What is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?

Preliminary note:  If you are really looking for a definition of TCM and want to learn more about Chinese medicine in general, please check out this page of articles written especially for folks who are new to the world of Chinese medicine and want to learn more.

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I was just reading over some old journal entries from when Deepest Health began last year.  One of the blogging techniques that I was taught by Yaro Starak during the Blog Mastermind training program was creating definition posts.  I did use that format to define various things, including Qigong, acupuncture and herbal medicine.  However, because I started to get interested in a lot of more complicated things and attracted some fairly sophisticated readers, I moved away from those basic types of posts.

I found a note that I should write a post about TCM – which really got me thinking.  There’s a fundamental problem with my blogging purpose.  I am interested in getting good information out there about Chinese medicine, it’s practice, power and philosophical foundation.  I’ve been putting that information out as I learn it, revising points as I’m able and hoping that my good intentions and transparency will make sure that the good information overcomes the bad.

But, I’m trying to do too many things at once.  How so?  Well, consider terminology.  When most people think about Chinese medicine, they think about acupuncture.  This is so much the case that most people simply call all of Chinese medicine “acupuncture,” even some practitioners.  One of my mentors even names his business using the word acupuncture and says nothing about herbs.  Why does he do this?  Because when most people think about contacting a Chinese medicine physician, the word that comes into their mind is “acupuncture.”  It just makes good business and marketing sense.

Which, apparently, I don’t have.  :)  By talking constantly about Classical Chinese Medicine on this blog, I end up missing out on picking up on a lot of folks who are searching for information about this medicine.  What do they search for if they are little more savvy?  Maybe “Chinese herbs” or even “traditional Chinese medicine,” and if they’re REALLY on it, “TCM.”  Those words appear very few times in any of my content.  :D  So, while I’m sitting here pumping out quality content, fighting the good fight, I’m missing probably half of my intended audience. In some way, I’m hoping to change the language around Chinese medicine.  I honestly don’t care if the word “classical” makes it in there – simply calling it Chinese medicine would be fine.

So, if in the coming months and years, you see me using TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine or Acupuncture a little bit more in the way that I write – do forgive me.  I’m simply using the common vernacular to try and get the information out to the people who are looking for it.

All that aside, I’m interested to know how terminology plays into your life around Chinese Medicine. If you have a business or work at a school, how is Chinese medicine discussed in your marketing materials?  Do you think there is some value in trying to change the language through marketing, or is that just dooming one to failure?  Do you find that your patients/students are confused about the language used to describe what we do?  Please leave your thoughts in the comments and, as always, thanks for reading.

Eric

Tagged as: Blogging, Business, ccm, classical-chinese-medicine, language, tcm, traditional-chinese-medicine