Customer Reviews

Auriculotherapy Manual: Chinese and Western Systems of Ear Acupuncture

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Terry Oleson's Auriculotherapy Manual is the most comprehensive text on the subject. If you are practicing Auriculotherapy (a system of ear acupuncture) or intending to do so, this manual is a must-have. This edition is a vast improvement over the previous, which was difficult to use. The new edition is certainly not easy to use, but it's an improvement. The subject is deceptively complex. Just sticking a needle in someone's ear is not Auriculotherapy--there is a level of understanding required to use the system effectively, and using a medical feedback mechanism is essential.

Though of course this book is derived from a great deal of Chinese Medical history, it is a very Western-oriented book. Auriculotherapy developed in France as a complete system thanks to Dr. Paul Nogier, so this is to be expected. For a practitioner to master Auriculotherapy, one must incorporate both viewpoints--no small challenge! I personally would like to see someone who knows Traditional Chinese Medicine to co-write the next edition. The book would double in size! I think the Chinese Medical Theory that the Auriculotherapy System derived from deserves to be re-incorporated and included, for the medicine to be whole and complete. This is what's lacking from this text.

This book is clearly directed at the student and practitioner of the medicine, and not directed at dabblers or patients. Auriculotherapy is a very serious undertaking, and this is a serious book. Auriculotherapy is very difficult to learn from a book alone.

This is the text I require in the Auriculotherapy class I teach at the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

The 3rd edition of Auriculotherapy Manual by Terry Oleson can be used as a standard textbook. In my view, this is a highest praise in the world of acupuncture with its differing approaches and disparate methods. Those differences are necessary, I must add, as it is the nature of acupuncture to depend greatly on personal needs of the patient and abilities of the practitioner.
The previous reviewers do not indicate what edition of Auriculotherapy Manual they are reviewing. You must understand that 2nd and 3rd editions of this book are very different. The 2nd edition is spiral-bound and has the typesetting of a college lecture transcript and overall amateurish feel to it. The 3rd edition, on the other hand, is completely different: it is extensively re-written and published as a textbook. Unfortunately, the author and publisher did not indicate this difference on the cover of the book. I understand that the phrase "expanded and revised edition" in the title had been greatly abused by some less than honest publishers, but it would be clearly appropriate in this case.
This is a great book that belongs to the library of anyone interested in or practicing acupuncture and auriculotherapy.

There is no doubt this book is comprehensive, combining a variety of different styles of ear acupuncture in one book. There are lots of diagrams of ears showing you the location of the different points of the different styles, which can be a bit overwhelming and confusing for the newcomer. If you are experienced in this field and/or need to know this level of detail on ear acupuncture, this is the book for you. If you just want the basics of one form of ear acupuncture, I suggest�gChinese Auricular Therapy�h by Bai Xinghua (Scientific & Technical Documents Publishing House; ISBN: 7502322612), which is a good standard for Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners.

This is a well organized and beautifully presented introduction to auriculotherapy. Helpful features for the practitioner include a lay-flat spiral binding (perfect for the classroom/workshop setting, where one can refer to the book while examining a real person's ear), a colorful pull-out chart (with points clearly labeled and easy to read), and points from both the Chinese and French systems. There's a useful introductory section on the history and theory of ear acupuncture. The points are grouped in multiple ways, so one can easily find points via anatomical location on the ear, functional grouping (body systems and special points), and therapeutic use (particular disorders or conditions). Interesting additional material includes a discussion of electrotherapy and ear acupuncture and suggestions for diagnosis.

Based on the 3rd Edition of this manual, substantially upgraded from the 2nd Edition.

There are many features I like about this revised text. The extensive material at the beginning regarding the historical, theoretical, embryonic and physiologic background added for this addition, was quite helpful to me. An excellent sky view.

Oleson's book is written as a comprehensive manual. It uses 2-dimensional line drawings positioned next to a simulated 3-dimensional ear model to illustrate selected points. Unfortunately many, but not all points are shown anywhere near the text which describes how they are used and the reader is obliged to do extensive cross referencing with the index to track them. It might be wise when getting used to working with the treatment protocols to plan on having a set of blank ear diagrams to draw points the point for focus, because on any given page there are several protocols were are not illustrated, their points are not shown incorporated into the adjacent diagrams and even for the highlighted protocols there are extraneous points which would not be used.


A vast menu of point options is provided in a mostly well organized manner. Obviously, available "real estate" on the auricle is limited. Therefore it is inevitable that duplicate names and purposes exist for the same or nearly the same location. Frequently these proximities of space and function make sense -- but not always. He does not particularly address this phenomenon -- there is a complex discussion about why a given point might shift to another location at a different time or phase.

I still wish there was more scientific validation of the point actions and outcomes. However, there are generally very good explanations for anatomical landmarks of the ear and of other body systems that might be influenced. The manual also some case studies and useful clinical forms that could be applicable to other forms of acupuncture as well. varying nonmedical backgrounds.

I was frustrated with a few of Oleson's directions which are awkward to track. For example, the potential list of points for treating laterality dysfunction is on p. 284 but no nearby illustration (the facing page of illustrations are unrelated). One has to use the index at the back to find the written description of the laterality point which is actually not on the auricle at all (p 254) and two nonhelpful illustrations (page 256-257. These drawings locate the point out in blank space presumably representing the side of the face but congtain no meaningful anatomic details or landmarks except "sideburns". As you might guess, sideburns might be of limited value on faces for at least 50% of the population (i.e. females, and these clients might actually be a substantially greater portion of the seekers after auriculotherapy). Understandably, the laterality point is off the auricle -- but if listed it would at least have helped to provide location references with respect to the standard acupoint nomenclature. I was forced to refer to another text by Hecker, et al. to figure out how to locate the point.

In fact, I did not rate Oleson's manual with 5 stars, because in the search to clarify one of these out of bounds and mysteriously placed points, (e.g. the "laterality point") I found a great deal of benefit in the book by Hecker, Steveling and Peuker (Microsystems Acupuncture, The Complete Guide to Ear-Scalp-Mouth-Hand, 2006). Besides having covered more microsystems, it offered more expanded textual information, and contained very high quality photographs of the human ear (many of which were in color). The vastly improved depth perception of these images and their related zooms rapidly sorts out most of the confusion about point location, particuarly for points tucked away under bumps and folds. The locations become more "alive". Hecker, et al.'s book also highlights the differences between practice systems in a more orderly manner (e.g. Nogier's, the Chinese, and other contributors).

This book is adequate. But, being a TCM acupuncture student, I wanted a book strictly on Chinese Ear Acupuncture. Keep in mind that this book is not it. It has Chinese acupuncture points, but they are combined in the same diagrams as the European version of acupuncture. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm looking at the Nogier version of acupuncture treatment or the Chinese version. For me, it's better to separate the two systems, even if some of the points are jointly agreed upon and set as international standards.

THIS book is a must have for anyone practicing auricular therapy. It is the best out there, and includes scientific research to back up the theories and techniques which I have not read elsewhere. I do think that the illustrations and organization could be improved in the next edition.

Very interesting and effective kind of therapy. Can be performed at home. For free.I've tried it and it worked.
The book is well written and tries to be as clear as possible. Don't let yourself be put off by the complexities of the subject.
The thing to do is learn well the anatomy of the ear so you can target the right areas of your body.
The results can be very surprising and exhilarating. An example is the disappearance of pain.
I did not use needles or electricity, only pressure with a finger, and was able to rid myself of an annoying and painful problem.

More informative than I expected. Very important book for serious auricular practice. This book had some printing issues, so I returned it with the Amazon policy and had a replacement the next day (GREAT service).

I am an acupuncture student. The Auriculotherapy manual is a required textbook for one of my classes and has proven to be an amazingly helpful reference that will remain in my professional library after I graduate. The second edition is great for use in a clinical or practical class setting because it is spiral bound,it easily stays open to any page if you want to reference a diagram and still have your hands free for needling. The Auriculotherapy manual covers both the French and Chinese systems and has a clear helpful way of displaying the points that are hidden underneath the ridges & folds of the ear. This manual is a valuable book that should remain in your backpack at all times along with your Acupuncture Desk Reference.