There is an individual response to each treatment session. Typically, I would recommend a minimum of one session per week for five to eight treatments total until you reach a therapeutic effect and start to feel better. Often, patients will feel an immediate stress relief after one treatment session. The goal of additional treatments is to make that response long-lasting.

You cannot control the external variables of stress. So, for some patients, they prefer to stick to a maintenance schedule of one session per month. Other patients will come in only during high peaks of stress and use acupuncture as a tool to help them through that high period of stress.

Answered by Jamie Starkey, LAc. Ms. Starkey, LAc, Lead Acupuncturist, has a Bachelor’s degree in biology and a Master’s Level Acupuncture from the American Institute of Alternative Medicine. She spent a clinical internship at the Guang AnMen Hospital in Beijing, China (Acupuncture and Moxibustion Outpatient