Treatments: The therapeutic principle
One sentence between the diagnosis and the technique. 6 activities, about 13 minutes.
The step almost nobody writes down
Between «Spleen qi deficiency» and a list of points there is a sentence that almost never gets written: what has to be achieved. Without it, two therapists with the same diagnosis do incompatible things and neither knows why.
- Diagnosis
- what is wrong
- Principle
- what has to be achieved
- Technique
- what achieves it
- Benefit of writing it
- it makes the result assessable
Common mistake: Jumping from diagnosis to points. It is what makes one session bear no relation to the next.
The basic methods
Every principle is built from a handful of verbs. Each answers one type of imbalance and none serves two purposes at once.
- Tonify
- when something is missing
- Drain
- when something is in excess
- Warm (Wen)
- when there is cold
- Clear (Qing)
- when there is heat
- Move
- when something is not circulating
- Harmonise
- when two parts are clashing
Common mistake: Writing «balance». It is not a method: it says nothing about what is done and cannot be checked.
Which method does each pattern call for?
- Spleen qi deficiency with fatigue and loose stools
- Constipation with distension and a thick yellow coating
- Cold in the abdomen with pain eased by a hot water bottle
- Stomach fire with ravenous hunger and inflamed gums
- Menstrual pain with clots that eases once they pass
- Digestion that collapses whenever there is tension
Fatigue, loose stools, bloating after meals and a pale marked tongue. Build the principle.
Which of these principles is well written, and why?
Order the complete chain of a consultation.
- Collect signs and rule out red flags
- Name the pattern with organ, substance and nature
- Write the principle: what has to be achieved
- Choose the route and the specific technique
- Set a timeframe and which sign you will watch to know it works
Level complete!
You completed the block with judgment, not memory alone.
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Study content. The exercises describe concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine; they are not medical advice.
