sterile needles to promote blood flow and oxygen in the body. It modulates the immune system so it is helpful for if a patient has an overactive immune system (autoimmune disorders) or underactive (chronic colds and sore throats). It releases endorphins which is helpful for getting patients out of the “fight or flight” mode in the brain and into the “rest and repair” mode. This is another reason people heal deeply with acupuncture.
There are over 365 acupuncture points in the body! The points that are most commonly used are between the knees and feet, between the wrists and elbows, on the abdomen and on the neck & back. We generally use between 10 & 20 acupuncture points in one session.
The patient lies on the table for between 20 & 25 minutes, so that deep relaxation and healing can occur.
Afterwards, patients feel relaxed and refreshed. To hear about how patients respond (in their own words), read this: https://www.acupunctureinmichigan.com/testimonials/
I feel so fortunate to love what I do and support people on their journey to better health and well being. I also get to practice with a group full of intelligent and empathic practitioners.
I hope you enjoyed my day at work!
~Monica Mae Leibson, Dipl. Ac., Reg. Ac.
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