Ellen Goldsmith, MSOM, LAc, Dip. CH

Ellen Goldsmith, a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist, is the author of Nutritional Healing With Chinese Medicine: + 175 Recipes for Optimal Health. Ellen was co-founder of Pearl Natural Health, a naturopathic, acupuncture and Chinese medicine clinic in Portland, Ore. She is on the faculty of the National University of Natural Medicine's College of Classical Chinese Medicine and the Nutrition Program; and the faculty of the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, teaching Chinese dietetics. She maintains a private practice in Chinese medicine, lectures widely and lives in Portland.

Previous Articles

Nourishing Ourselves and Our Patients in the Time of COVID-19 (Pt. 2)
July 2020 (Vol. 21, Issue 07)
Nourishing Ourselves and Our Patients in the Time of COVID-19 (Pt. 1)
June 2020 (Vol. 21, Issue 06)
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Acupuncture & Acupressure
It’s Time to Stop Prescribing Points
It's Time to Stop Prescribing Points

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.

Bruce W. Park, DACM
Acupuncture & Acupressure
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations

Acupuncture can be highly effective in cases of nasal congestion so common in allergy presentations; so much so that I often treat such issues using acupuncture protocols alone. In cases of seasonal allergies with highly predictable causes such as obvious elevations of environmental allergens, I use a skeleton acupuncture prescription that can easily be fleshed out to target potential underlying patterns and effectively customized to the patient.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
News / Profession
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change

The field of acupuncture in the U.S. continues to grow in visibility, patient demand and clinical effectiveness. Yet behind the curtain, many acupuncturists are quietly struggling to keep their doors open. While the profession is rooted in centuries of healing tradition, modern economic pressures – particularly those driven by insurance limitations, low reimbursement rates and job-market saturation – are making it increasingly difficult for licensed acupuncturists to thrive.

Shabnam Pourhassani, LAc, QME, DACM