Psoriasis Acupuncture Treatment

Plaques that thicken, crack and come back to the same places. A Chinese medicine treatment for psoriasis on the body and scalp, with Dr Cynthia White, RN & Doctor of Chinese Medicine.

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$140 · 60 minutes

AHPRA Registered, Chinese Medicine Board of Australia  ·  Dr Cynthia White, RN & Doctor of Chinese Medicine

Rose quartz gua sha tool drawn along the neck and decolletage

What's included in your 60 minutes

  • Chinese medicine consultation and review
  • Chinese medicine pattern diagnosis
  • Individualised body acupuncture
  • Local acupuncture around affected areas where appropriate
  • Gentle local skin stimulation where clinically appropriate
  • Topical herbal treatment where appropriate
  • Review of changes in plaques, dryness, inflammation and associated symptoms
  • Treatment adjusted according to your current presentation

Pricing

60 minutes · $140

Optional Chinese herbal medicine: initial herbal consultation +$50. Herbal medicine is charged separately and generally prescribed in two-week quantities to allow regular review and adjustment. Routine adjustments are included as part of ongoing treatment.

Topical support: an Indi Skin psoriasis cream and/or herbal balm may be incorporated into your treatment plan where appropriate. Products are purchased separately and are never required.

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Acupuncture needles placed along the upper back during a Chinese medicine treatment

Treating the plaques and the pattern underneath

Psoriasis behaves differently in every person. Where the plaques sit, how thick they are, whether they itch or crack, and what makes them flare — all of it varies, and all of it matters when deciding how to treat.

Chinese medicine works on two levels at once. Locally, at the affected skin, where treatment is adapted to the condition, location and severity of the plaques. And systemically, at the underlying pattern — the inflammation, dryness and internal factors associated with recurrence.

That is why this treatment is not a fixed protocol. What happens at your appointment depends on how your skin presents on the day, and it changes as your skin changes.

Dr Cynthia White, RN & Doctor of Chinese Medicine, works alongside your existing medical care rather than in place of it.

How we treat your psoriasis

  • Step 1: Assess

    We map where your plaques sit, how they behave, what triggers a flare, and the pattern underneath.

  • Step 2: Treat

    Body acupuncture, with local work around the affected areas where the skin allows it.

  • Step 3: Prescribe

    Topical herbal treatment and, where appropriate, internal Chinese herbs matched to your pattern.

  • Step 4: Review

    Plaques, dryness and irritation are reviewed each visit, and the treatment is adjusted as they change.

Questions you might have

Can you treat psoriasis on my scalp?

Yes. The scalp is one of the most common areas, and it's treated differently to skin elsewhere — local work is adapted to hair and to how the plaques sit, and any topical herbal preparation is chosen with that in mind. Tell us at your assessment how much of the scalp is involved.

My psoriasis flares and settles. When should I come in?

Either point is a reasonable place to start. During a flare, treatment gives more attention to the active plaques and the symptoms that come with them. Between flares, the focus shifts to the underlying pattern and the triggers that precede a flare. What we do is adjusted to which of those you're in.

Will you need to look at the affected skin?

Yes — assessing the plaques directly is how the local treatment gets decided, and how change is tracked over time. You only ever uncover the areas being treated, and you can decline any part of the examination.

Do the needles go into the plaques?

No. Body acupuncture uses points away from the affected skin, and where local acupuncture is used it is placed around an area rather than into inflamed, cracked or broken plaques — and only where it is clinically appropriate for the state of your skin that day.

I'm using a prescribed cream or a biologic. Can I still come?

Yes, and many clients do. Bring the details to your assessment so the topical work can be planned around what you're already applying. Chinese medicine is used alongside your medical care, not instead of it — don't stop anything your doctor has prescribed on our account.

What happens in my first appointment?

Sixty minutes, beginning with a full Chinese medicine consultation and pattern diagnosis, and a look at the affected areas. Treatment may then include individualised body acupuncture, local acupuncture around the plaques where appropriate, gentle local skin stimulation, and topical herbal treatment. Internal Chinese herbs are prescribed to your individual pattern where appropriate, following traditional use.

Acupuncture needles placed in the lower back during a treatment

Is this right for your skin?

This treatment supports:

  • Plaque psoriasis on the body
  • Scalp psoriasis
  • Dry, thickened or scaling plaques
  • Itchy or cracking skin
  • Psoriasis that recurs in the same areas
  • Elbows, knees, lower back and hairline patterns
  • Flares associated with stress
  • Skin that has become sensitised by long-term topical use
  • Psoriasis alongside existing medical treatment
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"Psoriasis is treated on two levels: the plaques, and the pattern underneath them."

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