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.
Will Fudeman, LAc, LCSW
Will Fudeman, LAc, LCSW, has a Chinese medicine and Counseling practice in Ithaca, NY, where he teaches Zhi Neng Qi Gong. Will is also a musician and songwriter. www.willfudeman.com.