Today we’d like to introduce you to MG McCullough.
Hi MG , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In my late 20’s and four months after having run my first marathon, I could hardly get out of bed. All lab tests turned up normal, and a medical doctor recommended acupuncture. Terrified and skeptical–but also hopeful–I booked an acupuncture appointment, and after seven weeks of treatment, I was a completely different person.
Fast forward through a lot of life changes, and I decided to go to acupuncture school; I packed my car, and my dog & I were off to California. On the first day of school, teachers and administrators excitedly told us the story of how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) came to be–in what’s referred to as the Cultural Revolution, Mao took over China and had his cabinet create a form of Chinese medicine that could be taught to Chinese citizens who were not acupuncturists or medical doctors so that they could be quickly trained and sent out across China to provide healthcare. These people were called Barefoot Doctors, which is a really neat story–until you learn what was left out.
As I was learning TCM in the classroom, I was also getting treated for migraines, and despite learning that certain treatments were supposed to help, it felt like the migraines I was experiencing were getting worse. At the same time, I had a few teachers who were students of Jeffrey Yuen, an 88th generation Daoist priest, who, through his family lineage, was verbally taught (no books) Chinese medicine as it was practiced prior to TCM. This was important in my journey, because I was quickly losing confidence in TCM and at the same time learning that what came before was significantly different than what I was required to learn in school.
Living in Los Angeles was an amazing experience but had become a little too much for my nervous system, so I decided to move back to New Mexico to complete my education, and this is where my trajectory changed dramatically. It was there that I would have a conversation with my clinical supervisor about my concerns about the limitations of TCM and my interest in learning what came before. It so happened that she had invited a New York-based acupuncturist, Ann Cecil-Sterman, to New Mexico to teach exactly this. Ann, as fate would have it, was a senior student of Jeffrey Yuen, and was the first person to catalog this pre-TCM knowledge that Jeffrey had been teaching for 20+ years around the world. This book would become for me the one thing that I would save if my house was on fire.
TCM is the term used worldwide to refer to Chinese Medicine, but it really only represents a tiny fraction of the actual practice. The reason this is so critical to understand is because for as many people as benefit from TCM, it comes up short for a lot of people. And understandably, these people come away from this experience believing that acupuncture is a sham when in actuality, they don’t have all the information–and neither did their acupuncturist!
The focus of my practice is, non surprisingly, is migraines, autoimmunity, & other chronic or “weird” things–those things that you’ve seen all the doctors and had all the tests for, but no one can really figure it out. I always want people to know that there is hope for healing and being well, even when acupuncture was not helpful in the past.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It might sound strange at first, but one of the challenges for me in my practice is the general public’s perception of acupuncture. People are increasingly familiar with acupuncture, but what people are more often exposed to is a mechanical version of the practice. “This point does this thing, and that point does that thing.” Many acupuncturists structure their practices similar to an allopathic medical practice, where there is very little face to face time; practitioners put in some needles and go to the next patient. But Chinese medicine is a far more sophisticated system that has immense healing potential if we, as practitioners, take the time to dive into it deeply. Communicating this value in a world that is so focused on quick fixes and quick results is a challenge.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Dr. MG McCullough?
Something that is very different about my practice is that I also offer remote acupuncture sessions. Naturally, when people first hear “remote acupuncture”, they’re curious if I’m going to tell them where to put needles, but the needles themselves are actually just tools to focus the intention of the treatment and aren’t ultimately necessary. I’ve treated people across the US and around the world with stunning results, and it amazes me every time.
I’m very proud to practice the way that I do, and I’m grateful for the ways that what I have learned helps patients who work with me. Worldwide, we’re a small but growing group of acupuncturists who are going deeper into this ancient practice, and it’s really rewarding to see the ways it allows people to become free from the burden of chronic disease and go on to enjoy their lives.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
So many people, myself included, have seen their health problem resolve from ‘alternative’ treatment while waiting for an appointment or lab test/imaging. As our current healthcare system gets taxed further and wait times increase, I think we’ll see more people taking more preventative health measures and turning to methods of healthcare that were once considered alternative.
Pricing:
- 295/single session
- 1494/six week package
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drmgmccullough.com
- Instagram: @drmgmccullough
- Facebook: drmgmccullough
- Youtube: drmgmccullough
- Other: The Original Medicine Podcast (available on Spotify, Apple, & Youtube)
