Being an acupunturist..?

[J3nny]

Hello all,
I was wondering if I could get some advice. I've been seriously considering a course in acupuncture for a while, and having been to an open day at Reading, I feel even more certain about pursuing this path. However, there seem to be a few 'buts' emerging that I feel I would like to address before I take the plunge, what with it having such huge time/money implicatications.
Firstly, I was just wondering if I could get a feel as to the demand for acupuncturists in the UK. I'm really worried about investing in a course that will end up with my treating one patient a week and being completely unable to support myself. So I am just wondering how generally people manage? Do you think that with regulation, acupuncture will attract more people and there could be increased demand? Also, I have been questioning the high prices that acupuncturists charge which mean that only certain people from higher incomes can access the treatments. Are there any means for ways round these high charges that would mean more generally inclusive treatments? I suppose that overall I am trying to get a feel for the profession, and any pointers that people can give me, either on this website, or anywhere else that I can find out more would be highly appreciated.
thanks all,
Lily

 

[Valerie X Account #22!]

Hi Lily

I'm an acupuncturist. I see roughly 40 clients a week after 3 years of being qualified.

The demand for acupuncture does seem to be gradually increasing, with awareness at an all-time high!

The regulation process is only likely to increase that demand again, as more conventional people think it is now "recognised".

The popularity of acupuncture does still seem to have a geographic bias, with practices varying a lot. So there's no definitive certainty about client numbers, and it can be slow to build up a practice. 3-4 years seems to see most people working as much as they'd like.

Acupuncture tends to be one of the cheapest alternative therapies, but I share your views about excluding low-waged/unwaged people. At my clinic, acupuncture is cheaper than every other therapy for 1 hours work!

What you charge is entirely up to you. Many people have very generous concessions that allows low-waged people to afford treatment, others use a sliding scale.

My experience is that wage alone is not the main factor for deciding whether someone can afford treatment - prioritising treatment, knowing the benefits, looking after ones health, and wanting to maintain ones wellbeing are all quite dominant in the choice of support people look for - and all those things are not wage dependant!

I personally run a low-cost drop-in acupuncture clinic with treatments at £10. This is in conjunction with my private one-to-one normal priced sessions. For me, this addresses the exclusion factor. In time, acupuncture will be more available on the NHS anyway, so your concerns may not be so pertinent once you qualify!!

Reading is an excellent college. It's where I trained, and you won't find many better!

Good luck.

Aragorn x

 

[Carmen R (Now a Koala)]

Acupuncture is something I'm interested in trainig in. One question I have after researching other therapies is 'what is the recognised minimum qualification?'. Is it a degree or a diploma?