About Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a system of medicine with a history of more than two thousand years. It approaches the whole person — physical, emotional and mental — and works from a pattern-based assessment rather than a Western diagnosis.

Watch: Chinese medicine on the BBC

A BBC interview about Traditional Chinese Medicine. The video plays from YouTube when you press play.

How a TCM assessment works

A TCM consultation looks and feels different from a GP appointment. Alongside your medical history and any test results, Dr Zhang will ask about sleep, digestion, energy, mood and your cycle, and will examine your pulse and tongue — the traditional diagnostic methods. Two people with the same Western diagnosis will often be assessed quite differently in TCM terms, and treated differently as a result.

A TCM assessment is not a medical diagnosis and is not a substitute for one. We do not diagnose medical conditions here, and we will refer you back to your GP where that is what is needed.

Our philosophy

We believe good healthcare takes account of the whole person, and that this is usually best achieved by conventional and complementary care working together rather than in competition. The achievements of Western medicine are remarkable, and Dr Zhang trained in it. Because she is qualified in both traditions, she can be straightforward with you about which one is likely to serve you better — and she will always work alongside, never against, your doctors.

What to expect at a first visit

• An unhurried consultation, usually about an hour.
• Questions about your general health, your history and your current medical care.
• Pulse and tongue examination.
• A conversation about what we can offer, what we cannot, and what it will involve.

Bring any relevant test results or letters from your GP, consultant or fertility clinic if you have them.