Welcome Balance Acupuncture!

Get to know Teresa Dawkes of Balance Acupuncture, who moved into 5 Post Office Court in June.

Teresa Dawkes of Balance Acupuncture

1. How long have you been practicing acupuncture?

I qualified in 2021 with a BSc in Acupuncture from the Northern College of Acupuncture in York. Alongside studying all aspects of Chinese Medicine I spent over 400 hours treating patients in the student clinic over the 3 years I was training.

2. What drew you to study it?

I have worked in healthcare for the last 40 years as a radiographer in the NHS, with the last 20 years working within the Breast Unit at a local hospital. Over this time of treating and speaking to thousands of patients, I came to realise that although Western Medicine is fantastic at treating patients’ physical illnesses it does not always address the person as a whole and often does not have the time or resources to help with the emotional and spiritual aspects of illness. After observing and talking to many patients I knew that I wanted to help and care for patients beyond dealing with the physical diagnosis and treatment of their disease. 

I was drawn to acupuncture after seeing the positive benefit it had for a family member who was suffering from chronic pain and how much calmer and more relaxed they felt after having acupuncture.

3. What do you love about it?

I love the fact that each patient’s is treated as an individual. Chinese Medicine tries to get to the root cause of the disease rather than just treating symptoms to bring the body back into balance. The acupuncture needles will “prompt” the body to start healing itself but along with this you can empower patients to be part of their own healing process with lifestyle advice such as diet, meditation, breathing exercises etc. I love working in partnership with people and to see the positive changes in health that can occur from working together.

4. What types of conditions do you work with/enjoy working with most?

This is a difficult question! I like treating chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, ME etc. Although they can be difficult to treat and may take a few treatments to start seeing results, it is a brilliant feeling to hear someone is starting to feel better after possibly many years of suffering. 

I also, because of my many years working in the NHS with patients with breast cancer, have a special interest in supporting people going through their cancer treatments. Acupuncture is becoming more and more recognised and recommended by some hospitals as a treatment to help deal with the side effects of chemo and drug treatments such as tiredness, hot flushes and nausea. 

5. Who is your ideal client?

I love treating anyone who is open minded and interested in engaging and improving their own health and wellbeing. It is a bonus to me if they ask me questions about acupuncture and Chinese Medicine work as I love to talk about it - I have many conversations about what I am looking for when I ask to see people’s tongues during consultations!

Me and Teresa outside Post Office Court

6. How are you settling in at Post Office Court?

I love the peace, quiet and nurturing atmosphere that Jenny has created in this space and feel right at home here. 

7. How long have you been in Whitchurch?

I was born and bred in Whitchurch, and although I have lived in many other places over the years, I was drawn back to Whitchurch when my son was born 27 years ago. It has been so fascinating to see how much it has changed from when I was a child. It now has a different energy and I absolutely love living here. 

8. What do you enjoy about being here?

I love the fact that it is a positive, welcoming community and becoming more diverse. The creative, independent nature of the town is very appealing and I love that it is supporting more interesting and alternative projects such as the brilliant Blackberry Fair. 

9. Why are holistic treatments important?

I feel that the emotional and spiritual aspects of good health are neglected by Western Medicine which concentrates on treating physical illness and this is where I feel holistic medicine has its part to play. It treats the individual and recognises that we have many aspects to our being and these all need to be addressed to ensure that we achieve optimal health. 

10. What do you love to do outside of work?

I love volunteering and it has been a huge part of my life for the past 15 years. I have had many visits to Uganda as part of the Rotary Doctor’s Bank charity with my radiographer hat on, helping with training and improving X-ray departments in hospitals there.

I also had the privilege to work as a volunteer acupuncturist in India this year with a brilliant team from the World Medicine charity at Chaparda Hospital in Gujarat and have been asked to return next year. 

Closer to home, I have also become involved with helping out with the madness that is Blackberry Fair. 

I have also been spending more time developing and exploring new ideas and challenging my own perceptions about myself. I have recently discovered, through the encouraging teaching of local visionary artist and facilitator Lisa Lochhead, that I can enjoy the creative process of painting despite always thinking I was terrible at art!