Recently, a new patient sat across from me and mentioned, almost indifferently, that her commitment to feeling better was a five out of 10. I paused. After hearing her history, I gently asked what led her to rate it so low. She sighed and said she’d been in pain long enough to collect a string of confident promises from doctors and coaches who claimed they could “fix” her in six to eight weeks. Instead of relief, those promises left her disillusioned and unsure of who to trust anymore.
And underneath it all, I could feel it: Her body still wanted to heal, but the rest of her hadn’t caught up. She had lost touch with her inner agency and resented the idea of slowing down or pausing her workouts to give herself space to recover.
This interaction reminded me of a truth I’ve seen again and again: Healing has less to do with finding the perfect technique and far more to do with the patient’s commitment to their own process. Acupuncture is a powerful tool, but without internal alignment, even the most skillful treatments can only go so far.
It also reaffirmed how vital it is that patients feel empowered – not as passive recipients, but as active collaborators.
Engage Your Patient in Their Own Transformation
The most important relationship I seek to nurture in the treatment room is the one a patient has with their own body. We live in a culture that teaches us to override pain, defer to outside authority, and push through discomfort. Patients often arrive hoping I can “fix” them, but the truth is, we can’t do the work for them. We can offer guidance, insight and support, but healing requires their full participation.
Sometimes, patients are out of alignment with the healing they say they want. These internal incongruencies, like continuing intense workouts despite the body’s clear call for rest, can block progress. Often what lies underneath is nervous system dysregulation: a chronic state of fight-or-flight or freeze brought on by long-term stress. Until that’s addressed, the body can’t fully receive the benefit of treatment.
A common misconception carried over from Western medicine is the belief that healing comes from being “fixed” by an expert. From the very first session, I begin gently challenging that expectation, guiding patients back to their inner resources and the body’s innate wisdom. True healing begins when the patient steps into the role of agent in their own transformation.
And when that shift happens, it’s palpable. I see patients light up with clarity and take empowered steps. As they integrate new habits and ways of being, their symptoms improve, but more than that, their vitality returns. These changes become internal motivators, reinforcing the path they’ve chosen. The practitioner becomes a guide, not the source of healing.
Of course, this shift doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, compassion and a willingness to sit in the discomfort of change. Letting go of the fantasy that someone else will fix us can be disorienting. But over time, it becomes liberating. Patients begin to view their symptoms not as enemies to eliminate, but as messengers from within guiding them toward greater alignment.
My role is to hold a steady, nonjudgmental space for that unfolding. A place where patients are reminded: Healing doesn’t come from me; it comes through them.
Try This Approach
When patients reclaim that agency, everything changes. The treatment room becomes a place of co-creation. I often tell patients that acupuncture is the easy part, it’s their time to receive. But the real work happens in between sessions, in how they choose to show up for themselves. When they’re aligned the treatments land deeper and the positive changes endure.
This is why I always begin with nervous system regulation, often through a five-element clearing treatment that returns the patient to center. From there, I incorporate tools like HeartMath and Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) to uncover and shift emotional patterns that may be blocking healing. These tools support patients in becoming more congruent, helping them clear what’s in the way and step fully into their healing journey.
Supporting alignment with their healing intention is a step often overlooked. It wasn’t emphasized in my formal training, but over 13 years of clinical practice, I’ve come to see it as essential. NET illuminated how unconscious blocks, buried beliefs and unresolved emotions can prevent patients from stepping into new possibilities within themselves.
NET draws on five-element theory and meridian pathways to identify stressors stored in the nervous system; stressors that keep old patterns and imbalances locked in place. What I love about this technique is how it honors Chinese medicine’s core teaching that emotions and physiology are deeply connected.
When we trace emotional imprints back to their root, a moment that was never fully processed, they can complete their cycle and release. This frees the nervous system, allowing vital energy to redirect toward healing. It also brings a sense of internal coherence.
After these sessions, I often invite patients to hydrate, walk and journal. Releasing the block is only one piece. The next, most essential step is helping them shape a new story – about themselves, their body and what’s possible. The more we shift the paradigm, the more meaningful and sustainable the healing becomes.
When a patient feels safe, seen and sovereign, acupuncture becomes exponentially more powerful.
A Role Beyond “Fixing”
My role? It’s not to fix. It’s to mirror. To guide. To remind them, over and over, that healing doesn’t come from me, it comes through them. And when that shift happens, everything changes. The treatment room becomes a sacred space of collaboration. The body responds more deeply. Healing becomes sustainable. And I, as a practitioner, am free, too; free from the pressure to produce results and honored instead to walk beside someone becoming their own healer.
This is the medicine I believe in. Healing that begins with inner alignment; honors the intelligence of the body; and sees the patient not as broken, but as whole – and helps them remember.
