Licensed acupuncturist and herbalist Kath Bartlett opened her doors in Scarborough last October after 12 years of practicing in Asheville, N.C. Bartlett, who uses a combination of acupuncture and herbal formulas to treat pain and other internal conditions, said she moved her business to Maine for its nature and beauty. “I look forward to hiking, I’m pretty ecologically-minded,” Bartlett said. Located at 7 Oakhill Terrace, Bartlett Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine has two walls of shelves full of jars of exotic and colorful herbs. Bartlett, who studied at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, said Eastern traditions utilize herbs much differently than in Western culture. Western herbalists typically use one herb per symptom,” Bartlett said, “but in Chinese medicine, it evolved quite differently.” Bartlett said during the Han Dynasty, a period in China between 200 BC and 200 AD, theories developed using groups of herbs in formulas – known as Shan Han Lun formulas. About 30 percent of the formulas Bartlett uses are derived from those combinations.
“The human body hasn’t changed too much,” Bartlett said. “Conditions haven’t changed from 2,000 years ago, so treatments developed then are time proven for effectiveness today. We’ve had two millenniums to figure out what works well and what doesn’t. ” While most of Bartlett’s patients use her services to relieve pain, Bartlett can also treat other health conditions such as allergies, menopause, stomach and bowel problems, stress, anxiety, insomnia and depression. Since Bartlett is skilled as both an acupuncturist and an herbalist, she will first consult with her patient to determine the best way to address the problem.
During the initial consultation, I do a thorough review of systems to discover what issues are at play causing the symptoms” Bartlett said. The style of acupuncture that Bartlett practices is called the Balance MethodTM, developed by Dr. Richard Tan in San Diego, Calif. Dr. Tan studied acupuncture in Taiwan and noticed some similarities in secret techniques that had been passed down by doctors in various Asian families. Dr. Tan then modified some of those methods with his own ideas. “A lot of my colleagues were raving about this method,” Bartlett said. The practice of acupuncture involves placing needles at certain points on the body to get the qi – or energy – moving properly through the body. “If you have pain, the qi is not moving,” Bartlett said.
What makes the Balance Method different, said Bartlett, is that instead of placing the needles directly where the pain is to get the qi to move, the needles are placed in other related areas of the body. For instance, the wrist can treat the ankle; the elbow can treat the knee. “You get immediate results,” Bartlett said. “It eliminates the pain.” Bartlett said the ability to address health conditions both externally with acupuncture and internally with herbal formulas , provides a comprehensive approach. Bartlett also makes her own organic oil or alcohol-based liniments. Bartlett, said she enjoys being centrally located between Biddeford and Portland, and appreciates other medical practices in Oak Hill. “I like the size of the Portland area. It’s really pretty here and it’s easy to get around,” Bartlett said. “It’s a bit more sophisticated and there’s a savvy-ness here that one usually finds more in the city.” For more information, check out her website at www.BartlettAcupuncture.com .