Acupuncture In York: About Harriet

Harriet Lansdown

I first qualified as an acupuncturist in 1991 and have run an acupuncture practice ever since. I currently practice in the South Bank area of York in North Yorkshire.

I spend a lot of my time treating pain, and see many people with arthritis, sciatica, lower back pain, neck pain and all sorts of joint and muscle problems. In developing my practice, I've developed an effective method of treatment that uses acupuncture, massage and sometimes, heat treatment and cupping. Lifestyle advice and recommendations for exercises and techniques to use at home are also available. This combined approach to treating pain gets good results.

Acupuncture is really useful for infertility, pregnancy and managing pain and problems in labour. Since working with Sophie Carr, a yoga teacher who specialises in yoga in pregnancy, I have gained a lot of experience in treating pregnant women. Particularly popular is help with nausea, tiredness, backache, delayed labour and a simple treatment for turning breech babies.

Professional acupuncturists treat all sorts of health problems, because they focus on treating the person rather than the disease. Although I have particular expertise in certain areas, I also see many patients with problems such as fatigue, menstrual and menopausal problems, headaches and migraine, digestive disorders, insomnia, anxiety, depression and many others. Some of these conditions are discussed in a little more detail on this site and include patient's comments on their treatment.

Professional membership

I'm a member of the British Acupuncture Council, British Acupuncture Council which regulates and represents professional acupuncturists, and provides high quality codes of practice for members to abide by.

Teaching

I became involved in teaching in 1998, and have taught extensively for a number of colleges and universities. Working with students, teachers and other health professionals has been a fantastic opportunity to share knowledge, and to extend my understanding and skills across a wide range of topics.

Over the last 10 years acupuncture education has undergone considerable development and is now taught at degree level. These courses now involve research, professional practice education, extensive understanding of Western medicine, a minimum of 400 hours in clinical practice as well as a thorough knowledge of Chinese medicine.

Most of my work has been with the following teaching institutions:

Leeds Metropolitan University
University of Lincoln
University of Salford
Northern College of Acupuncture
College of Traditional Acupuncture
College of Naturopathic Medicine

After teaching acupuncture and massage for students on the MSc degree at the Northern College of Acupuncture, I moved to the University of Salford, where I was course leader for their BSc (Hons) acupuncture programme.

In 2004, I travelled to China with a group of students from Salford University, to study acupuncture and Tui Na at the No. 1 Teaching Hospital, University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Tianjin. it was a real education to see Chinese medicine used on such a grand scale. We worked in several of about 20 out-patient acupuncture clinics running all day 6 days a week. The hospital also had 3 floors of in-patient wards, as well as herbal, Tui Na and physiotherapy clinics.

Moving closer to my home in York, my most recent work has been with Leeds Metropolitan University, helping to develop a new degree that explores both traditional and biomedical approaches to acupuncture.

My academic work also involves external examining and providing consultancy for various universities and colleges.

Research

In 2007 Harriet was awarded an MSc in Health Services Research at the University of York. Her research project concerned acupuncture treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee. The research was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). Early results from this research show that acupuncture has reduced pain and increased physical functioning for patients in the trial. Find out more about this research...