Practitioners: Nicola Renovich

Lic.Ac, BA (Hons).

I  began my studies with a BA in Modern Languages at Cambridge University. The study of Contemporary European Literature led me to take an interest in Eastern Philosophy. After then spending time travelling in Asia with a long standing curiosity about different systems of Medicine, I decided to study Chinese Medicine. I trained for 5 years at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading. The training at this college is fully recognized and accredited by The British Acupuncture Council. This combined studying Traditional Chinese Medicine with Five Element Theory and Chinese Patent Herbal Formulas. The basis of the training is a thorough grounding in the philosophy of Chinese Medicine with the art of Pulse and Tongue Diagnosis and what this reveals about the internal harmony of the body and mind.

I completed Post Graduate Training with Meir Schneider in San Francisco expanding my understanding of the body through massage, bodywork and self-healing exercises. I went on to complete various post graduate modules in scalp acupuncture with Dr.Zhu, specialist in Neurological disorders. I have extensive experience treating Fertility, and also practice Obstetric Acupuncture for Childbirth having supported a number of women in their labour, pre, during and post birth. I have completed Post Graduate training in both female and male Fertility Acupuncture, IVF Support, Pregnancy Acupuncture and Acupuncture for Childbirth.

My main inspiration has been studying and undergoing further training whenever possible with Jeffrey Yuen, 88th generation Daoist Master of the Jade Purity Yellow Emperor Lao Zi School, and Ann  Cecil Sterman: author of Advanced Acupuncture. To date I have been privileged to study in the following specialist areas with Jeffrey Yuen: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Gynaecology including fertility acupuncture and childbirth, and advance training in Pulse Diagnosis, among many other aspects of Classical Chinese Medicine. I also studied the use of Essential OIls in Chinese Medicine and how these can be used to treat many conditions. 

I am a fully licensed Acupuncturist and adhere to a strict code of Safe Practice and Code of Professional Conduct. I also offer Guasha which is a form of stone massage which releases the fascia. Combined with specific blends of herbal and essential oils guasha can help to alleviate muscular and neurological pain. Combining Acupuncture with Guasha and Oils I've helped many people overcome pain from bulging and herniated discs.

In January 2008 I set up the Haven Health Clinic with a view to find ways in which Complementary Therapists from different traditions could complement each other by working together. 

Over 19 years in practice treating many couples with fertility, and supporting them through the huge transitions of pregnancy and birth, and then supporting patients with terminal illnesses and in palliative care I realised that I have a strong passion for working with people going through big life transitions. This can take many forms from a divorce, a career change, moving house, a challenging diagnosis, or a bereavement.

My understanding after many years is that underpinning so much of chronic illness is usually a disharmony between the body and mind which manifests in a lack of self care, and is intrinsically related to one's relationship with self worth rooted in childhood experience. A key way to strengthen self worth and thereby improve all other aspects of self care and then health appears to be to allow for the recognition and expression of loss and grief in one's life. Helping people to gently identify loss, and allow it to transform them can lead to profound deep healing. My current passion is to explore this further through training in facilitating grief rituals and retreats. If you'd like any further information about please do get in touch. My email is nicolarenovich@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you

Nicola

Testimonials

That time was invaluable. I felt I was definitely doing something to improve the health of both me and my baby, which was in complete contrast to the scary things that were happening around us. I would (and do) recommend Nicola to anybody who can get to her for sessions, even five years on, I just recommended her to a pregnant friend this morning.

Nicola is an amazing practitioner. She’s calm, professional and confident and all of that oozes from her. Unlike experiences I’ve had with other acupuncture practitioners, I barely felt anything and had no unwanted side effects. 5 Years on & I still recommend her to everyone in Devon who asks me about acupuncture. Unfortunately I don’t live close enough anymore, or I’d be up there every week! I tried not to have any expectations beforehand but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked and how quickly – it was definitely a lifeline at that point, even though the conventional medics around me at that point were very anti complementary therapies. It brought my pain, blood pressure and overall anxiety level right down.

Involved in the teaching of human physiology for a number of years, I had a general interest in acupuncture, the fact that it did seem to be effective in certain situations and it's possible mechanism of action.

It was a year or two after formal retirement, that I began to get what were clearly arthritic pains in the joints of some of my fingers. These became sufficiently painful sometimes that I felt the need for some therapeutic action. Reluctant to use conventional anti-inflammatory durgs at this stage, I sought help through acupuncture on the basis that, if it can work (even if not for everyone), I would give it a try.

It has, in fact, been remarkably efective in easing the pain so that, althorugh it flares up a bit in cold/damp wiather, the level remains almost continuously low and largely almost insignificant. Subsequent problems with a knee joint have also been considerably eased by the same therapy.

I do recommend acupuncture to friends & associates as a possible way of easing joint problems (whilst making it clear that it does not always work for everyone).

Having acupuncture has been such a positive thing for me and I would definitely have more in the future. Thank you!

I came to [Nicola] for fertility support, after 2 years for trying for a baby. We sought medical help via the G.P.  And acupuncture alongside, at the time for both my husband and I.

For me, I felt our initial conversation was really significant to me, for the first time in my life I opened up about my 'lifestyle'... I conceived within six weeks to a healthy little girl and had an amazing pregnancy...

Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve had problems with very irregular periods. I could often go for months without having a period. As a teenager, this didn’t worry me, as I had my whole life ahead of me. However, when I reached 30 and got married, my husband and I decided we would like to try to start a family, only to be faced with the problem of horrendously irregular periods. At one point I went for about 3 months without a period, making planning for a baby very difficult.

A friend of mine recommended acupuncture, which I decided might be worth a try, so at the beginning of December, I started seeing an acupuncturist, Nicola Renovich, once a week. I started my treatment in December and became pregnant the following February. Unfortunately, that pregnancy was not to be and I suffered a miscarriage in April. Although disappointed, I decided the best thing to do was to continue my acupuncture and returned for treatment a few weeks after my miscarriage. That month, my menstrual cycle was exactly 28 days long, which has never happened to me before. I know how long it was, because I became pregnant for the second time and that pregnancy has continued successfully, meaning that I am now 29 weeks pregnant.

I have absolutely no doubt that acupuncture contributed directly to my getting pregnant in a very short period of time and would recommend it to anyone!

I came to you (Nicola) for fertility support, after 2 years for trying for a baby. We sought medical help via the G.P.  And acupuncture alongside, at the time for both my husband and I.

For me, I felt our initial conversation was really significant to me, for the first time in my life I opened up about my ‘lifestyle’. I believed I was mad because I had to constantly live on Imodium tablets, sometimes taking 3 a day. When you suggested I remove wheat from my diet, initially I was reluctant, however it was my answer. I wasn’t mad after all, I conceived within six weeks to a healthy little girl and had an amazing pregnancy.

2 years 9 months later, we welcomed our second baby into the family and four months ago, we had our third baby. Whilst we had sought help via the medical route, all three conceptions were entirely natural and intervention free and we returned to standard midwifery care during the pregnancies.
I don’t know what happened during that time, all I know, I got more than the outcome I desired and still to this day, cannot entertain wheat.

Having acupuncture was a really calming experience and felt like a positive thing to do while undergoing fertility treatment.

I found the treatments which I had from Nicola over many years were immensely beneficial in reducing the pain I was experiencing from the arthritis in my joints. This undoubtably helped to delay the time when surgical intervention for both my knee and ankle become imperative. This has greatly increased the chance of these prosthetics lasting me for the rest of my active life! So many thanks.

I began treatment with many long-standing major problems and multitudinous minor ones. Felt completely disconnected and despairing of ever sorting it all. 4 months on, and it's still a work in progress, but feeling 'whole' for the first time in 20 years. Symptoms have consolidated down to only 3 or 4 discrete issues, and I'm now strong enough to be worked on at a deeper level to begin clearing what remains. I thoroughly recommend Acupuncture as a therapy, and Nicola as a Practitioner. She's cool, calm, knowledgeable - and listens. Very professional and well worth the 40 miles I have to travel to see her.

I expected to experience an improvement (I hoped relatively quickly) and fortunately this was correct. After my treatments with Nicola (I experienced) increased movement and pain reduction in my shoulder/arm (especially after my first treatment). Also painful wrist has been helped. (I'm) pleased with the improvement and it is also a relaxing experience. I would recommend the treatment to anyone with muscular pain like myself

[Acupuncture with Nicola] has been a great help with my localised pain - in my knees and back. With the back up of the Chinese Herbs, it has also helped my phlegm a lot.

Acupuncture sessions with you Nicola, brought back to me a great sense of well-being following a sad and difficult period in my life just previous to my move to the West Country. This did so much to enable my smooth integration in the life down here. Thank you so much Nicola.

Please describe what you came to have Acupuncture for:
Pain in back and right leg and headaches caused by living with constant pain. Frozen left shoulder due to lost right arm, meaning my left arm over working.

How did you benefit from treatment?
Like a wrecked car that has been fixed. Feel I have increased quality of life, happiness and well being.

How would you describe your overall experience of having Acupuncture with Nicola?
Although not expecting anything too positive in the beginning, I felt with no other options (have tried other treatments, such as massage and cranial sacral - they were good but not effective for my long term hopes) it was worth trusting Nicola as she is very calm and gives one a sense of empathy and without getting hopes up too much takes you on a journey to a place where your body gains a sense of balance - that had been lost in life before this treatment.

Did you experience any side effects to Acupuncture treatment?
 without getting too mystical there was the sense of blocks and darker energies being released somehow.

 

I have been having acupuncture with Nicola for several months and find the treatments very beneficial on all levels...

Nicola has a warm and caring manner...I very much enjoy having acupuncture with Nicola and really look forward to the sessions each month.

I found Nicola most welcoming and put me at ease...I found the Acupuncture treatment effective and profoundly relaxing and would not hesitate to recommend it. I am looking forward to my next appointment.

Although originally feeling rather sceptical about the use of acupuncture, having undergone multiple failed cycles of IVF, I decided to ask Nicola for help. She performed weekly sessions of acupuncture and provided me with lots of advice, as well as a friendly ear. Shortly after, we had a successful round of IVF and now have a beautiful daughter. I really believe her treatment helped us conceive and would truly recommend Nicola to anyone. We thank her so much for all her help during a very difficult journey.