Acupuncture and Transgender Health Concerns • Jamee Pineda • EAP076

Everyday Acupuncture Podcast

Photo by Nicolas Ladino Silva on Unsplash

Most of us think of gender as something that is rigid and fixed. But in the transgender world the boundaries are more fluidic.

In this episode we explore not just the particular health concerns, issues with access to the healthcare system, and challenges arising from discrimination and misunderstanding of the transgender community, but also take a look at how gender can be much more fluid and flexible than many of us imagine it to be.

If you are part of the transgender community you’ll find some helpful information here about how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be helpful. And if you are a practitioner, you’ll learn something about how to make your clinic a safe and inviting place for your transgender patients.

Show Highlights:
1:46 What pronoun do you like to go by?
4:05 The pronouns for gender are more than just she or he.
1141 There are specific health concerns in the trans community, one of which is simple and respectful access to the medical system.
16:41 Ways acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help with trans health concerns.
21:10 How acupuncture helps with the psycho-emotive level.
25:48 Jamee’s work with API Chaya treating the advocates of those helping the community of trauma survivors.
29:44 Signs of caregiver fatigue.
32:18 Some helpful things practitioners can keep in mind when treating the trans community.
35:28 How people in the trans community can find an acupuncturist.
38:03 Issues of building safety.

Jamee’s (he/him) Bio:

I am a queer, trans, Filipinx transplant from California practicing acupuncture and Chinese medicine at Unicorn Pins & Potions. Although currently in Seattle, I will be relocating to Transformational Acupuncture in DC in April 2018. My introduction to acupuncture was as a patient at a community clinic. I did not have health insurance at the time and it opened my eyes to the possibilities of medicine being accessible to a wide range of people. It didn’t matter that I was in a room full of strangers trying this weird thing called acupuncture. A space had been made accessible for people to heal in community. That experience inspired me to go back to school and it continues to inform how I practice now because there are many communities who need more spaces to heal. I strive to create an accessible healing space using acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, and body work with special consideration for the needs of queer and trans people of color. I love bringing creativity into the medicine and meeting people where they are at in their healing journey.

I love my work, but I also love my outside-of-work time. Just for fun I am learning hula, Tahitian dance, and Argentine tango. Despite being surrounded by outdoor adventure enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest, I am very much an indoor kid. Much of my leisure time this winter has been spent lounging with Primm the doberman and indulging in sci-fi/fantasy shows or books. N. K. Jemisin and Octavia Butler are my current favorites. If I get to choose my last meal, it’ll be biscuits and gravy.

Links and Resources:

Ingersoll Gender Center – www.ingersollgendercenter.org

Gay City – www.gaycity.org

Trans Health (Chinese Medicine Practitioners Only) – www.facebook.com/groups/Transhealthcasestudies

Trans Wellness for Practitioners – www.facebook.com/groups/1804712046420395

Gender Odyssey –www.genderodyssey.org

Philadelphia Trans Health Conference – www.mazzonicenter.org/trans-health

The Center of Excellence for Transgender Health (UCSF) – www.transhealth.ucsf.edu

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community, edited by Laura Erickson-Shroth

GLAAD’s Tips for Allies of Transgender People – www.glaad.org/transgender/allies

Cedar River Clinics’ Transgender Healthcare Toolkit

Prism Integrative Acupuncture (Katrina Hanson) – www.prismintegrativeacupuncture.com

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