By Anne Fallan, CCA graduate summer 2016 It has been quite a year since I graduated from the City College of Acupuncture! I took 3 weeks off before taking the plunge and worked for a local practitioner who was taking that August off to go travelling. I had observed them during my 3 years training…
Tui Na – doesn’t that normally come with sweetcorn and mayonnaise?
By Paul Johnson, Joint Acupuncture Course Leader, The City College of Acupuncture Twenty years ago, whenever you saw the word ‘acupuncture’ written down it would invariably be followed by ‘the ancient Chinese art of inserting incredibly fine needles into specific points on the body to stimulate a healing response’, usually in brackets. Nowadays everyone knows what…
Treating in our student clinic
Treating in our student clinic The final part of studying either acupuncture or Tui Na at CCA involves working in our student clinic. After focused study and plenty of practice, our students are let loose on paying patients from the general public! The students will tell you that this is both frightening and exhilarating at…
Do people have acupuncture even when they are well?
By Paul Johnson, 2017 Absolutely. The people who come to me for treatment do so for a number of different reasons. For some people, I am the last port of call, their final chance. Western medicine, physiotherapy or osteopathy have failed them and they have nowhere left to turn. “I’m only coming because my wife…
Acupuncture and gardening have a lot in common
Acupuncture and gardening have a lot in common It may sound daft, but they actually do. When I was studying acupuncture, purely by chance I had to start looking after a big garden. It wasn’t something I had done before and it was a bit of a shock for me. It took a lot of…
A Graduate’s Experience at CCA
By Rosy Hawkins, 2016 Graduate Studying acupuncture at CCA was probably the most rewarding experience of my life to date. I count myself lucky in having experienced a many wonderful and varied chapters in life, but this opportunity really tops most. Class numbers at CCA are kept small which means your student-teacher ratio is kept…
Why not just advertise “Acupuncture change lives”?
By Paul Johnson. One of my clients said this to me a few weeks ago. Honestly. He had come to see me for a skin condition, but had undergone an enormous awakening with the first treatment. He felt like a new person, like the blinkers had been lifted form his eyes. He felt alive, energised,…
Embrace the Winter! Learn to rest and listen…
By Anne-Sophie Morel. Living amongst the hustle and bustle of big cities, we often forget that we are part of nature, and are therefore influenced by its cycles. Winter and night-time are periods of rest and repair. Animals and plants alike retreat inwards. Humans are the only beings to fight against this natural time of rest….
Success by choice not by chance: an Interview with Amanda Banks
Success by choice not by chance: an Interview with Amanda Banks by Farrah Riaz I’ve been working at The City College in the Old Street area of London for 12 years now in a variety of roles, currently as the Director of Assessments. During this time I’ve seen many developments in our educational portfolio all…
What is it like working in the NHS as a Traditional Acupuncturist?
I practiced acupuncture in the NHS from 2001-2014 and I am often asked what was it like. . . .
“If you’d said 10 years ago I’d be an Acupuncturist, I’d have laughed at you”
Ten years ago I was a Metropolitan Police Detective veteran with 25 years police service, leading a team investigating murders in North and West London. If you had said to me, “In 10 years time you will be an Acupuncturist “ I would probably have used some colourful words and laughed at you and the…
What makes a good acupuncture student?
I’ve been training acupuncture students at various institutions for over fifteen years now and I think I’ve got a pretty good idea about the qualities to look for in a prospective acupuncture student. People come to study acupuncture for all kinds of reasons. Some people such as nurses, massage therapists or reflexologists come to acupuncture to add…
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