Acupuncture for Children’s Mental Health:
Expanding Your Practice to Treat the Whole Family
by Rebecca Avern
As practitioners of East Asian Medicine (EAM), we’re uniquely positioned to address a pressing issue in our communities: the alarming rise in children’s mental health concerns. Recent data paints a stark picture of this growing crisis. A recent Guardian article highlights the severity of this crisis in England:
“More than 500 children a day in England are being referred to NHS mental health services for anxiety, more than double the rate of before the pandemic began… In 2023-24 there were 204,526 new referrals of patients aged 17 or under where the primary cause was anxiety, official figures show. In 2019-20, the year before Covid-19 struck, the total was 98,953.”
This surge isn’t unique to England. Globally, we’re seeing similar trends, with factors like academic pressure, social media influence, and the lingering effects of the pandemic contributing to unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression in young people.
The Role of Acupuncture in Supporting Children’s Mental Health
As EAM practitioners, we are well positioned to help, with acupuncture offering promising support for children’s mental health challenges. While research on acupuncture for children’s mental health is still emerging, several studies suggest promising results:
- A systematic review published in Pediatrics (2011) by Gold et al. found that acupuncture showed potential benefits for various pediatric conditions, including emotional disorders.
- Xu et al. (2018) published a study in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, demonstrating positive effects of acupuncture on anxiety and depression symptoms in obese adolescents.
- A randomized controlled trial by Lin et al. (2019) in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine showed acupuncture’s efficacy in reducing test anxiety among high school students.
My clinical experience confirms time and time again that there is no better medicine than ours to support the ever-growing number of young people with mental-health issues. I see children who may have tried medication, counselling or CBT therapy to name but a few. While of course these therapies all have their place and can be helpful, they rarely get to the root of the condition in the way that acupuncture and related techniques do.
Expanding Your Practice: Treating the Whole Family
Many of your adult patients are parents or grandparents. And yet, many more will have neighbours or friends with children. Sadly, they most probably all know of a child who is struggling with their mental health in some way, and they may not realise that you can treat children, or that you can treat mental health conditions.
Expanding your focus to include pediatric mental health, you will:
- Offer comprehensive family care
- Provide early intervention for young patients
- Address the root causes of anxiety and depression using EAM principles
- Complement other treatments children may be receiving
Incorporating acupuncture to support children’s mental health, you offer families a holistic approach to well-being.
To successfully integrate this approach into your practice, there are several steps you need to take:
- Educate yourself on pediatric acupuncture techniques and safety considerations
- Communicate clearly with parents about how acupuncture can benefit children
- Create a child-friendly environment in your clinic
- Network with local pediatricians and mental health professionals
The Unique Considerations for Pediatric Acupuncture
Working with children requires a distinct approach from adult care. Young patients often have more delicate constitutions, requiring fewer needles and different treatment modalities. It’s important to have non-invasive techniques like laser acupuncture or shonishin in your tool box for younger or needle-sensitive children. Treating children is rewarding, especially since they often respond more quickly to treatments due to their flexible energy systems.
Communication is crucial when treating children. Explaining acupuncture in a way that both parents and children can understand helps demystify the process and alleviate any fears about the treatment. It’s crucial to work closely with parents to integrate acupuncture into a broader support system for the child, which may include lifestyle changes, dietary recommendations or counseling.
Treating the Whole Family
Our medicine understands that each family member is energetically connected to each other. What happens to one family member affects everyone in the unit. By expanding our scope to include pediatric mental health, we can provide a holistic, family-centered approach to well-being. This not only strengthens the family unit but also enhances the practitioner-patient relationship, as families are more likely to seek care from someone they trust.
Mental health issues in children continue to rise, and the need for effective, holistic treatments like acupuncture has never been greater. We are uniquely positioned to offer this support, not just to individual patients, but to entire families. By expanding your practice to include pediatric mental health, you can play a crucial role in addressing the anxiety and emotional imbalances that affect young people today.
As practitioners, we already witness how acupuncture aids our adult patients in managing stress and anxiety. The same principles apply to children, who are equally affected by modern pressures. By extending our treatments to include the entire family, we don’t just heal individuals—we foster resilience across generations.
Let’s embrace this opportunity to make a profound difference in the lives of children and families in our communities. Together, we can be at the forefront of addressing the growing mental health crisis, one family at a time.
Strengthen your expertise with paediatric patients under the guidance of Rebecca Avern, a renowned paediatric acupuncturist and author. This in-depth programme equips you with essential techniques to treat children confidently and effectively, addressing both acute and chronic conditions.
