Acupuncture Benefits Depression in Primary Care

Acupuncture benefits depression in primary care Acupuncture benefits depression, with a statistically significant reduction in symptoms in the short to medium term, according to researchers in York. Patients were recruited from GP practices if they had consulted for depression in the preceding five years, and were known still to be suffering. They were randomised to receive either acupuncture plus usual care, counselling plus usual care, or usual care alone. Acupuncture was usually given weekly for 12 weeks.

Based on patient assessment at baseline, and then at 3, 6, 9 and 12 month points, the researchers concluded, “Our evidence on acupuncture compared with usual care, and counselling compared with usual care, shows that both treatments are associated with a statistically significant reduction in symptoms of depression in the short to medium term, with no reported serious adverse events related to treatment.”

(Acupuncture for chronic pain and depression in primary care: a programme of research. NIHR Journals Library, January 2017.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.