Telephone:    01273 561844 or 07747 840671

Treatment involves the insertion of extremely fine, sterile disposable needles into appropriate points along the energy pathway, (also called meridians) in the body. Depending on the condition being treated and the person’s Qi, the needles are either left in place for about twenty minutes or inserted and removed immediately.

A herb called moxa is often used to strengthen the Qi or warm the body when there is pain or signs of cold or damp presenting.

What can acupuncture treat?

Acupuncture diagnosis and treatment takes into account the disease symptoms, as well as the age, lifestyle and physical and emotional imbalances experienced by a patient. Many patients also come to acupuncture for preventative treatment.

This is not an inclusive list, but acupuncture can help you if you suffer from:

• Headaches and migraines

• Menstrual disorders

• Infertility/Sub-fertility

• Pregnancy and labour

• Menopausal symptoms

• Respiratory illnesses

• Including asthma and bronchitis

• Anxiety and depression

• Stress and hypertension

• Pain and tension in the back and the joints

• Addictions

• Immune disorders

Acupuncture treatments

You will be given a physical examination, which will include taking your blood pressure, taking your pulses and examining your tongue. Tongue and pulse diagnosis are a very important aspect of Chinese medicine as they give useful information to the acupuncturist as to the patient’s energetic functioning.

Kuan Yin
the Chinese female embodiment of compassion and fertility

Costs of treatment

Concessionary rates
for low-waged, unwaged or by negotiation with Soreh

Guidelines for clients

• Acupuncture can be used alongside conventional medicine in the treatment of both acute and chronic disease.
  

• If applicable, have details of any current medical diagnosis and of any medication you may be taking.
  

• Initial appointments last up to one and half hours in order for a full case history to be taken and a physical examination including blood pressure reading to be carried out. A pulse and tongue diagnosis will also be made. Follow-up appointments last 45 minutes
  

• It is best not to drink alcohol on day of treatment, or to do aerobic exercise afterwards. 

Soreh Levy

Licensed  Acupuncturist

  Member of The British Acupuncture Council

I have been involved in complementary medicine for over twenty years, first training in deep tissue massage and then undertaking a professional three-year Shiatsu training at the Ki Kai College in London. My deepening interest in Chinese Medicine led me to complete a three and a half year training in acupuncture at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading.  This course involved an in-depth study of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Five Element Theory and western anatomy, physiology and pathology.  I am also qualified to prescribe Patent Chinese herbs.

Women’s Health

I specialise in acupuncture for women's health issues. Acupuncture can be extremely successful in treating a whole range of issues, ranging from pre-menstrual tension, painful periods, infertility, and pregnancy right through to the menopause.

Fertility - Acupuncture can often assist a woman or couple achieve a natural conception without recourse to assisted reproductive techniques. There are many and varied reasons why women fail to fall pregnant. Chinese Medicine considers that the Kidneys govern reproduction and their healthy function is vital for fertility as is the function of the Uterus and Ovaries. Amenorrhoea, polycistic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis are some of the more common causes of female infertility, and acupuncture has shown to be very effective in treating these conditions.

If a male partner has fertility issues, (poor sperm, low-sperm count motility issues) I will advise the female partner that he should also seek treatment so that both are in optimal health for conception to occur. If male partners would rather see a male acupuncturist, I refer them to one.

Assisted reproduction - If a woman or couple decide to undergo assisted reproduction (IUI, IVF, ICSI), acupuncture treatments carried out at various key stages during the assisted procedures, particularly immediately before and after embryo transfer, can greatly enhance the likelihood of a pregnancy and they also help the woman to stay calm during what can be, for many women and couples a very stressful and anxious time.

A randomised study conducted in Germany took 160 patients undergoing ART (assisted reproductive therapy) with good quality embryos and divided them into two groups: embryo transfer with acupuncture (80 women) and embryo transfer without acupuncture (80 women). Clinical pregnancies were documented in 34 out of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group, whereas the pregnancy rate was only 26.3% (21 of 80 patients) in the control group. See Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy by Wolfgang E. Paulus MD, Christian-Lauritzen- Institut, Ulm, Germany 2001.

Pregnancy - Acupuncture can assist pregnant women in many ways:

• Nausea and 'morning sickness'
  
  
• Fatigue
  
  
• Back pain
  
  
• Pelvic and ligamental pain
  
  
• Depression
  
  
• Breech position
  
  
• Pre-labour treatments
  
  
• Acupuncture induction for 'overdue' babies

Breech position - In acupuncture, a very simple and safe procedure involving 'moxibustion' ( a moxa stick applying heat to points on the feet of the pregnant woman) is carried out between 34-36 weeks gestation. Women can be shown how to apply the moxa at home and use it until they feel the baby turning. This procedure has a great success rate in turning breech babies.

In a study of 260 women with breech presentation carried out in Italy, 130 women were treated with moxibustion for 7 days (if the baby had not turned, treatment was continued for a further 7 days), and another 130 women formed a control group. 75.4% of the babies in the moxibustion group turned, compared to 47.7% in the control group. See Moxibustion for correction of breech presentation by F. Cardini and H. Weixin, 1998.

Pre-birth treatments - From about week 37 of the pregnancy, acupuncture treatments carried out on a weekly basis can help prepare a woman's body for childbirth. The pelvis and cervix are prepared for labour, and treatment can address any medical conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension. Treatments also help the woman to feel calm and more relaxed as she prepares for childbirth.

A German study demonstrated that the mean duration of labour in a group of women giving birth for the first time was reduced from 8 hours 2 minutes in the control group (70 women) to 6 hours 36 minutes in the group of 70 women who had received pre-birth acupuncture.

Midwives in New Zealand comparing 2 groups of pregnant women, one group having acupuncture treatments pre-labour, the other no treatments, reported significantly shorter labour times for the women who received the acupuncture and a reduced rate of medical intervention and caesarean sections. See Debra Betts Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth, The Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2006.

Acupuncture induction - In the UK, pregnant women are increasingly being booked in for a medical induction within the NHS as soon as they are one day over their due-date. For some pregnant women a medical induction may be absolutely necessary, if monitoring shows there may be risk to the mother or her baby if the pregnancy continues. However, if scanning shows that the baby is fine and the mother-to-be is in good health and wants to try for a natural labour then acupuncture induction is a very safe and often successful way to encourage the start of labour in women who have passed their due-date.

B.a.b.e - I am a member of B.a.b.e (Brighton Acupuncture For Birth Experience), a group of acupuncturists who all have a common interest in enhancing pregnancy and the birth experience for mothers using our knowledge of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. We treat women and their partners trying to conceive and during their pregnancy. We are also available to attend births.

Menstruation - Many girls and women suffer from pre-menstrual symptoms and painful, heavy or irregular periods which result in their feeling unwell for quite a large amount of each month. Women are often prescribed the contraceptive pill to alleviate these symptoms. Chinese Medicine has a very different approach as it believes that it is important to treat the 'root cause' of the presenting symptoms. It does this by treating the major organs that Chinese Medicine believes influence the menstrual cycle - the kidneys, Liver, the Spleen and Chong Mai (the Penetrating Vessel, that influences the supply and proper movement of blood in the uterus). Acupuncture treatments carried out at different phases of the menstrual cycle help balance these organs and create a regular pain free cycle free from PMT.

Menopause - This should be a natural event in women's middle years. But in the West, the menopause has increasingly been treated as a 'disease' that must be treated with HRT or other drugs. Acupuncture can alleviate/eliminate many of the common symptoms linked to the menopause - hot flushes, night sweats, migraines, mood swings and depression.

For all women's' health issues, alongside the acupuncture treatments I offer advice in relation to diet, Chinese herbs, lifestyle and exercise regimes to help obtain optimum health.

Community work

I am the co-founder of Pathways To Health, a Brighton based charity established in 1996 which provides ear-acupuncture and traditional acupuncture to people with mental and emotional health issues and people with substance misuse issues.

I also provide acupuncture in Shoreham, at the Old School House, a community mental health project.

Professional development

I am a member of the British Acupuncture Council that guarantees that practitioners have achieved an approved standard of training in both Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine and are bound by their code of ethics and code of practice.

I am committed to continuous professional development and regularly attend lectures and seminars on Chinese Medicine and acupuncture; I am also a member of a peer supervision group in Brighton. 
   

Patient testimonials

Where I practise

I treat adults and children and practise at the following:- 

• Dyke Road Natural Health Clinic, 274 Dyke Road, Brighton

• The Acupuncture Clinic, 143 Portland Road, Hove

• Hampstead Road, Brighton

• Shoreham & District Mental Health Association, Southwick

For further information or bookings I can be contacted at The Acupuncture Clinic on 01273 722 422 or on mobile 07747 840671