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.
Ellen Evans, LAc
Ellen Evans is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in private practice in Austin, Texas. She integrates neoclassical pulse diagnosis and constitutional analysis in her practice and specializes in the treatment of psychosocial disharmonies. Ellen can be reached at goldnlotus@gmail.com.