The most important relationship I seek to nurture in the treatment room is the one a patient has with their own body. We live in a culture that teaches us to override pain, defer to outside authority, and push through discomfort. Patients often arrive hoping I can “fix” them, but the truth is, we can’t do the work for them. We can offer guidance, insight and support, but healing requires their full participation.
Claudia Citkovitz, PhD, MS, LAc
Dr. Claudia Citkovitz began her acupuncture studies in a New York kung fu studio in the 1990s, and has been licensed in acupuncture and herbal medicine since 2002. Since 2004 she has led the Acupuncture Service at NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, providing inpatient acupuncture instruction and conducting practice-based research in labor and delivery and acute stroke rehabilitation. In addition to private practice, she is an active educator online and at colleges in the U.S. and abroad, and recently published a book on acupressure and acupuncture during birth. She is an associate editor for the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine; a commissioner on the board of ACAOM, the accrediting body for U.S. acupuncture schools; and a Society for Acupuncture Research board member.