Meet Alison Savory
Alison Savory, BSc (Hons), DipTN, LicAc, MBAcC, ACT, PhD Acupuncture & Traditional East Asian Medicine
Alison is a highly respected and experienced Acupuncturist and Traditional Eastern Medicine Health Practitioner.
Since childhood, Alison has always wanted to help “make sick people better“.
Initially this led her into clinical research(with a First Class degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) and a PhD in Clinical Medicine from Cambridge. She had a successful fifteen-year career in the Pharma industry sector, up to senior Global and European commercial and medical roles in a wide range of therapeutic areas, but with increasing seniority came the realisation that she was increasingly isolated from her original goals.
In 2004 her life changed forever when she became a mother, which gave her an opportunity to explore how to “make sick people better” a more direct way. She wrote about this in an article for her NCT branch, of which she was Co-Chair. [link to NCT article] However, it wasn’t until her little boy was two and she was waiting in the dentist with him that she read a magazine piece on Acupuncture and Fertility [link to Fertility section under Areas of Focus],which was big news to her. She started to explore this approach and was initially convinced by the clinical evidence base and then captivated by the rich and deep holistic philosophy and firmly believes that Acupuncture is both and Art and a Science. It has the capacity to not just “make sick people better” but to help them reach their potential and live life well; something we can all aspire to.
She remains deeply indebted to her teachers and her own therapist for guiding her on this path and retains a daily sense of wonder at the power of this whole medicine. She lectured and supervised students for several years at the prestigious College of Chinese Medicine in Reading, where she created and delivered the Pain Management module and also lectured on Gynaecology. Whilst a student there herself, she received a national research award from the British Acupuncture Council for her dissertation on the effect of Acupuncture on the use of Pain medication.
Alison has never lost sight of her initial wonder at the power of Acupuncture for Fertilityand its benefits in Pregnancy. This remains a major focus of her clinic and study and in 2013 she founded and is still Chair of ACT Berkshire, a professional network of Acupuncturists with a special interest in Fertility and Pregnancy. ACT provides a support network and specialist training in these areas and connects with other specialists throughout the UK. She cares deeply that all people should have access to this wonderful system of medicine and is a volunteer Acupuncturist at My Cancer My Choices Charity working within the NHS at the HealthSpace, Brant’s Bridge, Bracknell
The core premise of “one” is that each person is treated as one whole person, so Alison welcomes allpatients who have a desire and commitment to make changes and restore health and balance, ultimately so they can reach their full potential and live life well.
When not treating patients in the clinic or studying, Alison loves to go for long walks on Devon beaches, camping in Wales, playing with her children, reading fantasy novels in a hot tub and is learning to sail, aiming to complete her Day Skipper in 2017.
Alison & fellow Fire-walkers for My Cancer My Choices, raising over £ 7000.
Qualifications & Professional Membership
- BSc (Hons) Acupuncture (First Class)
- Licentiate in Acupuncture (LicAc)
- Professional Diploma in Tui Na (Chinese therapeutic massage) (Distinction)
- PhD in Clinical Medicine (Cambridge)
- Bsc (Hons) Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (First Class)
- Full Member of the British Acupuncture Council
- Founder & Chair of Acupuncture for Conception to Childbirth Team(ACT) Berkshire [http://www.actberks.org.uk/alison-savory.html]
- Member of the British Fertility Society
- Member of Maternity Network Berkshire
- License to Practice Acupuncture from Bracknell Forest & Wokingham Councils
Alison is a full member of, and acts as a national spokesperson for the British Acupuncture Council. You can watch her talk about Traditional Acupuncture as part of the National Awareness Week 2017 (6th to 12th March 2017) You can also watch her patients talking about Acupuncture for Fertility and Back Pain, recorded by the British Acupuncture Council.
When you decide to have acupuncture treatment you’ll want to be sure you’re going to be in safe hands. Seeing Alison, a British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) member, will bring:
- Degree-level training
- British Acupuncture Council members are fully trained in acupuncture to degree level, meeting standards laid down by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
- Codes of professional behaviour
- All members agree to abide by the BAcC’s codes of professional conduct and safe practice, which lay down benchmark standards for the whole of the UK acupuncture profession.
- Professional development
- Every member has to undertake at least 30 hours continuing professional development a year in order to remain on the BAcC register.
- Public recognition
- The British Acupuncture Council is widely recognised and supported by other key health and care stakeholders in the UK.
- PSA approved
- The British Acupuncture Council has been rigorously assessed by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) and awarded the PSA quality mark. All of our members are part of this government-backed initiative to protect the public.
- Indeed, the PSA recommends that the public only see practitioners who belong to an accredited – or statutory–register:
Overview of Continued Professional Development As a self-confessed and deeply committed Life-Long Learner, Alison is deeply committed to developing her clinical skills and understanding of Traditional East Asian Medicine, to better serve her patients. Since qualifying in 2012 she has undertaken at least 100-200 hrs per year of formal post-graduate courses as well as personal study and reflection. These support her areas of specialist interest as well as general xxxx theory and techniques.
Chinese Herbal Medicine Having initially studied towards a Diploma in TCM (Chinese)Herbal Medicine, Alison was drawn to the classical approach, based on core texts dating back over 4000 years. She is now in the second year of her Chinese Herbal Medicine apprenticeship at the Classical Chinese Medicine Institute. She is already trained in, and dispenses, Chinese Medicinal mushrooms (a food) in her fertility & Pain/Auto-Immune clinics. This wealth of holistic experience is integrated across her treatments.
Continued Professional Development (CPD)
Fertility
- Reproductive Autoimmunity (Advanced) (Naava Carmen)
- Acupuncture for Gynaecology and Fertility (Jani White)
- Acupuncture for PCOS & Endometriosis (Jani White)
- Male & Female Fertility (Jill Glover)
- Fertility & Obstetric Clinical Skills (ACT Berkshire)
- Eight Extra-Ordinary Vessels in Fertility (ACT Berkshire)
- Eight Extra-Ordinary Vessels in Fertility (Jani White)
- Acupuncture for Gynaecology and Fertility (Jani White)
- Fertility in Older Women & Immune Disorders (Naava Carmen)
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (Naava Carmen)
- The Treatment of Infertility by Chinese Medicine (Prof. Yuning Wu, Beijing)
- Nourishing Foods for Fertility (Frances Turner)
Pregnancy
- Acupuncture in Pregnancy (Dr Debra Betts)
- Pregnancy Care for Specific Conditions (Dr Debra Betts)
- Confidence in Maternity Acupuncture (D Betts)
- Step Further in Obstetric Acupuncture (Sarah Budd)
- Fertility & Obstetric Clinical Skills (ACT Berkshire)
- Treating Pregnant Women (Rebecca Avern)
- Step Further in Obstetric Acupuncture (Sarah Budd)
- Obstetrics (Jani White)
- Doula Training (Michel Odent)
Women’s Health
- Acupuncture for Gynaecology and Fertility (Jani White)
- Japanese Acupuncture (Gynaecology focus) (Marian Fixler)
Mental & Emotional Health
- NADA (Detox Ear Acupuncture) (Rachel Peckham)
Pain & Inflammation
- Acupuncture for Integrated Pain Management (Conference)
- Battlefield Acupuncture (Pain) (John Howard)
Cancer Support
- Getting My Life Back after Cancer (Dr Beverly de Valois)
Auto-Immune Disorders
- Allergy & Auto-immune disorders (Ken Lloyd)
- Reproductive Autoimmunity (Advanced) (Naava Carmen)
- Reproductive Autoimmunity (Advanced) (Naava Carmen)
Diet & Lifestyle (TCM)
- Understanding & Using Medicinal Mushrooms in Practice (Martin Powell)
- Chinese Herbs as Food (Ken Lloyd)
- Health Preservation (TCM)(Philip Weeks)
- Chinese Nutrition TCM (Daverick Leggett)
- Nourishing Foods for Fertility (Frances Turner)
General Acupuncture & Other Techniques
General Acupuncture
- Electroacupuncture (Stephen Lee)
- Trigger Point Acupuncture (N Garner)
- Scalp Acupuncture (Dr Suzanne Robidoux)
- Yuan Qi Classical Acupuncture (Dr Suzanne Robidoux)
- Cosmetic Acupuncture (Paul Adkins)
- Qi & Needle Technique (Angie Hicks)
- Beyond Needling (Michael Phoenix)
- Advanced Needling (Charlie Buck)
Other Techniques
- The Science of Gua Sha (Dr Arya Nielsen)
- Tung Acupuncture (Levels 1,2,3,4,5) (Philip Weeks)
- Focusing for Acupuncturists (Angela Hicks)
- Neuromuscular Taping (Martin Powell)
- Japanese Moxa (Snow Wang)
- Liu Jing: Six Divisions (Rupert Lander)
- The Face: Cosmetic Revitalisation & Common Illnesses (Jong Baik)
- Sensory Acuity (Dr John Hicks)
- Five Elements -Getting Better at Getting the CF (Angie & Dr John Hicks)
- Universal Process (1-3)(Satyen Raja)
- Current First Aid Certificate (Adult Basic Life Support)
- British Acupuncture Council Conference (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
