Acupuncture
in English
Living in Marseille and looking for acupuncture without having to explain your symptoms in a second language?
Consultations are held in English or Italian as easily as in French. Sessions last 1h15 and cost 65 €, in a quiet room near Cinq-Avenues — acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and Japanese moxibustion.
Describing pain is hard enough
in your own language
Most of what happens in a first acupuncture session is talking. I ask how you sleep, how you digest, when the pain is worse, what makes it better, what else changed around the time it started. In a language you are still learning, that conversation flattens out — you give the short answer instead of the accurate one, and the treatment that follows is built on the short answer.
I have been practising in Marseille since 2016 and I consult in English and in Italian. Nothing about the treatment changes; what changes is that you can say exactly what you mean, and ask what you actually want to ask.
This matters particularly if you have arrived recently. A move brings its own symptoms — broken sleep, digestion that no longer behaves, a body that seems to have lost its footing. These are among the most common reasons people come here in their first year in France.
Please note: I am not a medical doctor and acupuncture does not replace medical care. I work alongside it — I never question a prescription or a treatment you are following, and for anything undiagnosed I will ask you to see a GP first.
Acupuncture is not reimbursed by the French social security system when practised by a non-physician. A named invoice is issued after each session, and some private health insurers (mutuelles) reimburse a number of sessions per year — worth checking your policy.
Four tools, one approach
Not a protocol applied to a diagnosis. What I use depends on what I find on the day — and I explain what I am doing and why as we go.
Acupuncture
Mainly the “balance method” styles of Dr Tan and Master Tung, which often treat at a distance from the painful area: needles go in the forearm or the leg while you move the shoulder or the neck. Disconcerting the first time, and frequently the point at which something releases.
Chinese herbal medicine
Classical Jing Fang formulas from the Shang Han Lun, adjusted from session to session. This is rare in Marseille and it is the most powerful tool for a long-standing pattern: a decoction works every day, where a needle works once a week.
Japanese moxibustion
Fukaya style — grains of mugwort the size of a rice grain, burnt on precise points. Finer and more exact than the Chinese method. Very useful for chronic pain, tendinitis, deep fatigue and cold patterns.
Facial acupuncture
The Korean FACE® technique of Dr Jeon Hwa Song — a natural alternative to botox, with no injection. I am the only practitioner she has certified in the PACA region. 125 € per session. Dedicated site (in French).
What people come for
Back pain, sciatica, neck and shoulder pain, tendinitis. Migraines and tension headaches. Insomnia and anxiety. Digestive trouble and IBS. Menstrual pain, menopause, fertility support alongside IVF. Chronic fatigue and burnout. Tinnitus. Support during cancer treatment. Smoking cessation is also available at the practice, with a colleague, using the Chiapi method.
What actually happens
We talk for about twenty minutes. I look at your tongue and take the pulses at both wrists — this is how Chinese medicine reads a terrain rather than a symptom. Then you lie down, dressed or in your underwear depending on the areas involved.
The needles are sterile, single-use, and thinner than a hair. Most people do not feel them going in; what you may feel afterwards is a dull, spreading heaviness around the point, which is the sensation we are looking for. They stay in for twenty to thirty minutes. If moxibustion is indicated you will feel a brief, clean heat, nothing more.
The whole appointment takes 1h15. If a herbal formula makes sense, I write the prescription at the end and explain how to prepare it.
How many sessions depends on how long the problem has been there. Something recent often responds in two or three. A pattern you have carried for years is measured in months, and I will tell you honestly which of the two I think you are in — including when I think acupuncture is not the right answer for you.
Getting here, and booking
- Address
- 10, Place Sébastopol — 2nd floor, 13004 Marseille
- Metro
- Cinq-Avenues Longchamp (line 1), 4 minutes on foot
- Tram
- Longchamp (T2), Boulevard Chave (T1)
- Parking
- Paid on-street around the square; free after 7pm and on Sundays
- Hours
- Monday to Friday 9am–8pm · Saturday 9am–1pm, by appointment
- Fees
- 65 € per 1h15 session · 125 € facial acupuncture · herbs invoiced separately
- Payment
- Card, cash, cheque or transfer. Named invoice issued for your insurer.
- Languages
- English, French, Italian
A text message is the surest way to reach me — I answer between sessions. Online requests are confirmed by me personally; no slot books itself.
Questions before booking?
Text me what is going on and I will tell you honestly whether I think I can help.
Le site complet est en français : acupuncture-marseille.fr — FAQ · tarifs · à propos · blog