Acupuncture Expert

Hi, I’m Josh. I’m an acupuncturist based in Farnham, Surrey. I have a background in business and tech, a First-Class degree from the International College of Oriental Medicine (ICOM), and am part of the Senior Management Team/teacher at the oldest acupuncture college in the UK. When I find spare time, I am a triathlete.

“He is calm in every way possible which makes you feel comfortable. Courteous, understanding, and knowledgeable. Josh has become a good friend and has supported me through some very emotional times along with some other health issues, some of which I have not known about until he has tested my pulses I cannot recommend him more highly - you will not be disappointed if you put your trust in him.”

— Christine

Acupuncture Blends Science and Art

Acupuncture blends science, art, and applied philosophy into one beautiful medicine. It views health not just as the absence of illness or disease but as a state of harmony inside ourselves and within our environment. Acupuncture doesn’t view us as separate from the world around us; instead, it often comes down to how we stand in the world. The core role of an acupuncturist is to understand how a patient is within themselves through understanding the physical, mental, and spiritual. We try to bring harmony back into the body by treating the underlying cause of disease rather than just treating the symptoms.

Philosophy and understanding the world around us with a particular focus on nature is central to acupuncture’s thinking. It roots itself in the principles of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the natural world's rhythms. Everything in life is cyclical, which acupuncture profoundly understands and can be applied to the body. This is seen in styles of acupuncture, such as stems and branches, which are the roots of the practice of understanding both time and space. This adds a poetic yet practical framework to understanding the complexity of human health. By understanding the rhythms of life, the world around us, and the patient sitting in front of us, we can treat the whole person. All we are doing is engaging with the body's innate ability to heal itself, and the practitioner's role is to facilitate that healing process.

The elegance of acupuncture often can lie in both its simplicity and precision. At its core, it uses tiny needles to stimulate specific points on the body. This requires the practitioner to engage with a well-refined anatomy and physiology system developed over two thousand years of experience. Each point that we use as practitioners has its own unique properties, whether it be due to the location, the energies of the point, or even the beautiful point names that everyone has. Each point can bring therapeutic potential for physical ailments, emotional imbalances, and spiritual growth. When needles are added to the body with skill and intent, the effects are often subtle but profound. This reflects the artistry of a practice that balances intuition, deep knowledge, sensitivity, and passion.

Acupuncture is beautiful because it fosters a connection—to oneself, others, and the larger world. It encourages patients to listen to their bodies and understand their needs, promoting a holistic sense of wellbeing. Emotions, and honour their experiences. The practice itself is deeply humanistic, emphasising empathy and presence. In a world often dominated by quick fixes and impersonal treatments, acupuncture provides a sanctuary for more profound healing and self-discovery. It is a reminder that medicine can be gentle yet powerful, rooted in ancient wisdom yet ever-relevant in modern times.

Acupuncture for All

I’m passionate about treating any condition and any person. Acupuncture has the most incredible versatility because of it’s different way of understanding the body; both being able to treat preventatively but also being able to help ill health. Here’s a short video where I talk about the clinic, what I love to treat and a little bit about my journey into acupuncture.

Supporting the Acupuncture Profession

Most of this website talks about me as a practicing acupuncturist. Below are some of the snapshots around what I do to help the profession, due to my love and passion for it, which primarily covers building communities, supporting education and more.

Josh treating a patient whilst pointing to an acupuncture point on his hand.

Working for the International College of Oriental Medicine (ICOM)

Teacher

I help the college to teach points to the next generation of acupuncturists. I work with the second year students teaching them new points. It’s a great opportunity to keep my memory fresh, there are over 365 points in the body that I need to remember, and this ensures that I can help patients in my clinic by knowing the full repertoire.

Academic Resources Co-Ordinator (ARC)

I manage the CPD events at ICOM from finding that we have appropriate speakers, working on the content, through to managing the learners and ensuring everything runs smoothly.

My role also covers managing the academic resources such as looking after the library and being involved in the management of ICOM+ which is our wonderful post-graduate support group.

Josh is speaking with a patient whose main complaint is back pain.

Regional Co-ordinator for the British Acupuncture Council

I am the co-ordinator for Surrey’s Regional Group. This is a group that consists of roughly 70 practitioners who meet numerous times throughout the year to share their experience and knowledge. There is a mixture of online and in-person meetings where we ensure that there is a community in our local area.

Part of the role includes supporting recent graduates in ensuring that they have adequate support and mentoring once they have left the safety of their teaching intuition.

It’s great to be able to learn from people who practice different styles, have different backgrounds and to learn from people who sometimes have more clinical experience than I do.

Josh is treating a patient for fertility. She lays relaxed while Josh speaks with her.

Volunteer at the
Dutch TCM Congress

The Dutch TCM Congress is an amazing conference based in the Netherlands where they host talks with some of the most incredible and knowledgeable voices in the industry.

I volunteer for one of the leading congresses/conferences in Europe. It’s such a brilliant opportunity to work with amazing people and knowledgeable practitioners who share their decades of experience.

The role covers a range of areas including social media, web design and much more.

“Having never experienced acupuncture before I didn't know what to expect. Josh is one of the friendliest people I have ever met and not only did he put me at ease, but the session itself was very relaxing.”

— Sue

Additional Training

I’m a huge advocate of continuous learning. Here’s some of the courses I have completed to further my knowledge:

  • Facial Revitalisation Acupuncture

  • Treating Musculoskeletal Conditions using Traditional East Asian & Western Medicine

  • Treating Psycho-Emotional disorders with a Traditional East Asian Medicine approach

  • Su Wen Herbs (Chinese Herbal Course)

  • Zang Xiang 藏象 Images of the Organs

  • The 24 Solar Fortnights – ershisi jieqi

  • Master Tung Foundation Course

  • Mental Health in Classical Chinese

  • Remedial Massage Therapy (Diploma)

  • Stagnation and Release

  • Nei Jing Acupuncture with the Living Neijing Project

  • Clinical Neijing Program

  • Acupuncture for Fertility and IVF support

My Experience of Acupuncture

 

Don’t want to watch the video? Don’t worry, you can read about my experiences below.

  • Whilst I was studying my first degree (Business Management at Oxford Brookes), towards the end of my first year I suffered from Gastroenteritis. This should have been an infection which lasted under two weeks but for me it started a two year health disaster. I had severe stomach pains, diarrhoea, anxiety, and much more. I ended up being quite a complex case which Western doctors weren’t able to help me with. After showing negative for all of the tests that they conducted, including numerous blood tests, they diagnosed me with having IBS because there could be no other explanation.

    This meant that I had to go onto multiple different medications which often aggravated some of my symptoms or even created new problems for me to have to deal with. Not only was I taking the doctors prescribed medicine but I was also relying on things like Gaviscon. At one point they even put me on anti-depressants to try and alleviate my stomach pains but that turned me into a zombie so that didn’t work either.

    I was constantly wondering if life would ever be normal again after nearly two years of being bed-ridden. That was until for my 21st birthday my parents sent to me to an acupuncturist.

  • After two years of pain, my first ever acupuncture session felt like a bring shining light at the end of what had been a very dark tunnel.

    From the initial consultation I immediately felt heard, rather than the usual 7 minute rush whenever I saw my GP, where the acupuncturist took the time to get to know me as a person. He asked all sorts of questions about my diet, childhood, bowel habits, and questions I had never even considered before. I think that feeling of being heard gave me a feeling of a relief and I immediately felt that there was hope… The first time in a long time.

    After the first session I went on a weekly basis for about two months with the symptoms progressively getting better. It was amazing to see how much of a difference it made. One of the things I found amazing was that the problem was actually to do with my “Liver” rather than my stomach. It was this holistic view that inspired me a lot to believe in acupuncture.

  • After my weekly sessions for a while, I went slowly down to once a month before going to once every change of season.

    This always felt like a weird concept to me - going for treatments to prevent disease and to keep my body working optimally rather than only going when I was unwell. However, it meant that I never got ill and always had a real sense of harmony.

    This proactive health was really key to keeping on top of my health and after two years of pain, it was a small price to pay to live a normal life. It’s quite different to the typical Western approach but emphasises how Chinese Medicine places a focus on harmony within the body and mind rather than merely an absence of disease.

“Josh is clearly very passionate about his profession and is very knowledgeable. I felt in very safe hands. Highly recommended.”

— George

Professional Life Outside of Acupuncture

 

My Learning and Development experience

After graduating from my first degree, I worked for the largest training provider in the UK. My role was to build digital learning solutions for global businesses such as the British Council, Nestle, RB and more. The solutions covered topics that spanned from Project Management, Leadership, to Cyber Security and many more.  My role was to manage the entire process from pre-sales, project management, content writing, development work and through to post-project support.

My experience as a Platform Manager

I work as a Platform Manager for a fantastic company called Comparesoft, which is a B2B software comparison site. They are the fastest growing B2B software comparison platform that helps thousands of professionals each year save time, money, and hassle when deciding which software is the best for their business. My role spans many areas, including pre-sales, helping to oversee the operations, building the product, user research, data analysis and much more. The company achieves year-on-year growth and continues to see the team size grow.

Volunteering

I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the world. I’ve always volunteered my time to charities while working and studying. This includes working for numerous years as a School Governor, Plant Watering Assistant at my local National Trust, a Trustee for an education charity in Burkina Faso, and a Business Advisor/Board Member for Young Enterprise.

I’ve been really fortunate with these charities to greatly impact people’s lives.

I’m a Triathlete

In my spare time, I train quite religiously for triathlons. My swimming and running are decent although my cycling needs to be improved. I’ve always been a good swimmer, swimming competitively in childhood and having been a swim coach for a while too.

Being involved in the sport is the reason why I enjoy treating Musculoskeletal conditions. Putting my body under stress means I know what knee pain, back pain, and the like feels like. I also know first hand how effective acupuncture can be in helping with these conditions so that you are back training as soon as possible.

For me, it is an amazing way to relax after a day of hard work.

A picture of Josh, wearing all black, on a bike. This is during a triathlon event. Two people stand in the background talking.
Josh is in the front of two other athletes competing in a running event. All athletes are wearing black whilst people are in the background.
A picture of a swim training session as part of Josh's triathlon club. There are numerous people in an outdoor pool with a coach instructing them what to do.