What should I look for when choosing a good acupuncturist? Tips on how to find a good licensed acupuncturist. When I try to chose any health care provider, the important thing to me is years of experience....
When I try to chose any health care provider, the important thing to me is years of experience. To me, experience is a more valuable teacher than standard acupuncture training. That's why after I got my license I went to China to work in a medical school. So I learned by doing and seeing lots of patients.
I think a good acupuncturist is one who not only has done training and gotten a license, obviously, but who's been practicing for some time, and who has hopefully gone to China to study further like I did, because that was the best use of my time in terms of studying oriental medicine.
I'd ask them how long they'd been practicing. I'd ask when they got their first state license - from any state. People can exaggerate how long they've been practicing acupuncture, so the only way to know for sure is when a state agency granted them a license.
I would ask them what they think they're good at treating - what they commonly treat, to see if it's the problem you have. Before you tell them what your problem is, you might ask "What do you feel like you're best at treating?"; "What do you have experience in treating?"
If you're very concerned about pain, you might want to ask if they use Japanese or Chinese style needles primarily, because the Chinese tend to use thicker needles than the Japanese.
