Be Well Holistic Acupuncture

With her 20 years of experience, Susan DeAraujo Benedek combines Chinese and Japanese-style acupuncture, providing highly effective treatment for a range of medical conditions, sports injuries, and lifestyle issues.

Chinese medical herbs and lifestyle counseling
are critical integrations in her practice, as well.

Susan Benedek is your partner in your journey to wellness and an improved way of being.

Acupuncture

Oriental Medicine is a diverse medical science and art that has been in practice — for well over 2000 years — in the Asian culture. It has steadily gained wide acceptance in the United States in the past 40 years for one simple reason: it works.

Traditional Chinese Medicine acknowledges that every part of the body affects the whole. Treatment is customized to each individual; focusing on particular symptoms and the person as a whole.

Clients may come in with a diagnosed ‘Western’ Medical condition, and we work in conjunction with your Medical Doctor and your prescription medications to determine the best care.

Alternatively, you don’t need a Western Medical condition to be treated with Oriental Medicine. We have our own diagnostic categories that are based on the presenting symptoms, medical history and traditional styles of examination; we also take into consideration diet, lifestyle, and emotions.

Getting Started:

If you are a first time client, Susan will spend time getting to know you by asking a series of questions called "intake". This may include:
  • Main complaint(s) and symptoms
  • Medical and surgical history
  • Medications and supplements presently taken
  • Nutrition, exercise, stress, etc.
  • A brief examination in the traditional Oriental method
Once she has a clear diagnosis in mind, treatment can begin.

What to Expect During Treatment:

Acupuncture treatments are usually done lying down on the treatment table in the most comfortable position possible, although treatment for some conditions is done sitting in a comfortable chair.Somewhat typically, fine needles are inserted into distal points (hands, arms, feet, and legs) to treat the root causes of a given condition.Other needles are inserted into and around the areas of pain or reactive areas to treat local symptoms.Susan's treatment may also include heating techniques (such as moxibustion and TDP/heat lamp), energy & blood-quickening  techniques (such as cupping& gua-sha), therapeutic cold laser to treat localized inflammation of tendons & ligaments.For severe pain, she will usually add electro-stimulation directly to the needles.For emotional issues/stress  and for deeper relaxation during the treatments, she will will usually add ear acupuncture and send clients home with retained press balls.

Considerations:

Please discuss with Susan if you have a fear of needles or if you are very sensitive. Your treatment can be modified to use extremely fine Japanese needles or alternately, in some cases, can be done completely without needles.Some conditions respond very quickly to very few treatments (acute or newer problems) while others require longer treatment duration (chronic, severe,  multiple problems).Some people's systems also respond very quickly to acupuncture while others take longer. In the United States, most people have weekly treatments for a period of time.  Susan will give you an estimate of how many appointments may be needed for your particular condition.The Be Well Holistic philosophy is to tap into your body’s innate healing abilities with acupuncture and possibly other things (herbs, supplements, exercise, nutrition changes, lifestyle modification, etcetera) in order to make you feel better as quickly as possible and to discharge you from treatment. We’ll be here if you need us again!

Your Safety and Privacy is a Top Priority:

Susan uses sterile, one-time use needles of various sizes and lengths for your individualized acupuncture treatment and practices a strict adherence to aseptic technique.Treatment tables and all other surfaces in the treatment rooms are cleaned after each treatment.As in any medical office as required by law,  your treatment record and anything you confide to us in the treatment room is held in complete confidence and privacy.At Be Well Holistic, comfort, trust, and privacy is always of primary concern.

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical practice dating back over 2,000 years, involving the insertion of thin needles into specific points on the body. It is believed to restore balance and promote the flow of energy, or qi, through pathways known as meridians. Widely used for pain relief and various health conditions, acupuncture has gained recognition in modern medicine for its potential therapeutic benefits beyond cultural origins.

Oriental Medicine is an umbrella term that is understood to include all the different aspects of the medicine; it is an ancient medicine but it is continually evolving and now includes many modern techniques.

The ancient medicine’s backbone has always been the Chinese medicinal herbs with written prescription references going back to the age of the new era. Many of the prescriptions written today are based on the ancient prescriptions and are hardly changed!

People worldwide have always suffered from common ailments such as chills, fever, diabetes, morning sickness, acid reflux, etc and were just as interested as we are now to find ways to alleviate the pain and suffering associated with their ailments.

Acupuncture, also an ancient aspect of medicine, has evolved from crudely sharpened bone and stone needles to hair-fine, sterile stainless steel needles. Moxibustion, the induction of heat into the body by a variety of different means, is just as welcome today by people hurting with knee and back pain. Newer aspects of the medicine include treatment with magnets, electro-acupuncture, therapeutic lasers and CBD tinctures & ointments and creams.

We are only limited by our creativity in combining the old with the new.

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Some medical conditions, like very disruptive menopause symptoms,  are best treated by herbal medicine, alone, or in conjunction with acupuncture and auricular (ear) acupuncture.  Unlike weekly acupuncture, which in the United States in generally done weekly, due to time and financial constraint, herbs are taken in to the body several times a day and bathe every cell with their internal healing properties.  They are extremely effective!

Chinese medical herbs work synergistically in the body by augmenting, dispersing, calming, warming, etc. depending on the desired effect and are safe when prescribed by a knowledgeable practitioner.

There are several different options available offered by herbalist, Susan, at the Be Well Holistic Center.  For complicated cases requiring a completely customized prescription, 12-16 herbs are written into a 98-gram weekly formula that is faxed to an herbal pharmacy in Quincy, where it is overseen by Dr. Tao Xie, filled, and mailed out directly to the your home. The herbs come ground and powered. Patients mix them with water and drink them down 2 times per day. For straightforward cases, or for those patients who need/want the convenience of tablets, the Be Well Center has an herbal pharmacy stocked with frequently prescribed herbs in tablet form.   The tablets are usually swallowed down with water 2-3 times per day. 

Chinese medicinal herbs are harvested from plants (roots, bark, flowers, seeds, fruit), shells, minerals and other sources. Botanists check for accuracy in genus and specie.  Susan  uses herbal and supplement companies with the high test quality of herbal identification and highly rated GMP (Good Manufacturing Process) to assure her herbal clients of their safety.

The Be Well Center also has, in stock, a variety of topical and internal CBD products, vitamins, supplements and botanical oils that Susan has found to be useful in treating the variety of common ailments that she regularly sees in her practice.

Holistic Lifestyle Counseling

It is the philosophy of Susan Benedek that every person has a deep inner knowledge of what they need to live a life of purpose with the vitality to carry it out. She also acknowledges that some have had their paths clouded along the way with unhealthy lifestyle habits and routines; some from our upbringing and others we’ve acquired along the journey.  Some, we may be totally aware of and others, we have no idea about.

Living a holistic lifestyle is not about being or doing things a certain way but rather by being who we truly are and having health in body, mind, and spirit. At Be Well Holistic Center, everyone is accepted the way they are. There is no pressure.  There is no judgement. The journey toward health is only the individual’s that is seeking it. Our job is to help with gentle awareness, reminders, information, books, community resources, and referrals to other health-care practitioners.

Nutrition plays an important role in health. Clients of Be Well Holistic Center can expect nutritional counseling (but only if it's welcome and wanted) about food, diet, and supplementation during acupuncture and herbal appointments. Please feel free to ask questions :questions about food, questions about diets, questions about herbs and supplements. Nothing is too simple or too complex! Feel free to bring in your knowledge and things that have worked for you, recipes, et cetera — others may benefit from it!

Sleep is very important. People who do not adequately rest their bodies are at risk for poor health. Sleep is almost the number one health concern to “fix” in Chinese medicine. Patients often come in with other health complaints but if a person has poor quality of sleep, they will not respond to other treatments! Some sleep complaints are helped by simple remedies and lifestyle modifications,  others may require herbal treatment or supplements in addition to the acupuncture.

Exercise and movement is important to do everyday. The body is meant to move: most of the day and in a functional manner.  The best exercises are yoga, qigong, taiqi, and simple stretching along with breathing because they build up the body with flexibility, strength and mobility to all the meridians and pathways.  This combination of breath-to-movement is so beneficial and at any age whether sitting in a chair or on a mat.

Anxiety and constant stress is very detrimental to well being.  Acupuncture and/or herbal medicine can, for some people, help to create an inner calm. This may be a learned response for some people and, in time, they can re-create it themselves. A meditation, prayer practice, or just, being in the moment, are all spiritual practices that have life-nurturing aspects. Psychological well-being is very important in Chinese medicine. Treatment for unbalanced emotions is included in all acupuncture and herbal treatment. Chinese medicine does not separate parts of the body. All aspects are thought to affect all other parts.

Chinese medical herbs work synergistically in the body by augmenting, dispersing, calming, warming, etc. depending on the desired effect and are safe when prescribed by a knowledgeable practitioner.

There are several different options available offered by herbalist, Susan, at the Be Well Holistic Center.  For complicated cases requiring a completely customized prescription, 12-16 herbs are written into a 98-gram weekly formula that is faxed to an herbal pharmacy in Quincy, where it is overseen by Dr. Tao Xie, filled, and mailed out directly to the your home. The herbs come ground and powered. Patients mix them with water and drink them down 2 times per day. For straightforward cases, or for those patients who need/want the convenience of tablets, the Be Well Center has an herbal pharmacy stocked with frequently prescribed herbs in tablet form.   The tablets are usually swallowed down with water 2-3 times per day. 

Chinese medicinal herbs are harvested from plants (roots, bark, flowers, seeds, fruit), shells, minerals and other sources. Botanists check for accuracy in genus and specie.  Susan  uses herbal and supplement companies with the high test quality of herbal identification and highly rated GMP (Good Manufacturing Process) to assure her herbal clients of their safety.

The Be Well Center also has, in stock, a variety of topical and internal CBD products, vitamins, supplements and botanical oils that Susan has found to be useful in treating the variety of common ailments that she regularly sees in her practice.