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.
Catherine Browne, DAOM, LAc, Dipl. Ac., RH (AHG)
Dr. Catherine Browne has more than 30 years of experience using natural therapies for treating pain and addiction. She holds a doctorate in acupuncture and Oriental medicine and is a board-certified acupuncturist and registered professional herbalist. She is the founder of In Harmony Wellness Clinic, where she specializes in serving U.S. veterans, and lives in Hamptonville, North Carolina. Her first book, "Natural Therapies for Overcoming Opioid Dependency: Control Pain and Recover from Addiction," released in November of 2018, can be purchased wherever books are sold, or from Amazon.