Fertility and Women’s Health, Pain Management, Digestive Disorders
Field of Practice
Bethany Richardson, L.Ac.
License
NCCOM National Certification Commission of Oriental Medicine
Diplomat of Acupuncture
Diplomat of Herbology
California State License #8377
Degree
Master of Science in Oriental Medicine, Meiji College of Oriental Medicine
Environment Interests
enviromental toxins and their impact on the enodcrine system,
green architecture, permaculture, solar energy, straw bale buildings, earthen floors, grey water systems.
Environment Help
Acupuncture is in its nature a low impact on the environment as it's so low tech. I use recycled printer paper and do as much billing on line to reduce tha amount of paper waste. We use paper cups as they are biodegradable. Sheets on the tables are 100% organic cotten. And when possible I use an organic oriented line of chinese herbs from Secara.
My Top Green Lifestyle Goal
build a straw bale house, ideally off the grid.
I'm most interested in the following Mind Body practices
Taosist often use analogies of the external world to understand the workings of the body. In today's modern world we see a level of chronic disease that is unprecedent. If we look out to more simple forms of life such as frogs and birds we see that the impact of the modern world of synthetic hormones, pesticides and plasticizers is undeniable. Reduced birth rates, increased birth defects, steralization, endocrine disorders. For instance, in 1996 100% of the fish tested in the Great Lakes had some form of thyroid disorder from benign tumors to hypothryoidism. Looking at our health stats we see rising levels of cancers, epidemic levels of thyroid disorders, average sperm counts were 200 million in 1965 while today it is 20 million. Ironically so many of the substances that were created to make our lives better, easier and modern are the same chemicals that are negatively affecting our health. It seems that to truly heal the body we must heal the environment. And while this can seem overwhelming there will be a tipping point once enough people make enviromentally sensible choices.
And this can start with simply eating organics thus saying no to poor agricultural practices. Stop buying bottled water and filter your own in a nalgean for your daily life. Not only do you reduce landfill debris but you help reduce your total body burden by limiting the amount of endocrine disrupting chemicals leeched through plastic bottles into your system, not to mention that filtering your own water is often much cleaner than store bought bottles. But that is a whole other story.
Philosophy
I believe in following a regime that is realistic. That being said, there is always room for those who can follow the strictest of routines and guidelines. Our lives are a continuum of choices. The first step to health is a realization about the choices we make. There are no right or wrong choices only better choices. I believe that if we begin with smaller steps and watch how you respond we will advantage ourselves to better find your path to optimum health. What works for one doesn’t necessarily work for the next. We all posses bio-individuality and as such we must take each case, disease, pattern or even lifestyle and assess it from your standpoint to make the best assessment and treatment protocols. Working from this place we can exact remarkable changes that can develop into a healthy lifestyle that remain in place for a lifetime.
Special Interest
I put a particular focus on detoxification, absorption and nutrition and how they affect all elements of disease, in particular women’s health, fertility and digestive dysfunction.
Insurance Information
American Acupuncture Council -Malpractice
Languages Spoken
English
Professional Memberships
ASRM American Society of Reproductive Medicine
CSOMA California State Oriental Medicine Association
Endometrosis Association
Last Name
Richardson
Zip
94111
Health Field
Infertility, GastroIntestional and Pain Management
Training
Functional Medicine Certification
Tan Balancing Method
Infertility Coursework with Randine Lewis
Infertility Coursework with Janet Lyttleton
Practice Website
www.acu-sf.com
Favorite Media
www.ewg.com enviromental work group, countless great studies
www.chem-tox.com/infertility great stats on chemical impact on infertility
www.nrdc.org information on water issues and the FDA and EPA
www.consumerlab.com independent lab assay of supplements
www.gaiam.com/realgoods info on solar and sustainable building practices
About My Practice (limit 200 words)
My practice utilizes the traditional practices of Chinese medicine such as acupuncture, electro-stim acupuncture, cupping and moxibustion (a warming therapy) with western detoxification and nutritional therapy. This may involve dietary changes, cleanses, and testing, such as nutritional analysis, hormone panals and allergy testing. I tend to prescribe herbs in capsule form as I find greater patient compliance due to ease of use. I do on occasion write prescriptions for raw formulas for those individuals who prefer to brew their own. Stylistically I employ Japanese needle technique which is known for its gentle needling. Your first treatment and evaluation will last one and a half hours for internal diagnosis, and one hour for pain management. Each treatment there after is one hour in length.
