Skip to main contentAcupuncture for stress, anxiety and emotional wellbeing at The HVN addresses the physical and psychological toll of chronic stress — with precision TCM care led by Susan Gu, who heads our Traditional Chinese Medicine team.
Price: From £200 | Duration: From 45 minutes
In the relentless pace of modern life, stress has become so pervasive it is often treated as unavoidable. But chronic stress – the kind that disrupts sleep, depletes energy, destabilises mood, and quietly erodes physical health – is neither normal nor something to simply push through.
At The HVN, Susan Gu, who leads our Traditional Chinese Medicine team, offers acupuncture as a clinically grounded and profoundly restorative approach to stress and emotional health. TCM has a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between emotional states and physical wellbeing, one that recognises how unresolved stress, anxiety, grief, and emotional overwhelm manifest as tangible disruptions in the body’s organ systems, energy flow, and hormonal balance.
Treatment is entirely personalised. Susan Gu works to identify the specific pattern of imbalance driving your stress response and emotional symptoms, designing a programme of care that supports both immediate relief and long-term resilience.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, emotional health is inseparable from physical health. Chronic stress depletes the Kidney – the body’s deepest reserve of vital energy – while anxiety and overthinking tax the Heart and Spleen. Prolonged emotional suppression or frustration disrupts the Liver’s ability to regulate the smooth flow of Qi, leading to stagnation that manifests as tension, irritability, low mood, and physical symptoms throughout the body.
Each session includes a 15-minute consultation followed by 30 minutes of needling.
As head of The HVN’s TCM team, Susan Gu addresses each of these patterns with precision, using acupuncture to regulate the nervous system, restore energetic flow, and create the internal conditions for genuine emotional equilibrium.
What your session may include:
Acupuncture Needling: Carefully selected acupoints to calm the Shen (spirit), regulate the nervous system, smooth Liver Qi stagnation, and tonify the Heart and Kidney. Key points include Baihui (GV20), Shenmen (HT7), Neiguan (PC6), Taichong (LV3), and Zusanli (ST36).
Moxibustion: Warming therapy to tonify depleted Qi and Yang energy in those whose stress has manifested as exhaustion, numbness, or emotional flatness.
Tui Na & Acupressure: Targeted manual therapy along the pericardium and Heart meridians to release tension, calm the nervous system, and support emotional processing.
Breathing & Mindfulness Integration: Susan Gu draws on TCM’s tradition of mind-body regulation, incorporating breath awareness and simple Qigong-inspired practices to extend the benefits of treatment between sessions.
Dietary & Lifestyle Guidance: Practical, constitution-specific recommendations to support the Heart, nourish the Spleen, and protect the Kidney from further depletion.
Safety & Suitability
Acupuncture for stress and emotional wellbeing is safe for most individuals and can be used alongside therapy, counselling, psychiatric medication, or other mental health support. Susan Gu conducts a thorough consultation at your first appointment and will work collaboratively with your existing care team where appropriate.
Expected Results
Many clients report a profound sense of calm and mental clarity immediately following their first session. With regular treatment, improvements in sleep quality, stress resilience, mood stability, and overall emotional wellbeing build cumulatively over time.
Your first session is a comprehensive TCM assessment with Susan Gu, covering your stress history, emotional symptoms, lifestyle, sleep, and constitution — followed by a full acupuncture treatment and personalised programme recommendation.
Each session includes a 15-minute consultation followed by 30 minutes of needling.
Price: From £200
Duration: From 45 minutes
A structured programme of sessions designed to build lasting nervous system resilience and emotional stability, with Susan Gu leading your care at every stage.
Price: From £1620
Duration: TBA
Acupuncture for Stress & Emotional Wellbeing at The HVN is particularly effective for:
Susan Gu leads The HVN’s Traditional Chinese Medicine team, with deep expertise in the relationship between emotional health and physical wellbeing. Her practice is informed by TCM’s holistic understanding of the mind-body connection, and by a genuine commitment to creating a clinical environment where the full complexity of a person’s emotional experience is seen, understood, and treated.
Stress and emotional imbalance rarely exist in isolation. Susan Gu treats the whole picture.
Yes. Acupuncture is considered a safe treatment when performed by a qualified practitioner using sterile, single-use needles. At The HVN, every treatment is delivered by experienced Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners following rigorous clinical standards and a personalised approach to care. Before treatment begins, we conduct a detailed consultation to understand your health history, symptoms, and goals, ensuring acupuncture is appropriate for your needs.
Acupuncture at The HVN is led by Susan Gu, a highly experienced Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner with a distinguished clinical background and family heritage in Chinese medicine. She is renowned for her pioneering Three-Dimensional Acupuncture Method, which combines traditional diagnostic principles with a modern, integrative approach to support hormonal health, stress resilience, circulation, fertility, pain management, and overall wellbeing.
The HVN also works with highly qualified acupuncture practitioners who share the clinic’s commitment to personalised, longevity-focused care.
Your first acupuncture appointment at The HVN begins with a comprehensive consultation. Your practitioner will explore your health history, lifestyle, symptoms, wellness goals, and any underlying factors that may be contributing to your concerns. This allows us to understand your individual constitution and create a treatment plan tailored specifically to you.
If appropriate, your acupuncture treatment may be carried out during the same appointment. Many clients find the experience deeply relaxing and leave feeling calmer, more balanced, and refreshed. Depending on your goals, your practitioner may also discuss complementary therapies available at The HVN, including cupping, acupressure, or functional wellness support.
Most people find acupuncture far more comfortable than they expect. The needles used are extremely fine and are significantly thinner than those used for injections or blood tests. You may notice a mild sensation such as tingling, warmth, heaviness, or a gentle ache when a point is activated, but treatment is generally well tolerated.
At The HVN, acupuncture is designed to support nervous system regulation and restore balance throughout the body. Many clients find treatments deeply calming, with some even falling asleep during their session.
