About Gira Patel LicAc. MAc.

In my private practice in McLean, VA, I specialize in palpation-based acupuncture influenced by Japanese styles, mainly Master Nagano, Kiiko Masumoto, and David Euler. Blending the Japanese styles of acupuncture with European micro-systems and low level laser therapies allows me to offer you a gentle, yet powerful set of treatment modalities. 

I hold a Masters Degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine from the New England School of Acupuncture. My undergraduate work is in the sciences; I graduated from the University of Maryland and University of London Kings College with a Bachelors Degree in Biochemistry. My studies in western medicine have allowed me to integrate eastern and western knowledge in order to provide my patients with a complete view of their health. To keep that connection between western and eastern approaches fresh, I am a member of the team that teaches the Acupuncture course for physicians through the Department of Continuing Medical Education at Harvard Medical School. 

My early clinic experience includes 8 years as staff acupuncturist at Beth Israel Hospital’s Arnold Pain, followed by an engagement at Osher Institute. At Osher I served on a panel of practitioners researching the use of complementary methods to treat low back pain, with the goal of helping people return to normal activities earlier. The overwhelming positive evidence that acupuncture significantly improves low back pain and reduces days out of work helped lead to the creation of the Osher Clinical Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston—the first integrative medicine center at a major US teaching hospital.