What to expect on your first Chinese Medicine consultation

As with most health practitioners, the first visit to a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner usually begins with us taking a detailed history. Since TCM takes a more holistic approach to patient care than Western medicine, we may ask you questions that appear unimportant (questions about your sleep habits, your ability to tolerate heat or cold, your dietary habits, etc) but these are actually vital to the type of care you will receive. The goal is to assemble all the jig-saw pieces of information into one coherent picture allowing us to determine the most appropriate personalised treatment for you.

In addition to asking questions we will also ask to see your tongue and we will feel your pulse on both sides of your wrist. Tongue and pulse diagnosis is a method of observing how your body is functioning internally, similar to iris diagnosis used by Naturopaths.

We will then use the best combination of TCM treatment methods to address your specific concern. Depending on your condition, your first visit may take between 60- 90 minutes. Return visits can last anywhere from 30-60 minutes. It may take several visits (similar to a chiropractic schedule) to see significant improvement or resolve your condition. If you don’t understand a particular technique or type of treatment, make sure to ask.