Traditional Chinese Medicine

Domain XI · Traditional medicine & indigenous healing · China

What it is

TCM is a living, codified medical system, not a psychotherapy. It is practised by its own licensed or registered practitioners (TCM physicians, acupuncturists, Chinese herbal medicine practitioners and dispensers), who assess "body system disorders using traditional Chinese medicine techniques" and…

Format

• Disorder and pattern. ICD-11 Chapter 26 separates TM1 disorders (grouped by organ or body system, e.g. liver, heart, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, qi-blood-fluid, mental and emotional) from TM1 patterns (the presentation at a given time).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• TCM is a whole system with its own clinical process; this guide gives that process as regulators publish it, then a framework for the psychotherapist's parallel work.
• China. TCM is a state-regulated profession; licensed TCM physicians (中医类别执业医师) qualify through the medical licensing system. The 2017 Interim Measures on Qualification Assessment and Registration for TCM Practitioners with Proven Expertise (中医医术确有专长人员医师资格考核注册管理暂行办法; National Health and Family Planning Commission Order No. 15, signed 10 Nov 2017, in force 20 Dec 2017) add a route for people trained by apprenticeship…
• Australia. Chinese medicine is a nationally registered profession overseen by the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (CMBA) within AHPRA. Protected titles under s. 113 of the National Law are "Chinese medicine practitioner", "Chinese herbal dispenser", "Chinese herbal medicine practitioner", "Oriental medicine practitioner" and "acupuncturist" (the last also available to endorsed practitioners of other…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Reluctance to disclose remedies after earlier ridicule. Working: disclosure increases.
• Assuming TCM is a religion (it is a medical system). Working: values are named and usable in therapy.
• Interpreters who soften or editorialise; family members speaking for the client. Working: the client's own words are recorded.
• Treating culturally ordinary care as abuse, and missing real harm presented as tradition. Working: the child's doctor has the full picture.
• Self-blame, shame or loyalty to the practitioner delaying reports. Working: medical review happens and the client feels supported, not judged.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.