About Acupuncture Studio

About Acupuncture Studio & Monique van de Elzen

Thank you so much for reading about me and the Auckland based Acupuncture Studio.

If you are considering acupuncture to help with or solve a health concern, then I would love the chance to show you what acupuncture can offer.

Please read on and I will share some personal information about myself as a practitioner and about my acupuncture clinic, and how we may be able to help you…

I am a traditionally trained acupuncturist based in Auckland with 19 years experience as a health practitioner. Prior to becoming an acupuncturist I worked as a physiotherapist. I qualified as a physiotherapist in the late 1980’s and immediately moved into private practice work specialising in sports injuries and manipulation.

This is important to know because many of my loyal clients like to know they are dealing with a credible and experienced professional.

At this time I was also very active in sports representing NZ in soccer for many years and achieving highly in triathlon and mountain biking. My passion for sports, naturally lead me into becoming a sports physiotherapist for both the New Zealand Womens soccer and softball  teams, as well as assisting with the Auckland Blues and Wellington rugby teams.

After working as a physiotherapist for eight years I completed a musculo-skeletal acupuncture course. This sparked my interest in alternative medicine. I was intrigued, as sometimes when using this form of acupuncture for musculo-skeletal injuries, I saw amazing results whilst at other times there was little change.

I was interested to learn more about the potential of acupuncture as a treatment method, but the real driving force that led me to study traditional Chinese acupuncture, was that it played a major role in curing me when I myself developed severe eczema. When I was in my mid 30’s, I was sprayed by a toxic aerial spray. As a result my skin broke out in red, angry, itchy and weeping sores. It was so severe that I could not work and the only treatment offered to me by the medical profession was steroids. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs was recommended to me as being excellent for skin ailments so I sought out treatment. With regular acupuncture treatment, Chinese herbs and some dietary changes I turned this around and my skin healed completely.

Acupuncture Auckland: East Meets West

Never one to do things by halves I needed to find out why acupuncture had been so effective for my skin and so embarked on further training. I went back to full-time study for 4 years and attained a Diploma in Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from the NZ School of Acupuncture and TCM.

I was lucky enough to spend my final clinical year under the guidance of acupuncturist David Craddock and after qualifying worked in his clinic for some years. His mentorship was invaluable and gave me an excellent grounding in practicing acupuncture and TCM.

Over this time I also became a Mum and now have three gorgeous sons. I conceived easily in my late 30’s using fertility boosting acupuncture. I had ongoing acupuncture during my pregnancy and during labour. This resulted in a trouble free pregnancy and a beautiful homebirth. I continue to treat my son’s with acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

I believe this personal experience allows me to combine the best of my western knowledge with the best of my eastern knowledge (East meets West) in my clinic. I have discovered why purely western style acupuncture does not always get the desired results.

In my experience the combination of western knowledge and eastern practice gets better outcomes. Of course, after completing my Diploma in TCM I now am able to treat a whole new raft of conditions as well as musculo skeletal injuries.

I have developed a special interest in a number of areas:

• Women’s health and fertility. There is evidence to suggest acupuncture can aid fertility in women and men and provide support during pregnancy and childbirth.
• Cancer. There is strong evidence (The Acupuncture Evidence Project – McDonald J, and Janz S, 2017) supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture to reduce Chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting and reduce fatigue. Acupuncture can work to complement  conventional treatment methods supporting the immune system. I have particular interest in treating women with breast cancer.
• Children. Acupuncture can be used for many childhood illnesses, such as colic, eczema, asthma.  Minimizing or reducing or eliminating the use of strong prescriptive medications.
• Stress management. Stress and anxiety can manifest in a number of ways , such as insomnia, depression, hypertension, chronic headaches and dizziness.  Acupuncture and lifestyle advice can be used for these conditions.
• Sports Injuries. I still have a passion for this area and often work in unison with other practitioners to get the best outcomes.
• Chronic injuries. Those injuries that you’ve had forever and no-one has been able to help. I love those challenges!
• Headaches and Migraines.  There is strong evidence (The Acupuncture Evidence Project – McDonald J, and Janz S, 2017) that tension and chronic headaches benefit from acupuncture.  As does the prevention of Migraine headaches.
• Allergic rhinitis (Hayfever). There is strong evidence (The Acupuncture Evidence Project – McDonald J, and Janz S, 2017) and I have seen from personal experience, many benefiting from acupuncture and Chinese herbs to reduce severity and frequency of hayfever symptoms.

As a practitioner, my point of difference or uniqueness lies in this ‘East meets West’ philosophy. Many clients that I see will have only heard of acupuncture before but will have little understanding of how it works. I believe I am able to explain the benefits of acupuncture in a way that most people can easily understand.

My patients are from all over the Auckland area and they feel a greater degree of trust in the treatment, as I can talk in a way that makes sense to them. I combine western and eastern treatment techniques to get the most effective outcome, ie manipulation with acupuncture for neck or lumbar problems.

Acupuncture Studio: An Environment You’ll Love

As a practitioner I have achieved an excellent reputation and have many loyal clients and lots of word of mouth recommendations.

My clinical environment is not the typical stark, sterile environment of many clinics. The Acupuncture Studio is an inviting and friendly environment where you can feel comfortable to receive your acupuncture treatment. The practice uses up-to-date technology and as a practitioner I regularly attend seminars so I am up to date with the latest acupuncture research. I am a member of the Acupuncture NZ (New Zealand Register of Acupuncturists) and the PNZ (Physiotherapy New Zealand).

The Acupuncture Studio offers you quality acupuncture treatment along with excellent customer service, so that from the first point of contact you will feel valued and respected. My focus is to work with all my patients to achieve optimum health and therefore enhance their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.