"Well-known medical doctors such as Andrew Weil, Mehmet Oz, and Naples’ own David Perlmutter are doing a great job of educating the general public on the credibility of acupuncture and its many uses in health care,” says Rosemary Harris, a doctor of Oriental medicine and the owner of the Complete Well Being Center, in Naples.

A graduate of the Acupuncture and Massage College, in Miami, Harris is trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). “I also have a master’s degree from Carnegie Melon Institute in public management in health care,” says Harris. “I worked in human resources management for years until my midlife epiphany led me to realize that I was in the right church, but the wrong pew. The awakening to a need for a deeper sense of fulfillment led me to switch to something in health care that was more hands-on, personalized and natural.”

To give nervous first-timers the proper perspective regarding the nearly invisible acupuncture needle, Harris explains that it would take 18 acupuncture needles to fill the inside of a hypodermic needle. “This alleviates nearly everyone’s concerns,” remarks Harris.

Harris opened her first office in Miami, a city of many cultures, where she frequently heard from her clients that their mothers and grandmothers had used herbs and cupping to alleviate the symptoms of their childhood illnesses. “In areas such as Collier and Lee counties, the general populace is far more familiar with conventional medicine. As a result, more education is required for them to become familiar with the modalities that I use—TCM, electro-acupuncture, Chinese herbal formulas, cupping, moxibustion, acupuncture facelifts, nutritional counseling and cold laser therapy,” comments Harris.

Cupping is what Harris calls “inside-out massage,” because it increases circulation and helps to move lymph by lifting the fascia of the muscles. Electro-acupuncture is the application of a pulsating electrical current to acupuncture needles as a means of stimulating acupoints. Moxibustion is a TCM therapy that uses the dried herb mugwort, the common name for plants of the genus Artemisia, to stimulate circulation through the points and induce a smoother flow of blood and qi.

Cold, or low-level, laser therapy is a treatment with a handheld device that utilizes specific wavelengths of light to interact with tissue. Non-thermal photons emitted from the laser penetrate two to five centimeters below the layers of the skin to reduce pain and inflammation, as well as stimulate healing on a cellular level. The device is U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved to treat pain due to carpal tunnel syndrome.

“Mind, body and spirit must be in balance for true health, which is why I treat the whole unique person warmly, without judgment, rather than just treating the illness or disease,” notes Harris.

Complete Well Being Center, 684 Goodlette Rd. N., Ste. 200, Naples. For more information, call 239-404-0648 or visit www.CompleteWellBeingCenter.com.