#468
July 7, 2026

The Challenge of Chinese Medicine
Alex Jacobs

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As acupuncture and Chinese medicine face regulatory pressure and institutional change on both sides of the Atlantic, many practitioners are asking what it takes to preserve the tradition while still being taken seriously as medical professionals.

In this conversation, we visit with Alex Jacobs, CEO of the British Acupuncture Council, we explore the relationship between tradition and regulation, and how this balance shapes education standards, professional identity, and public trust in the medicine.

We also discuss the value of holding contradiction in clinical practice, the difference between the “disciple” and the “heretic” as two complementary ways of learning, and the deeper role of listening and the heart in diagnosis.

Listen in for a discussion on regulation, lineage, and mastery, and staying rooted in the Dao of the medicine while navigating the demands of practicing it today.

In this episode, we discuss:

  •       A career without boredom – Why Chinese medicine keeps practitioners endlessly engaged, frustration and all.
  •       Growth through discomfort – How treating patients outside one’s comfort zone drives professional development.
  •       Hypercritical practitioners – Why clinicians tend to focus on what didn’t work rather than what did.
  •       The unconscious clinician – How skills become embodied and invisible to the practitioner over time.
  •       A teacher in Tainan – Alex’s path into Chinese medicine through language study and a chance meeting in Taiwan.
  •       Yuanfen and willingness – Unpacking the idea of fate as opportunity meeting readiness.
  •       Accredited voluntary regulation – How the UK’s unique regulatory model works for acupuncture.
  •       Regulation versus freedom – Reconciling a profession’s instinct toward independence with the need for standards.
  •       Level six and medical identity – Why degree-level education matters for professional recognition.
  •       Disciples and heretics – Two complementary orientations toward learning: deepening into one tradition versus seeking common ground   across many.
  •       Plurality and synthesis – Volker Scheid’s framework for understanding the many schools of Chinese medicine.
  •       TCM as common soil – Reassessing Traditional Chinese Medicine as a foundation rather than a limitation.
  •       Education in crisis – Comparing the cost and stability of acupuncture training in the US and UK.
  •       Listening with the heart – Why true understanding of patients and colleagues requires love, patience, and holding contradiction.

In complex cases, always ask yourself what you know for sure and start from there.

Alex Jacobs BSc, MSc, MBAc

 

I am a practising acupuncturist, herbalist, tuina practitioner, yangsheng and qigong teacher working in London, UK. I am also the CEO of the largest acupuncture body in the UK, the British Acupuncture Council and previous the president and CEO of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine.

I became interested in Chinese medicine while studying Chinese language in Taiwan in my 20s. I have particular interests in shan disorder, seasonal yangsheng and dietary therapy.

Links and Resources

Explore Alex Jacobs’ website, check out the upcoming conference, and learn more about the British Acupuncture Council.

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