There are many different types of therapies within the scope of practice of traditional Chinese medicine.  The purpose of these therapies is to create balance within a patient and allow energy to flow freely.

Traditional Chinese medical theory is based upon the fact that there is an energy that runs through the human body through certain pathways, or channels.  The energy flowing through these pathways can become blocked or obstructed due to emotional stress, unhealthy lifestyle choices, harmful environmental factors, poor diet, or physical injury.  When this energy becomes blocked, the result is pain, discomfort, or disease.  The goal of the various treatment therapies is to clear obstructions, allowing the energy to flow freely and returning the patient to a state of balance.

In order to first determine how to treat a patient, a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine collects information from the patient by taking a comprehensive health history, asking a variety of questions, feeling the patient’s pulse at the wrist, and observing the patient’s physical appearance, including the tongue.  Taking into account all of this information, the practitioner creates an appropriate treatment plan focused on returning the patient to a state of balance.  The practitioner administers custom-tailored treatment, considering each patient’s situation.  Thus, two individuals with a similar problem may receive different treatment if the root cause of their problem differs.

Within the extensive field of traditional Chinese medicine, there are many treatment therapies which can be utilized.  Some therapies are more appropriate for specific types of patients with specific health issues.  Thus, treatment in traditional Chinese medicine is not disease-oriented, but rather strategy-oriented and that strategy is based upon a patient’s situation.

BodyTalk is a separate treatment therapy and is not considered one of the branches of traditional Chinese medicine.  Although much of the theory of the BodyTalk system is based heavily upon traditional Chinese medical theory, it is a standalone, complete, and comprehensive system of therapy.