Course Overview

We work with children that are in trouble and with their parents who hope to find a solution. It is a delicate situation: our paediatric practice may be very demanding in terms of clinical interaction. The relationship is part of the treatment. How Classics give great attention to the encounter of patient and practitioner.

Ways to relate to parents – in terms of behaviour and communication, but starting from the exploration of what the interaction moves inside us. We focus on the situations in which we feel puzzled, exasperated, angry, inadequate, hopeless.

Clinical cases. Contents:

(1) Ethics - Every relationship is an exchange of qi: the quality of our qi influences the therapeutic encounter. Quotations from the Classics.
(2) Therapeutic alliance - Need to co-work with the parents: the child’s qi is still closely connected to the parent’s qi.

Dysfunctional habits.

(1) Communication - The clinical interview starts from listening: keep quiet, receptive, accepting, soft – a yin attitude. Key-points to reach the patient.
(2) The Treatment frame - Different quality and density of an acupuncture session, its separate space. Dealing with time, space, requests, cancellations, compensation.
(3) Children and Needles - Respect, flexibility and determination.

Creation of the “bubble of a qi space”.

(1) Empathy - Understand, feel and share thoughts and emotions of another in a given situation. Also in case of “intolerable” parents.
(2) Emptiness and wuwei - Importance of not-doing, abstaining, yin-pause.

Course Objectives

• How to relate with parents in pediatric treatment, their doubts and fears. Ethics. Ways of creating a therapeutic alliance to co-work.
• Key-points that help in communicating and in the clincal interview. How to create a therapeutic frame: time, space, appointments, compensation.
• How to get in touch with children in acupuncture treatment. How to use needles in children. How to deal with their fear.
• How to deal with anger, mistrust, aggressivness. And sorrow, helplessness, inadequacy. Of parents and of ourselves.
• Seeing from clinical experience how to shift the perspective in "difficult cases", to find closeness, alliance, empathy . Presentation and discussion of cases.

Course Outline

0 hrs - 15 minEthical behaviour with children and parents. Overview of the Classics. Therapeutic Alliance.

15 min - 30 minCommunication. Key-points of Clinical Interview. Use of Chinese Medical Language. The Treatment Frame.

30 min - 45 minThe treatment frame: time, space, appointments, compensation. Thoughts on our motivations.

45 min - 1.25 hrsThe use of needles in children. Flexibility and determination. Creation of a "qi space". Addressing their dear. Empathy and wuswi. Clinical cases.

1.25 hrs - 1.75 hrsHow to find a Yin attitude with aggressive, spiteful, trustless parents. Two extensive clinical cases.

1.75 hrs - 2 hrsThe help that comes from a wu-wei attitude. What an extensive clinical case can suggest to better understand the possible sabotage of the therapy.