FGA TRANSLATOR

DANIEL BEVAN, 32,  ACUPUNCTURIST

How long have you been practising acupuncture?     

I trained for three years and I’ve been practising for nearly two years now.

What did your training involve?

I had to learn anatomy and physiology, Western pathology and differential diagnosis, and atthe same time I was learning traditional Chinese medical theory, which involves point location classes, we had to find the acupuncture points, general theory of diagnosis and treatment plans, and a development course.

What did the development course entail?

Practitioner’s development is reflective practice. You are continually learning how toovercome problems that you encounter in your communications with patients, so if you encounter an angry patient you know how to deal with it.

Has that happened?

A few times. Not so much angry, some patients are very nervous about the needles, maybe, or you might release something in them emotionally and they want to talk about it.

There may be patients who have ongoing problems with anger or stress and you have to try to deal with that.

And this was a degree course?

Yes, a BSC Honours degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Tell us about your education before that.

I went to an all-boys public school in Wales. I concentrated on science after the age of 16, so I did Physics, Maths and Design “A” levels.

I finished at 18 and went to University to study Industrial Design and, like alot of acupuncturists, I turned my career around and went back to university at 26 to study acupuncture.

So how old were you when you left your parents’ home?

I left home at eighteen.

What’s your income?

Roughly about £10,000 a year, self-employed, but some acupuncturists earn up to £50,000 a year. I rent a room in a practice called The Base in Central London one day a week.

I share a clinic in another part of London, and I work in a clinic at the back of a health food shop in my local area, so I can cater to different areas of London, as London is so big.

As the rents are different I can also offer different prices to people; people who can’t afford it can go to the cheaper clinic, people who can, go to the more expensive one.

How much do youcharge?

My top fee is £40 an hour for a consultation and treatment, and my cheapest fee is £15, and I generally offer that to people who are unemployed or who are on a very low income, because you usually need more than one, you need up to ten treatments.

So if someone comes to you and really needs treatment but can’t afford it, you willtreat them anyway?

Yes, I will make concessions, yes. And, if necessary, there are also afew  drop-in clinics in London where you can get treatments for free.

What is your most popular treatment?

The most common is basic acupuncture for back problems and stress. This involves inserting fine needles into various points of the body, some as shallow as 2mm, some as deep as 6 inches into the body, depending on the area.

What range of disorders do youtreat?

It really is a comprehensive system of medicine, so theoretically you can treat anything.

In practice the only evidence-based medicine we are working on at the moment is for post-operative nausea, morning sickness, neck pain, back pain, arthritis, dental pain, digestive disorders and gynaecological disorders.

It has been proven, in terms of Western science, that acupuncture is effective for these problems.

In reality it is also very good for emotional disorders, stress, any muscular problems, sports injuries, as it can help the body to recover in its own natural process.

What about the problems that most people think of acupuncture being able to solve, like stopping smoking, losing weight, etc?

In London now there are a lot of drop-in centres for addicts coming off heroin, crack cocaine, alcohol.

In this case we use auricular (ear) acupuncture, and this can help people with the stress that comes with beating addiction.

These are small needles that go just under the skin, or small seeds under a piece of tape that can be pressed when they get a craving.

What are the disorders you get asked to treat the most?

The most common problems I’ve encountered are chronic or acute lower back pain, neck or shoulder tension, stress from working in London, stomach disorders and premenstrual tension.

What’s the attitude of the traditional medical profession to acupuncture?

It’s changing. Recently the British Medical Association released a report that indicated that most GPs (General Practitioners) wanted to see acupuncture available on the NHS (National Health Service).

The House of Lords recently issued a statement on complementary therapy in Britain and has categorized acupuncture as the therapy they would most like to see developed.

Now our profession is heading towards becoming a true profession, so that we will be able to work in the NHS.

There are still some traditionalists who don’t like it, doctors who have a different way of thinking, but the new generation of younger doctors are much more accepting.

What do you think the future holds for acupuncture?

The acupuncture profession is moving towards statutory self-regulation in orderto ensure that all people calling themselves an acupuncturist have suitable training.

This will also enable us to work more closely with the orthodox profession. Within 10 years I can see acupunctureworking in tandem with ‘Western’ doctors.

The role of acupuncture will be more limited than it is now because ofthe need for evidence-based medicine in the NHS (National Health Service), but it will truly be a “complementary” medicine.

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