Meet Your South Shore Acupuncturists
Meet Abby Friend, DAc, MAc, LAc
DOCTOR OF ACUPUNCTURE & INTEGRATIVE HEALTH
Abby Friend Lic. Ac. holds a Doctorate and Masters in Acupuncture from The New England School of Acupuncture (NESA), one of the oldest, most rigorous and respected Traditional Chinese Medicine schools in the country, and is licensed by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine to practice. She completed her doctoral degree from NESA at The Massachusetts School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Abby’s treatment approach fuses modern science with the wisdom of ancient medicine. She specializes in orthopedic conditions, pain management, and cosmetic facial acupuncture in her Hanover acupuncture clinic. In addition to acupuncture, Abby offers dry needling, cupping, threading and collagen induction therapy, or microneedling.
Contact Abby: abby@themodernacupuncturist.com
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Abby first discovered acupuncture while working at a vet hospital gaining experience before applying to vet school. At the hospital, she saw first-hand how powerfully the animals responded to acupuncture treatments and found the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) model of holistic health was instead more aligned with her medical views.
Abby also worked in other hospital settings including pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, family medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance and veteran services at Pathways to Wellness at the South End Community Health Center where she remained impressed with the impact of TCM. The TCM model focuses on each person as an individual and works to treat the root cause of a problem. Abby found the western model in chronic cases were often treating the symptom, and not addressing underlying disharmony.
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Abby is licensed by the Massachusetts Board of Medicine, a National Board Certified Acupuncturist (NCCAOM), certified in Clean Needle Technique (CCAOM), certified in Auriculotherapy, completed a certified birth doula course through DONA International and is facial rejuvenation certified.
Meet Elizabeth Neil Lic Ac, MAOM
LICENSED ACUPUNCTURIST
Elizabeth D. Neil, Lic.Ac., is nationally certified as a Diplomat in Oriental Medicine by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), and a Licensed Oriental Medicine Practitioner by the state of Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) and a Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from The New England School of Acupuncture (NESA).
For 14 years, Elizabeth has integrated her background to give patients a sense of healing and peace with every treatment. She strongly believes in integrative medicine and has worked in hospital settings and closely with MDs, Chiropractors, and other specialist to comprehensively treat and eliminate pain and dysfunction after injury.
She takes a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of pain and while her specialty is neurological disorders, cancer-related symptoms and musculoskeletal pain, Elizabeth also works to support patients with fibromyalgia, migraine and headaches, emotional issues, stress, anxiety, and trauma. Her extensive experience in trigger point release needling (sometimes known as “dry needling”) has allowed her to treat a wide range of pain and injuries, both long-standing and brand new.
She loves helping patients find simple solutions and is passionate about integrating Traditional Chinese Medicine with modern healthcare practices to optimize patient outcomes.
Elizabeth holds special certifications in Facial Rejuvenation and Cancer care from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
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Elizabeth first discovered acupuncture while on a weekend with friends. She met an acupuncturist who intrigued her and set her on a path that furthered her role in healthcare. Her education in psychology with a degree from Lesly University and 10 years working in mental health showed her first-hand to find value in drug-free methods of treatment and how acupuncture can become an integral part of the larger medical system.
Elizabeth has run her own successful business, worked in other hospital settings including a years’ clinical rotation at Winchester Hospital and more than 7 years with the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network. All this has offered her the unique opportunity to collaborate directly with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Elizabeth found that integration of holistic TCM care with the care provided by other doctors, blends the best of conventional treatments and integrative practices.
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Elizabeth received her Master’s in Traditional Oriental Medicine from The New England School of Acupuncture and is board certified by the NCCAOM.
Specialty Focus Areas
ORTHOPEDICS
Abby and her team is dedicated to helping people lead pain-free lives by utilizing orthopedic needling triggering specific areas of pain to loosen local and distal muscles thus bringing blood flow to a previously constricted area. This sub-specialty of acupuncture is referred to as Dry Needling, or Motor Point Needling as it fires the muscle’s motor point. Abby completed hundreds of hours in orthopedics to become an expert in this field and can treat complex myofascial conditions.
SKIN HEALTH
Abby and her team also love helping women feel confident in their skin—naturally. She stays abreast of the latest technology to help promote collagen and elastic production and uses exosomes, Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP), and medical-grade vitamins in her microneedling services to offer you the most effective treatment. She adamantly believes you must internally feel radiant to match how your skin will feel after a session. For that reason, a full acupuncture session is always included during the microneedling procedure.
The Modern Acupuncturist Approach
Our passion for Traditional Chinese Medicine is founded on helping patients through a holistic approach by offering alternative solutions. We treat patients from a root cause approach by using an integrative method of healing, looking at the body as a whole, including TCM, diet, lifestyle, and exercise as well as creating an individualized treatment strategy that will target the root cause of each unique system.
We strive to help people lead pain-free lives, focusing on distal meridian posts, and utilizing orthopedic needling triggering specific areas of pain to loosen local and distal muscles thus bringing blood flow to a previously constricted area. We have found that acupuncture is especially helpful in offering relief for disc herniation, plantar fasciitis, migraines, and loosening tight constricted muscles.
Abby’s Story
Abby first discovered acupuncture while working at a vet hospital gaining experience before applying to vet school. At the hospital, she saw first-hand how powerfully the animals responded to acupuncture treatments and found the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) model of holistic health was more aligned with her medical values.
The TCM model focuses on each person as an individual and works to treat the root cause of a problem. Abby found that the Western model in chronic cases was often treating the symptom, not addressing underlying disharmony. Abby utilizes both Chinese and Japanese acupuncture styles and tailors the treatment to each individual patient’s needs and comfort.