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.
Caroline Braun, LAc
Caroline Braun is a California‑licensed acupuncturist trained in traditional Chinese medicine with a clinical focus on classical acupuncture theory, electroacupuncture, and chronic regulatory disorders. Her work emphasizes digestive disease, immune dysregulation, and neuro‑autonomic balance through the integration of classical principles and modern clinical practice.