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.
Heather Noemi, DACM, Dipl. OM, LAc
Dr. Heather Noemi is a California-licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, trauma-informed care practitioner, and somatic coach. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University and completed postgraduate studies at UC Berkeley and UCSF in neuropsychology before obtaining her Doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from Pacific College of Health & Science. Her San Francisco Bay Area practice, Marin Integrative Recovery (www.marinintegrative.com), specializes in the treatment of chronic and refractory pain and psycho-emotional disorders.