In the past few years I have turned to Orit Zilberman for her knowledge and expertise in treating women who suffer from vaginal pain and discomfort. During our conversations we often discussed stories that women shared with us of traumatic experiences of treatments they had undergone in intimate areas of the body. In most of these cases there was no doubt that the practitioner meant well with a sincere intent to help and induce healing. Despite the fact that it was clear to these women that there was no ill-intent, they still experienced these treatments as intimidating, undermining their self-confidence, and leading them to question their own personal judgement. These stories have made me aware of how I might cause unintentional harm to my patients.

This is how the lecture Did the Yellow Emperor Take Off his Clothes was born. This lecture began for Orit and myself as a way to determine for ourselves guidelines for safe and ethical clinical practice striving to create a safe and healing environment for our patients. We now hope this lecture will raise awareness among practitioners in our community to the significance of the treatment experience in the journey towards healing.

This lecture was presented online with the support of TCM Academy of Integrative Medicine. It focuses on the use of the acupuncture point Huiyin Ren1. In the lecture we explore the various dimensions effecting our treatment choices, including ethical, regulatory, historical, cultural, and theoretical considerations, as well as insights based on our own clinical experience.

During the lecture, participants shared in the chat their experience with this acupuncture point from their perspective as students, practitioners and patients. Some of the experiences shared demonstrated to us once again the importance and extent of this issue.

I would like to invite you to watch the recorded lecture. It has been accredited with annual points by many worldwide acupuncture associations.

We are now working to continue this discussion in various forums. I invite you to contribute your experiences, thoughts and insights in the comment section. For those who would prefer to approach me or Orit privately, you are more than welcome to do so here (Orit) or here (Hila).

May we all continue to strive to promote healing.