A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
Abbey Seiden, MSOM, LAc
Abbey Seiden is a holistic health educator and practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, licensed New York and California acupuncturist, nationally board certified in Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), and a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching program (2022). She is a graduate of Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is currently accepting patients at Blount Community Clinic in Los Angeles, Calif.