Intuitive Acupuncture

Description

An incisive and wide-ranging exploration of the role of intuition in the effective treatment of patients through acupuncture and Chinese medicine. The author explores theory, clinical experience, and best ways to develop reliable intuition through rigorous interrogation and self reflection.

The role of intuition is seldom identified in acupuncture training as one of the keys to effective practice. John Hamwee here explores its paramount importance in diagnosis and treatment, showing how development of the intuitive sense, and its appropriate use in the treatment room, is vital to building the most effective individual practice.

Through discussion of theory, clinical example, and the experiences of leading acupuncturists, the author shows how intuition, or the grasping of subliminal clues, can be developed, based on the practitioner's growing `storeroom' of clinical experience and why it is so useful for this to become a conscious and rigorously examined process. He discusses the process of testing intuition against objective observation of the patient, and how an intuitive leap can provide a shortcut across an innumerable series of diagnostic steps, and lead to diagnostic and treatment decisions that make complete sense of the observable phenomena. He suggests that learning to trust the intuitive faculty, while still fully interrogating conclusions, is the basis of better patient outcomes and significantly advanced practice.

This thoughtful and engaging book will be one that acupuncturists will want to read and reread, and will speak to all therapists, counsellors, and health practitioners.

Reviews

'We need more books like this. The author uses his considerable expertise and intelligence to explore aspects of the therapeutic relationship that are seldom discussed. Chapters entitled 'Intuition', 'Attention', 'Relationship' and 'Cultivation' give a sense of the kinds of issues that are crucial to the work of all physicians but are so hard to teach or even to discuss. This is an important book for any acupuncturist who wants to think more deeply about the work that they do.'
- Peter Mole, Dean of the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine and author of 'Acupuncture for Body, Mind and Spirit'

'This is a courageous and important book. It looks at what cannot be measured or analysed in medicine, Western or Eastern, and in life in general. And it looks at it because it is essential to all healing. John Hamwee shows us that Intuition, or 'sudden knowing' profoundly informs a therapeutic intervention. It can open a window, and initiate in the patient "the will to live" in the broadest sense. The book shows us how to grow our own intuitive sensibilities, step by step, and how this will enliven our practices, and our lives. His work is richly illustrated by stories from his own years in practice, and from wide ranging research in Chinese classics, western medicine, science and philosophy. Above all it is very accessible, not only to acupuncturists but to all those interested in healing.'
- Isobel Cosgrove, acupuncture practitioner and teacher