Connie Lock-Bouvier, MSTCM, L.Ac. | About Me
I am a first generation Chinese American born on Jackson Street and raised in the outer Richmond District in San Francisco. My parents were Chinese immigrants, and I’ve always known I wanted to be a doctor. As a child, images from Alex Haley’s “Roots” and Sally Struther’s “Christian Children’s Fund” commercials profoundly imprinted on me that human suffering hurt everyone. So unknowingly everything I have done in my life has led me to become a Chinese Medicine practitioner.
I was a volunteer for the San Francisco Suicide Prevention throughout high school and college. In fact, it was only after earning my massage certification in my 20s and began working full time that I stopped my volunteer work as a telephone peer counselor. I was a massage therapist for 10 years until I developed arthritis in my thumbs. My joints were deformed and calcified as a result of applying constant pressure during massage. In addition, I developed tennis elbow and shoulder stiffness so I decided to take time off from massage and work in the field of Cartography.
Shortly after the death of my father I realized that the time had come to fully accept my ancestry and integrate the “better” ideals from my family life. It was while trying to find my life’s path that I remembered a pivotal moment in my life. At 19 I stayed with a wonderful Filipino family in London and they took me to a “fortune teller” who said I was to be a doctor. At the time, I didn’t want to believe nor was I ready to accept the responsibility, but ten years later I finally confronted my truth: I wanted to be a doctor.
I chose Chinese Medicine because it resonated with who I am. My Great Grandfather and Grandfather were Chinese herbalists, so the smells, looks and feels of herbs were familiar and relatively comforting. I took an introductory Chinese herbal class through my local community college to see if I wanted to follow this path and fell in love with the philosophy, history, complexity, and the medicine itself.
It took me eight long years to finally complete my training at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. During my schooling, I had two lovely children which lead to the realization that I wanted to specialize in Pediatrics and Nutrition. If we can feed our children the right foods when they are young, they will be healthy throughout their adult life into old age.
I will always continue to learn. Experience has taught me that that nutrition plays an important part in preventing cardiovascular diseases like high cholesterol and high blood pressure and childhood diseases like ADD, ADHD and Autism, as well as Aging. Therefore I am constantly seeking further education in those areas – all with the goal of providing the most holistic treatment possible for my clients.
I look forward to treating you with compassion for longevity and balance!
Certified LIGHT practitioner UC San Diego Center for Integrative Health - 2022
Certified Hypnotherapist Palo Alto School of Hypnotherapy, 2020 - 2022
Certificate of Completion, HypnoPuncture Method Dr. Sharleen Lawrence, 2021
Treatments
Techniques Used
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Acomprehensive natural health care system that has been used in Asian countries for thousands of years to preserve health and diagnose, treat and prevent illness.
Pain and ill-health result when the flow of Qi through the body is disrupted or blocked by many things, including disease, pathogens, trauma/injuries and medication (side-effects), as well as lifestyle factors such as overwork, poor diet, emotions, lack of rest and stress. Dietary supplements, natural herbs, moxibustion, cupping, reflexology therapy and therapeutic massage all play a role in TCM.
TCM’s view of the body places little emphasis on anatomical structures, but is mainly concerned with the identification of functional entities (which regulate digestion, breathing, aging etc.). While health is perceived as harmonious interaction of these entities and the outside world, disease is interpreted as a disharmony in interaction. TCM diagnosis includes in tracing symptoms to patterns of an underlying disharmony, by measuring the pulse, inspecting the tongue, skin, eyes and by looking at the eating and sleeping habits of the patient as well as many other things.
Traditional Acupuncture
Acupuncture treats health conditions by stimulating “acu-points” found at specific locations on the surface of the body.
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine is one of the newest primary health care professions in California. The potential benefits of acupuncture are widely recognized, and it is being increasingly integrated with mainstream health care. Since the 1970′s, when acupuncture and Oriental medicine first became available in the United States, more than 15 million Americans have tried it. The risk of side effects is low and the potential benefits are high. Traditional acupuncture has been practiced all throughout Asia for over 2 millienium (more than 2,000 years). This practice is both art and science of:
- Herbal Medicine
- Auriculotherapy
- Moxa(moxibustion)
- Cupping
- Nutritional Therapy
Integrative Medicine
A healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle.
Integrative medicine is healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.
The principles of integrative medicine:
- A partnership between patient and practitioner in the healing process
- Appropriate use of conventional and alternative methods to facilitate the body’s innate healing response
- Consideration of all factors that influence health, wellness and disease, including mind, spirit and community as well as body
- A philosophy that neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically
- Recognition that good medicine should be based in good science, be inquiry driven, and be open to new paradigms
- Use of natural, effective, less-invasive interventions whenever possible
- Use of the broader concepts of promotion of health and the prevention of illness as well as the treatment of disease
- Training of practitioners to be models of health and healing, committed to the process of self-exploration and self-development
Herbal Medicine
Though it has received much less attention in the popular media, the use of Chinese herbs goes hand in hand with acupuncture and is an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
In the course of your treatment Chinese herbal remedies may be prescribed. They may be dispensed as raw herbs or in pills, capsules, granules, or tinctures which make them easier to ingest. Most herb formulas can treat a wide variety of symptoms while stimulating the body’s natural healing process.
In California, acupuncturists are the only licensed health care professionals who are required to be trained and tested for competency in prescribing herbal medicine. California-approved acupuncture schools offer a minimum of 450 classroom hours of instruction in traditional Oriental herbology in addition to clinical training. Chinese herbal medicine has been practiced safely and effectively for centuries and has the greatest potential for beneficial results when prescribed by a trained professional who recognizes the benefits and risks.
In recent years, herbs have become very popular to self-treat many conditions. They are available in health food stores, supermarkets and on the Internet. While herbs are promoted as safe, inexpensive “natural” alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs, many health care professionals have concerns about safety, effectiveness and potential misuse of herbal products, especially when self-prescribed. There are also questions of purity, strength and standardization of herbs.
The California Acupuncture Board strongly recommends consulting an acupuncturist before beginning any herbal therapy. Also, it is very important to inform both your physician and acupuncturist of all the products you are currently taking (drugs, herbs, other supplements) so they can monitor effectiveness, ensure safety from adverse reactions and watch for possible interactions. If you have an allergic reaction to any herbs, please let me know.
Auriculotherapy
A highly developed system of diagnosing and treating disharmonies anywhere in the body by expertly examining the ear.
Auriculotherapy is a highly developed system of diagnosing and treating disharmonies anywhere in the body by expertly examining the ear, by which the practitioner can accurately determine symptoms as well as the root cause of disease and disharmony.
Specific points on the outer ear, or auricle, are stimulated with an electric pulse, a blunt probe, finger pressure or seed treatment to provide relief from a wide range of conditions.
It is simple, safe, effective, painless and the skin is not punctured.
Auriculotherapy
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Moxibustion
A traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves the burning of mugwort, a small, spongy herb, to facilitate healing.
Moxibustion is a technique used in traditional Chinese medicine in which a stick or cone of burning mugwort, Artemesia vulgaris, is placed over an inflamed or affected area on the body.
Moxibustion warms body regions and acupuncture points with the intention of stimulating circulation through the points and inducing a smoother flow of energy.
Cupping Therapy
Cups are used to expel areas of local stagnation such as upper back tightness, or disperse other external pathogenic factors.
Cupping is an ancient technique that is still used today. Cups are used to expel areas of local stagnation such as upper back tightness, or disperse the external pathogenic factors of Wind and Cold invading the Lungs, a pattern commonly seen during a common cold.
*Treatable Conditions*
CLBHealing Arts treats patients for a wide variety of conditions, including:
- Addictions (including alcohol, nicotine and drugs)
- Allergies (seasonal, food, etc.)
- Anemia
- Anxiety
- Arthritis
- Depression
- Digestive issues (including constipation, diarrhea and indigestion)
- Eating disorders (including anorexia and bulimia)
- Emphysema
- General illnesses such as the common cold and flu
- Head, neck and back pain
- Headache / Migraine
- Hormone imbalance
- Hypertension
- Immune support
- Insomnia
- Menopause symptoms
- Nerve disorders (including neuropathy)
- Osteoarthritis
- Pain (chronic, acute and nerve)
- Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- Psoriasis
- PTSD
- Sexual dysfunction (women and men)
- Side effects of cancer therapies (including nausea and pain)
- Sinusitis, asthma, and bronchitis
- Sports Injuries
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
Your Visit
What To Expect
Connnie is currently treating patients in the privacy of their own home from Mountain View to South San Francisco. All that is required is a place for the patient to relax on their bed, couch or even favorite recliner, for a minimum of 40 minutes.
Cost per visit is $150 to $175.
Payments accepted: cash, credit card, check, PayPal or Zelle.
Pre-Appointment Paperwork
Consent forms and medical history
It's important to come prepared and fill in the paperwork ahead of time of your medical and health history and to be as detailed as you like:
- You'll be asked to share any past illnesses, chronic conditions.
- As well as any accidents, surgeries and current list of medications
- Emotional trauma can also be held in the body until it's released. Share what feels comfortable for you.
*Just a reminder that all information is confidential. Click here to download the form.
First Appointment
The intake session and evaluation
During your first 90-minute appointment I will conduct an exam and Q&A session. This will allow me to determine your current health status. During the second half of the appointment, I will do a quick treatment and report my findings, (that’s me basically educating you about what I’ve found in TCM terms.)
Subsequent Treatments
Your healing sessions
All subsequent appointments are usually 60 minutes and depending on your condtion, appointments will be once a week, sometimes twice a week. The first few minutes of our session, I will discuss how you have felt since the last treatment to assess where I might need to tweak the next treatment, and for you to share how your body reacted to the last treatment.
Appointment
Book an appointment by filling in and sumitting form below, or call me directly at 415-203-6025
Testimonials
What patients are saying about Connie
I have been seeing Connie for acupuncture for close to a decade. She is a warm and caring professional who truly is a healer. I've gone to see her for very specific injuries and/or pain, but also for stress and anxiety. The results are almost immediate in my experience. She really understands pressure points and I always leave her care feeling brand new! Connie's the best!!
Linda
San Mateo
I have been going to Connie for several years now. My first treatment was for tennis elbow which had bothered me for a full two years: I was unable to open a jar. I went to the orthopedic surgeon who recommended steroid shots and surgery. Connie is patient and very caring: within three months my tennis elbow pain was completely healed. Since that time I have seen Connie as my ‘ongoing healer’ for all my aches and pains: back pain, neck pain, hip flexer and torn groin pain. She is the best!
Katrina
Belmont
I have horrible headaches, sometimes lasting me 14+ days and other times migraines where I can barely keep my eyes open PLUS chronic neck tightness that also cause headaches. Connie is the only person who has been able to help me with these issues and because of this, there is no one else I would keep going to for my health. I trust her treatments, her knowledge and her expertise. I highly recommend her for anything you may have going on!
Nirali
Daly City
Connie has helped me so much with managing anxiety. Prior to seeing her, it was also hard for me to keep food down, and the first session I saw her -- that same day -- I was able to keep my meals down. I wasn't sure whether or not acupuncture would help and I didn't want to take any medication to manage how I felt because it often left me feeling worse. I'm so grateful for Connie!
Sean
San Mateo
I have been seeing Connie for many years, including while she was a student at the ACTCM (American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine) in San Francisco.Over the years, I have had several health issues that were successfully addressed and treated with acupuncture-including pregnancy. Connie is an extremely gifted acupuncturist and healer, coupled with her intuition and professional expertise, she has the ability to diagnose and treat with precision and compassion. As a result of my long-standing dedication to acupuncture with Conne, I am in such great health for a 50+ year old, that I continue to see Connie twice a month only for ongoing health maintenance and overall well-being.
Ingrid
San Francisco
I'm 19 years old and had been suffering with eczema really badly for the past five years. The past year, my skin has greatly improved; however, I would still get some flare ups and always had areas that bothered me. After seeing Connie weekly for a month, I'm happy that it's nearly completely gone! I'm now seeing her once a month. I'm so happy that I can wear tank tops and short sleeves without feeling self conscious!
Nate
Belmont
Contact
Location:
Travel range is 40 miles from Downey ID.
Open Hours:
Monday-Friday:
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Email:
clbhealingarts@gmail.com