Easing the Passage: Supporting Tweens with Chinese Medicine

 

Adolescence is a time of great change and challenge. Adolescents experience rapid physical changes and strong emotional states. The rapid changes can create a feeling of unease in one’s body, particularly if one’s body doesn’t fit dominant gender and racial standards of beauty.

Acupuncture and other physical therapies can help reconnect adolescents to their body and restore a sense of safety within themselves. Chinese Medicine can provide insight into this stage of life and help to restore balance.

Chinese Medicine associates each season with specific organ systems and attributes. Adolescence is reflected by the attributes of Spring time. There is new plant growth, change and unpredictable weather.

In Chinese Medicine, the Spring is associated with the wood element and the organs liver and gallbladder. When healthy, the Liver and Gallbladder support clarity in judgment and confident decision making. They are also responsible for hormonal regulation, healthy joints and vision. A healthy wood element is best represented by bamboo. Bamboo is strong yet flexible and thrives in a wide variety of environments. When the wood element is out of balance there can be resistance to change, frustration, depression and physical symptoms such as headaches, joint problems, depression, irritability, menstrual disturbances and insomnia.

At Union Center for Healing, we provide care for all stages of life. For adolescents, we offer treatments that can ease the passage between childhood and adulthood. We are an inclusive center that serves the needs of all communities and values the uniqueness of each individual.

For tweens, we offer a special welcome package on their first visit. It includes a journal that can be used to write down their feelings and keep track of their symptoms. We also give our tweens a clearing spray formulated by energetic healer and herbalist Suzanne Ragan Lentz. This spray can be used in their room to clear energy and focus the mind. We provide customized dietary and lifestyle recommendations based on the principles of Chinese Medicine. If you know a tween who could benefit, you can contact us at info@unioncenterforhealing.com.

by Vickie Summerquist, LAC, LMP