Turning Uncertainty into Strength
Saving the Acupuncture Profession While Helping Millions – Part 18
In my last article, I discussed the highly charged subject of what types of conditions acupuncture can and cannot successfully treat. I gave an example of a unique case that illustrated how some problems go beyond acupuncture’s ability to spark self-repair, and how this does not mean that using acupuncture has no value.
I also stated that managing the uncertainty over treatment outcomes is a weakness that can be turned into a strength. In this article, I will explain how to do that.
When potential patients come in for their initial consultation, they understandably want to know two things:
How many treatments will it take before they start feeling better, and how many will it take overall?
Learning how to answer these two questions will have a significant impact on the success of your practice
The challenge, of course, is that it is virtually impossible to know for sure, especially when treating chronic conditions that so many of us see in our practices.
Most Acupuncturists have seen patients with the same condition respond very differently. Some improve a lot after just one or two treatments. Others take several treatments to see even minimal improvement, if they improve at all.
Even if every patient responded the same way at the beginning, that still would not allow you to predict how many treatments they will ultimately need. One major reason is that patients often aggravate their condition during the treatment process, setting themselves back.
Because you cannot predict how much backsliding any given patient may experience, you cannot give a fixed number of treatments required to achieve the best outcome.
“Uncertainty is built into the process. The key is learning how to manage it.”
A Practical Way to Explain the Process
The most effective way I have found to deal with this is to explain to patients that the treatment process occurs in three stages:
Stage 1: Achieving any positive improvement
Stage 2: Building on that improvement to reach Maximum Therapeutic Benefit (MTB)
Stage 3: Stabilizing the results so they last as long as possible
The key is that this process is based on a series of trial treatments.
You begin with an initial series to see if the treatment is starting to work. Once there is clear improvement, you move into the next phase, working toward maximum benefit.
These first two stages are the most difficult to predict.
The third stage, maintaining stability, is generally easier to estimate.
In my next article, I will offer guidance on how many treatments are typically needed for each stage.
Turning Uncertainty Into Strength
You should consistently emphasize that acupuncture works by helping the body make better use of its own natural resources, in other words, by improving its ability to heal itself.
Because of this, there will always be more variation in how people respond compared to treatments that rely on outside interventions such as drugs or surgery.
If you give 100 people blood pressure medication, most will experience a similar response within a predictable timeframe.
If you give those same 100 people acupuncture, it may eventually help around 70%, but the timing and degree of response will vary much more.[1]
“Greater variation is not a flaw. It reflects the individuality of the self-healing process.”
While this variation can seem like a disadvantage, it comes with important benefits.
Acupuncture works with the body rather than replacing its function. That is a powerful distinction, and it is something you should actively communicate to your patients.
First Resource, Not Last Resort
Because acupuncture works by stimulating self-healing, it has the potential to be effective across a wide range of conditions.
This is something you should emphasize during the initial consultation, especially when discussing treatment expectations.
Even though you cannot give exact numbers, you are also educating patients about the scope of what acupuncture can address.
“Acupuncturists are specialists, specialists in helping the body heal itself.”
Many patients struggle with this idea.
They are used to a healthcare system built around specialization. It can be difficult for them to accept that one practitioner can treat conditions across multiple systems, allergies, skin issues, reproductive health, internal medicine, pain, and more.
They may wonder how that is possible.
You can address this by explaining that Acupuncturists are specialists. We specialize in helping the body get more out of its own healing capacity.
Once patients begin to understand this, their perspective changes.
They no longer see acupuncture and their Acupuncturists as a last resort after everything else has failed. They begin to see consulting with their Acupuncturist as a first option.
This shift dramatically affects how often they will seek you out for any health issue they or those they know may have. It also changes the way they approach your treatment process, how they engage in the process, and how likely they are to refer others.
You are helping them squeeze more good out of their own resources. Who would not want to take advantage of that?
Repetition Builds Understanding
Although explaining acupuncture in terms of self-healing is straightforward, most patients will need to hear it multiple times before it fully registers.
The initial consultation is where this process begins.
This is when you explain why it is not possible to give exact treatment numbers, and at the same time, begin shaping how they understand what acupuncture can do.
If you consistently reinforce this message, the uncertainty around treatment numbers becomes far less of a concern.
“When patients understand the process, uncertainty becomes acceptable.”
Because acupuncture is the most effective therapy for supporting the body’s natural healing processes, it should be seen as a first resource.
When patients understand that, the inability to give exact treatment numbers stops being a weakness and becomes just a natural part of the process.
You are going to help them understand how the treatment is proceeding during each of the three stages of the treatment process, and I will cover that in the next article.
[1] See my article on blood pressure research “The Most Important Acupuncture Research Ever”.