What to Expect & Fees (individuals)
During each treatment session as your Holistic Medicine practitioner, I will devote my attention to your individualized care and treatment needs. Together we will uncover the underlying conditions that have led to your current state of wellness and help increase your awareness and management of the signs and symptoms manifesting in you. Under my care, you will experience the elegance and effectiveness of a non-invasive and 2500+ year-old medicine, which can address most any issue on any level of body, mind, and spirit. You may also appreciate the unique way in which I integrate classical eastern philosophies and practices, medical approaches, laws of nature, and scientific research with careful consideration of our modern day stresses and lifestyles and thus our ever-evolving wellness needs. This integrated approach allows me to work with you on your wellness goals in a most effective manner while also providing you with therapeutic information that is immediately relatable, clear, comprehensible, and usable.
My overall goal is to see you progress through treatment to where we can eventually space out your visits to a few times a year to both maintain wellness and to ease seasonal and life transitions. Consequently, my style of practice may be considered a holistic approach to preventive and managed healthcare and one's overall wellness. I am extremely passionate about this medicine and look forward to sharing it with you.
TREATMENT MODALITIES USED:
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine and have been used in East Asian countries for thousands of years to prevent and manage disease and maintain vibrancy for life. Acupuncture is based on an interconnected meridian system that is mapped throughout the entire body and contains specific points on each meridian where hair-thin needles may be inserted depending on the goal(s) of the individual treatment. Depending on the specific needs of each patient, the additional treatment methods I incorporate into my current Acupuncture practice include, but are not limited to: moxibustion (burning of the herb, mugwort, to promote blood flow and warmth), infrared heat (particularly when moxibustion smoke/odor not appropriate), cupping (use of suction via circular jars to promote blood flow), Gua Sha (similar to cupping but w/o suction and more like massage), Tuina (Chinese meridian & musculoskeletal massage), Kinesio-taping, Shoni-shin (a gentle Japanese style acupuncture technique requiring NO needle insertion--excellent for use on children as well as some adults), Qigong (moving and breathing exercises/meditation), Yoga (personalized exercise prescriptions), Chinese Herbal Medicine, Nutritional and Life-style Counseling (i.e., Wellness Coaching). These customized treatments can result in very powerful and unique healing experiences for each individual.
FIRST VISIT (Initial Intake Session):
Because sensory awareness is a key diagnostic tool for this style of medicine, please do not drink any caffeine or have any food/drink with strong colors or odors (e.g., coffee, blueberries, strawberries, garlic) within 3 hours before this initial visit. A light meal approximately 1 hour prior to and after the session is acceptable and encouraged, as is the drinking of water throughout the day.
Adults: The first session is the ‘intake’ or detailed assessment/diagnostic exam (Traditional Diagnosis). Together we will discuss in detail your health concerns, objectives for treatment, and overall wellness goals. This session will last ~2 hours total and also includes a physical exam, pulse and tongue diagnosis, and an initial tuina and acupuncture treatment and/or herbal consult. If you have not filled out your Health History Form (Patient Forms) and submitted to me prior to your first visit, please bring it with you along with any pertinent information about your medical history not included in the form (e.g., Western Med diagnoses and test results, additional Rx drugs, vitamin/herbal supplements, etc.).
Children: As part of the child's 'intake' session, I typically gather as much pertinent info as possible from the parent(s) prior to the child's first visit with me, so we can minimize the amount of discussion and engagement time needed while the child is present in the office. I find this helps with the overall flow of the first treatment session with child patients and minimizes any undue stress for both the child and parent(s). The actual treatment of the child (e.g., via Shoni-shin/tuina and/or acupuncture, depending on age and maturity of child) can last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on the nature of the child's ailment(s) and temperament. When we treat children, we are also treating the whole family as a unit, so parents remain an integral part throughout the child's treatment process.
REGULAR TREATMENT VISITS: All subsequent appointments involve an individually-tailored acupuncture/tuina/shonishin/herbal session, which usually lasts ~ 1 hr for adults and generally 30 to 45 minutes for children. After the first few typically weekly visits, we will evaluate how treatment is serving you to determine the frequency of your future visits. As patients begin to experience improvement and feel greater ease in their overall well-being, treatments are extended to every other week, then every three to four weeks and so on. Most people progress through treatment to where eventually only a few visits per year are needed to ease seasonal or life transitions and maintain overall wellness goals.
REGULAR HERBAL-ONLY VISITS: All subsequent appointments, where the patient requests only an herbal formula consultation, will last ~ 30 minutes and involve follow-up care to evaluate the progress of a currently prescribed herbal remedy and determine if any modification or a completely new herbal formulation is needed. At the patient's request, a combined acupuncture/tuina session may be included during this visit, in which case the session will last ~ 1 hour. Please give advanced notice for such requests when scheduling your appointment.
HOW TO DRESS: For all sessions, it is best to wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that is easy to maneuver or remove. You may prefer to bring a change of clothes with you as needed.
TREATMENT COSTS in USD:
General Treatment Sessions:
- Initial Intake session (~ 2 hrs): $175
- Subsequent regular sessions (~ 1 hr): $100
- A "Dose of M&Ms" tune-up: 30 Marvelous Minutes session (of Acupuncture or Tuina or Qigong or Herbal follow-up--for established patients only): $50
Pediatric sessions (for children up to ~12 years of age):
- Initial Intake session (~2 hrs, includes parental phone/internet consults prior to visit): $175
- Subsequent sessions (~ 30-45 mins): $50
Skype/Phone Treatment Sessions for established patients:
- $45 per 30 mins
* NB: patient will pay herbal pharmacy separately for their custom herbal formula.
DISCOUNTS:
- You may pay in advance for 5 or 10 hourly sessions, for a 10% discount.
- For those with specific ailments requiring more than 1 visit per week, the combined weekly treatment costs may be prorated as needed.
- For those with 'verifiable' financial hardship circumstances, please inquire as to available sliding scale discount options.
Please also note that in 2020, depending on 501c3 status being established, I may begin holding community-style acupuncture sessions in groups of 8 or less in Florida and possibly other areas for $40 per person per session. This is a wonderful way to extend health and wellness benefits by receiving more frequent acupuncture sessions while reducing long-term costs.
PAYMENT:
- Cash or Electronic Payment is preferred and full payment is required at time of service. For Electronic Payment in NZ, please use the following:
Name of Bank: Westpac
Name of Account: Leah Reeves Butler
Account Number: 03-0243-0840805-000
Payment Details: Be sure to include your full name & consultation date as reference
- Credit or Debit card payments are also available.
(NB: For pre-paid package payments: please add 2.5% to your total package cost to cover credit card company service charges.)
- Please contact me about other internet banking options if needed, including paying via Paypal.
CANCELLATION POLICY: Your full appointment fee may be due upon failure to cancel/reschedule at least 24 hrs in advance of your scheduled appt. time.
I would love to share my learning and the power of this medicine with you as we work together to unearth all the possibilities classical Asian medicine has to offer you. Feel free to pass this info along to any family, friends, colleagues, etc. who you think may be interested and would like to talk to me directly about the benefits of acupuncture and my other treatment modalities. I am extremely passionate about this medicine and want to share my passion with the world. Please contact me at the below email or phone number to schedule an appointment.
All my best,
Leah
Leah M. Reeves Butler, PhD, MSIE, MAOM, MQP, RYT 200, L.Ac.
Health/Wellness Coach, Clinician, and Educator
Human Systems & Management Consultant
NADA Certified AcuDetox Specialist (www.acudetox.com)
USA ph. +1 202-630-LEAH (5324)