Meet Amy C. Darling
LAc, MAcOM
Medical Philosophy
![[Photo: Lynn Weinberg]](http://abundanthealthacupuncture.net/images/amy_darling.jpg)
I support patients to take an active, educated and empowered role in their health care. My clinical philosophy is two fold:
1) Resolve a patient's primary medical concern;
2) Help people make changes which will impact their health and well being.
While I have chosen a career in East Asian medicine, I am committed to communication and collaboration with all providers in order to optimize my patients' health.
I have worked in healthcare for a dozen years. My experiences have included rehabilitation of the sick in rural Nepal, patient care coordination at Seattle’s Central District Planned Parenthood, and bereavement counseling at Providence Hospice of Seattle.
In 2003, facing my own serious medical concerns, my hospice colleague Gail, a registered nurse, recommended her Chinese doctor. The efficacy and nurturing quality of being treated with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine both healed and inspired me. After this, I went on to earn a clinical Masters degree from the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine (SIOM) in Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, and tuina medical massage
In my clinical practice, I resolve all kinds of pain. While acupuncture is one of my primary therapeutic tools, it is only one of many healing modalities. For back pain, I often combine acupuncture with tuina massage, and a prescription for stretching and core strengthening exercises. For digestive problems, treatment includes dietary and lifestyle counsel. Anxiety, insomnia or stress management might include a prescription for increased dietary protein and daily meditation.
Critical assessment of physical, mental and emotional health is the foundation of my practice. I support patients in taking an active, educated and empowered role in their health care. East Asian medicine is a comprehensive medical system and I treat a broad spectrum of conditions, bringing a full doctor’s bag of skills and sensibility to each patient.
During the course of receiving treatment, or in the process of resolving the pain which brought them into my clinic, many of my patients begin to make significant changes. One of the most precious moments in my work is seeing the light in the eyes of someone who has begun to claim responsibility and empowerment in their health and life. I absolutely love the work I do.
Traveling and learning from other cultures has been an essential components of my life education. With extended periods of months or years in Australia, Belgium, Nepal, Scotland, and Taiwan, I’ve learned a great deal about humans’ commonalities and differences. I have participated in or witnessed how people tend gardens, harvest crops, celebrate holidays, share meals and leisure, raise children, resolve conflict, value family, grieve loss, and attend to the health of body and mind. From my viewpoint, there is no single right way. Each person and culture has their own unique way. Outside of the clinic, I find joy in gardening, regular exercise, hiking, reading and writing poetry, and other creative work. Meditation, in the Zen Buddhist tradition, has played an important role in my life for a dozen years. Since 2006, I have volunteered facilitating a meditation group for Buddhist inmates at Monroe’s Washington State Reformatory. All these activities bring me nourishment and joy which I aspire to carry with me to the clinic everyday.
Education
Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine (Seattle, WA)
MAcOM completed August 2007
3 year rigorous, apprentice style clinical training in Acupuncture (Chinese, Japanese, Auricular), Chinese Herbal Medicine, Tuiná, Food Therapy & Qi Gong. Internship experience in treating neuromusculo-skeletal conditions, gynecology, internal medicine, addiction and detoxification, emotional disorders, pain disorders, sports injury & trauma, pediatrics, infertility and pregnancy support. Additionally SIOM is currently the only institution in the country which integrates intensive Chinese medical language translation throughout its curriculum.
Colby College (Waterville, ME)
BA completed December 1996
Majors: Government, International Studies (concentration: Environmental Studies)
Honors: Graduated magna cum laude
University of Glasgow & Glasgow School of Art (Glasgow, Scotland)
January - June 1995
Pitzer in Nepal (Balkot, Nepal)
August - December 1994
Rotary Exchange Student (Tournai, Belgium)
August 1990 - July 1991
Schedule:
Ms. Darling treats patients in Tacoma on Wednesdays and every other Thursday, and in Seattle on Mondays, Tuesdays, & Fridays. Phone 253.383.8005 to schedule in Tacoma and 206.920.9929 to schedule in Seattle. Learn more about Amy Darling at http://amycdarling.com/index.html
