From the vineyards of France to the ancient healing traditions of Asia, Mark Kiely has embarked on a remarkable journey. This seasoned acupuncturist shares his insights into the world of traditional Chinese medicine, offering a unique perspective on the power of holistic healing.
What initially drew you to acupuncture during your travels and how did it influence your career change from the wine trade?
Since childhood, I have always felt a deep fascination with the cultures of Asia, and in adult life, I have travelled quite extensively through many parts of the continent. Exposure to the traditions of East Asian medicine alongside other cultural traditions really ignited a passion in me. This greatly exceeded any passion I felt working in the wine trade, which I had found to be disappointingly dull and pretentious. I have always had a keen interest in social awareness and active compassion for others, and with acupuncture I found something that excited me on a personal level while also providing the scope to do something that would benefit people.
How did your personal experience with acupuncture for a major illness shape your decision to pursue it professionally?
I suffered from M.E. in my early twenties, soon after graduating with a combined arts degree from the University of Liverpool. I lost eighteen months of my life to profound illness with very little hope for recovery. It was a family friend who suggested that I should try acupuncture, and by that stage I would have literally tried anything at all. I attended a student clinic with final year students treating me under supervision, and after six months I was more-or-less cured and well enough to return to working and socialising and leading a normal life again.
However, I didn’t rush out immediately afterwards and become an acupuncturist and ended up pursuing a range of (mostly) fulfilling roles and travelling quite a bit. It was several years later, when disilllusioned by my role in the wine trade, an old school friend who was himself a infectious diseases doctor suggested to me that I should become an acupuncturist, and the idea resonated with me, and I began to look into this change of direction. I don’t think that, without my positive experience of acupuncture treatment, I would have felt drawn in this direction, and to be honest myself and that friend would probably not even have discussed the prospect.
Can you describe the training and experience you gained at the London College of Traditional Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine that prepared you for your practice?
There were a few training colleges that I looked at. I chose LCTA because it offered the flexibility regarding lectures and tutorials that allowed myself and many of the other students to fit around our current employment roles. As with all the major teaching institutions, we were provided with a broad eductaion about the uses and locations of the hundreds of acupuncture points on the human body and the traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic skills to identify the patterns of disharmony experienced by patients.
The syllabus also provided a thorough level of training in western medicine in the fields of anatomy, physiology, and pathology, including the identification of clinical red flags.
How do you integrate traditional acupuncture techniques with the holistic approaches you’ve encountered in your travels?
I work on different levels with different patients, based upon their clinical presentation and needs and also upon the degree to which I feel they will engage with the treatment process. Some patients are very straight-foward and honest in their approach to acupuncture and simply want to turn up and have a treatment and hopefully see their symptoms improve over the course of treatments. Others are more willing or even eager to take a more active role in their recovery from what is troubling them.
With these patients, I will work with them on dietary recommendations based upon the principles of Chinese medicine, which I personally think is the most powerful form of Chinese medicine, more so even than acupuncture or herbs – but it is definitely the slowest, and people in the western world aren’t renowned for their eagerness for slow solutions! I will also work with the more engaged patients on other elements of lifestyle and demonstrate simple Qi Gong postures for them to practice at home.
What are some of the most common conditions you treat in your acupuncture practice, and how do you approach tailoring treatments to each individual?
My main area of interest is mental-emotional issues, and I treat a lot of patients with anxiety issues, such as health anxiety or generalised anxiety disorder, and I also treat a lot of people presenting with PTSD. For those experiencing high and protracted levels of stress or anxiety, acupuncture can be remarkably effective. Low mood and depression can be more difficult to address, but again sometimes acupuncture can be very helpful here too. However, like most acupuncturists, I see patients who present with a wide variety of symptoms, including migraines, insomnia, lower back pain, knee pain, digestive issues, menstrual issues, and tinnitus.
I see a lot of pregnant patients, for example for pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting, or when there is a threatened pregnancy or history of recurrent spontaneous miscarriage. An important method for tailoring treatments to each individual patient are the two classic methods of traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis, pulse-taking and study of the tongue. With the appropriate level of training and the skills born of thought and reflection, these two diagnostic tools can reveal a lot about what is happening inside someone and indicate the acupuncture points that will hopefully work for them.
How has your involvement with organizations like the British Acupuncture Council and the Federation of Holistic Therapists influenced your practice and professional development?
The British Acupuncture Council is a terrific governing body that does what it is able to in promoting the needs of its members and the development of acupuncture provision in this country, working alongside a range of public bodies and other organisations. It provides a wide range of services for its members with regard to clinical training, business advice, marketing, and safety provision.
It also ensures very high levels of training, professionalism, and safety by its members, and I always recommend to people that they only see a BAcC member for acupuncture. Sadly, the term acupuncturist is not legally protected, and there are people out there carrying out acupuncture treatments to the public with far less training. As well as being an acupuncturist, I am also trained in therapeutic and deep tissue massage, and for this I am registered with the FHT, which is another great governing body.
