About the medicine
Acupuncture is an ancient and potent form of medicine that has much to offer the modern world. The majority of us live fast-paced lives that come at a cost to our bodies, minds, and spirits. We feel stressed, anxious, depressed, and we have headaches, insomnia, chronic pain, and digestive problems, to name a few. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, our symptoms are an indication that we are out of balance not only at the physical level but also at a more subtle energetic level. With acupuncture, this imbalance corrects by using fine needles to stimulate points located along channels called meridians. The needles assist the body in returning to a more balanced state, subsequently alleviating or lessening symptoms. This system of medicine, which has been in practice for thousands of years, has been extensively researched and tested by modern science and can be a pure healing balm to today’s maladies. The model of medicine which the acupuncturist brings to her clients can be a real healing balm to these maladies.
“I am so very grateful to Marshall for the healing benefits that have occurred for me over these many years of appointments. She is profoundly gifted, and I always walk away feeling whole, balanced, and completely peaceful.”
What a session is like
Today there are many acupuncturists and styles of the medicine from which to choose. Here is a bit about what an appointment with me is like. While you are at my office, whether it is for an initial consultation (one and half to two hours long) or a follow up session (forty five minutes to an hour long), you will have my undivided attention. I schedule one patient at a time, and my intention is to deliver a treatment which serves you best at that moment in time. I listen deeply to your health concerns, taking a detailed health history at your first appointment, and come up with a plan to bring your body’s energy (called chi in chinese medicine) to a more vibrant and balanced state. The treatments build upon themselves so it is recommended to schedule weekly appointments for an agreed upon amount of time, generally 6 to 8 weeks. After this initial investment treatments can be spread out with the ultimate goal of coming for tune up treatments every 4 to 6 weeks. Acupuncture is ideally a preventative medicine, and it is always my plan to have my patients living rich and satisfying lives with as little time as possible in doctors’ offices, including my own.
my training
After receiving my Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College, I pursued my acupuncture degree at the Maryland University of Integrated Health and received a Master of Acupuncture in 2000. Since that time I have held a Maine state acupuncture license as well as a diplomate of acupuncture from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. I have furthered my post-graduate studies focusing on women’s wellness, trauma and nutrition to name a few. Additionally, I was a founding member and volunteer at the Portland Veterans’ Acupuncture Clinic.
my path
I first experienced acupuncture as a patient when I was in my early twenties. I had recently returned to Maine after studying and traveling extensively in Southeast Asia and Australia. I was experiencing physical symptoms while also feeling at a loss of where to go and what to do with my life. At the urging of a friend, I decided to give acupuncture a try. After a few months of receiving treatments, I noticed a significant easing of my symptoms and also felt like deeper shifts were happening. It was hard for me to articulate my experience, and the image which came to me at the time was that if I were a stream, it felt like someone had come along and cleared out the debris and dead leaves that were impeding the flow of water through the stream bed. Four years later when I began to study acupuncture I learned that this was, metaphorically speaking, exactly what an acupuncturist does.