We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Catherine Hollingsworth. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Catherine below.

Alright, Catherine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
The pandemic has been a huge learning experience for me, in so many ways. I had been running a solo practice in Miami for five years. I never was hugely successful there but always survived month by month. I had many moments of doubt in those five years: did my work matter? Was I going to be able to support myself? Was I any good at acupuncture?

When the pandemic hit, I did not have enough reserves to weather the shutdown so I quickly realized I needed to take drastic action. I chose to relocate to Charlotte, NC.

It was in this transition that I learned to value my work, trust myself, and build a healthy practice with the support of my family.

Once I got back to the clinic I had to adjust to the demands of COVID and I found a natural flow, a way of working where I finally let go of what I learned in school. In my departure from Miami, I learned what a huge impact I had made for my patients during my time there, and I found a welcoming community of patients in Charlotte who truly needed my services.

In trusting myself and realizing my value during a time when all certainty was shaken, I have found that my practice has flourished. I have gained confidence, which again helps me to to my best work. It has been an exercise of faith and hard decisions but the result is that I am happy in my work. I feel blessed every day and amazed to see what those tiny little needles can do.

I think it is always important to know that our work matters to others. Caregivers often focus so much on others that we may forget that we, too, matter. In the end, this comes back around to feed our spirits so we can give even more.

Catherine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I practice acupuncture, and run a solo practice. I am trained in a style called Five Element Acupuncture and have over the years developed a personal style that is essentially an energy-tuning process.

The way I work is equally beneficial for emotional and physical complaints. It is especially valuable for mind-body symptoms — physical symptoms that seem to get worse when stress or emotions are running high.

I am passionate about providing holistic solutions for mental, emotional and physical health. A lot of people these days are disenchanted with the pharmaceutical approach and are looking for more natural ways to rebalance themselves. This is something that acupuncture does very well and I find nothing more satisfying than a patient who feels all better!

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
For acupuncture, an energy medicine, I think my own health and self-care is extremely important. I have found that my treatments are more effective, my business is healthier, and I am happier.

Early on in my career, I placed less emphasis on my own state of mind and body. I was basically healthy and dedicated to my work. But I had some downturns as life threw challenges at me. I found that these really negatively affected my practice.

We cannot expect perfection of ourselves, but we can do the sometimes hard work of self-exploration and self-development to deal with our “stuff” proactively. When life does hit us hard, we can take it as an opportunity to grow. And we can work to build up a reserves of energy and resilience so that life’s bumps and bruises don’t knock us down.

This is something more experienced practitioners always told me. But once I started putting in the extra work, I found that I became much better at my job and my business began to flourish.

I think this applies to anyone in any field. There is a mindset out there that we must work hard to the point of exhaustion, where we use all of our resources to create success and results. But I see in my clinic that this is not a beneficial way to live and ultimately affects how well we contribute to our work.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
If I had to choose my career again, knowing what I know now, I would absolutely choose to do the very work I am doing.

When I got into this line of work, I almost fell into it. People always want to know how I became an acupuncturist. The truth is, I had no idea about what I was getting into. I had an intuition that it would be a good fit for my talents and what I was looking for.

As it turns out, it’s a field that perfectly suits me. I feel lucky to have a career that I fond so enjoyable and rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: redsagecenter.com
• Instagram: @redsageacupuncture