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.
Candace Veach, MTOM, LAc
Candace Veach, MTOM, LAc graduated with a Masters in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Emperor's College in 2000 and is also a Certified as a Yoga Instructor and Thai Yoga Therapist. Her Brentwood-based private practice of Oriental Medicine can be found online at www.onespiritofhealing.com.