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.
Beverley de Valois, PhD, LAc, FBAcC, MBLS
Dr. Beverley de Valois is a practicing acupuncturist in the U.K. and a distinguished researcher of acupuncture for the supportive care of people living with and beyond cancer. For 25 years she has been a Research Acupuncturist / Researcher in Integrative Medicine in the Supportive Oncology Research Team (SORT) in the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS). She has conducted several pioneering studies on using acupuncture to manage the consequences of cancer treatments. She is also the author of Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship: Recovery, Renewal and Transformation, published by Singing Dragon. For more information, visit beverleydevalois.com/.