New patient visit: 60-75 minutes

The first visit takes longer in order for me to be able to examine the state of your body and to explore the details of your health and overall well-being. The sequence of procedures may vary slightly, but you can picture a general scene of a first visit as follows:

On your first visit, usually I would like to start with a series of physical examination before I review your health history and discuss your condition. This way I can assess your body more objectively without preconceived ideas that may affect my objectivity in examination.

The first part of this examination is to find general location of the most tense area in your body by gently and briefly placing my hand on top of your head. Because the body tissues are interconnected through fascia, my hand on top of your head would feel a pull from the most tense area in your body. Secondly, I will detect a more precise location of tension by placing my palm on the general area identified previously. This process is called “listening”. Through listening of your tissue, I will be able to identify which precise area of your body needs attention.

After physical evaluation, we will sit down and go over your conditions and concerns. During this interview, I will ask various questions exploring current symptoms and conditions as well as overall state of your health and needs.

After the interview, I will explain my findings and discuss treatment options. Generally manual therapy or acupuncture treatment, or both will follow after discussion. I might suggest Chinese herbal medicine if it is indicated based on assessment.

Prognosis and duration of treatment is hard to predict at the first visit. In general the more chronic the case has been, the longer the treatment plan takes. After 2-4 visits and seeing how you respond to treatment, I would be able to provide more concrete treatment plan and prognosis. Lifestyle and long-standing habits are important factors that can affect one’s state of health and prognosis of condition. Along the way, I would like to explore with you the areas, if any, that might be beneficial to be adjusted for your health and wellness for the long run.

Follow up visit: 30-45 minutes

Follow up visits will have a similar sequence as the first visit, but they are less comprehensive in interview. We will usually start with physical examination and then discuss changes in your condition and any new concerns. Based on progress and new findings, necessary treatment and a recheck of the indicators after treatment will follow.

Frequency of visits

A typical interval between visits is 2-3 weeks. I have found that this interval is very helpful for the body to continue to process and integrate the changes we initiate in your visit. After a desired improvement, you might have longer intervals between visits such as 4-8 weeks. And there are maintenance visits in which you come quarterly, or once or twice per year for a check up in order to maintain a desired state of health. In some cases, however, I might see a patient more often such as once a week in the beginning, especially for more acute conditions and/or cases that require a close monitoring of changes with the prescription of herbal formulas.

What to wear

You can wear comfortable clothing which allows direct access to skin by pulling up sleeves and pants during a session. If your clothing is too tight to access to a desired treatment location, we provide a gown to change into.

Please avoid wearing undergarments with tight under-wires that can add tensions into body. These tensions can contribute to masking signals of imbalance that need to be precisely identified.

Inspecting facial complexion and skin quality is an important part of East Asian medical assessment. So please avoid wearing make-up and lotions or oils on the skin, especially on your first visit.