Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a system of care that identifies the pattern behind your symptoms and treats that pattern with acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, and diet. Grace Family Acupuncture provides TCM to patients across the Kansas City metro from its clinic at 7111 W 98th Terrace, Suite 110, in Overland Park, Kansas. Care combines acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, personalized Chinese herbal formulas, cupping, and TCM nutrition, delivered by two licensed practitioners: Dr. Yang Gong, DTCM, L.Ac., and Dr. Jing Gong, DAOM, Dipl. O.M., L.Ac. The clinic has served the area since 2002.
Kansas City, MO patients most often come for stress, fertility, or pain. The question worth asking any clinic: will someone find the cause, or will you just get needles?
Chinese Medicine Is a Diagnostic System, Not a Menu of Treatments
The diagnosis is the core of it. Two people with the same complaint can leave with different plans. One wakes at 3 a.m. with a racing mind. Another cannot fall asleep and wakes exhausted. Both report poor sleep. In TCM, those are not the same problem.
The treatments are the tools. The diagnosis decides which tools are used, in what combination, and for how long. That is the difference between a TCM clinic and a wellness studio that lists acupuncture as one item on a menu.
What People Often Get Wrong About Chinese Medicine
They treat it as acupuncture only. Acupuncture is one tool. For many digestive, hormonal, and skin patterns, a personalized herbal formula supports care between visits.
They buy Chinese herbs off the shelf. Chinese herbal products have been found contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, and undeclared drugs, and some products have contained the wrong herb. A formula chosen without a diagnosis, from an unvetted source, is a risky way to use Chinese medicine.
They do not tell their doctor. TCM works alongside conventional care, not in place of it. Some herbs change how prescription medicines work, so your physician and your TCM practitioner should each know what the other is doing, especially if you take medication, are pregnant, or are managing a diagnosed condition.
They judge it on one visit. Patterns that took years to build usually need a series of visits, with the plan adjusted as the body responds.
How a TCM Visit Works at Grace Family
Your first visit is a full 60-minute session. It opens with an intake covering your main concern and health history. Your practitioner then uses tongue and pulse diagnosis, two of the core assessment methods in Chinese medicine, to identify the pattern behind your symptoms.
Treatment is built for your case. A plan may combine acupuncture with an herbal formula and dietary guidance, or start with a single therapy, and it is reviewed at follow-up visits and adjusted as needed. Chinese herbal medicine is offered as a separate consultation. No referral is required.
The Treatments We Use
Your diagnosis decides the plan. These are the tools a plan may include for each concern:
| Your main concern | TCM tools often part of the plan |
|---|---|
| Back, neck, and joint pain | Acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, cupping |
| Fertility and IVF support | Acupuncture, electro-acupuncture |
| Hormonal balance and menopause | Acupuncture, Chinese herbal formulas |
| Stress, anxiety, and sleep | Acupuncture, TCM nutrition |
| Digestion | Chinese herbal formulas, TCM nutrition |
| Eczema and psoriasis | Chinese herbal formulas |
Acupuncture and Electro-Acupuncture
Acupuncture uses ultra-fine, hair-thin needles at specific points to regulate the nervous system and increase circulation to targeted tissue. Electro-acupuncture adds a gentle electrical pulse through the needles to strengthen the effect and is often used in pain and fertility care.
Chinese Herbal Medicine
Herbal formulas at Grace Family are customized to your constitution and your pattern. Patients use them to support digestion, hormonal balance, immunity, energy, and chronic skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Read how a practitioner prescribes Chinese herbal medicine.
Cupping
Cupping uses glass or plastic cups to create gentle suction on the skin. Where acupuncture works at points, cupping lifts tissue upward to release tight muscle and draw stagnation to the surface, which is why it often appears in pain plans for muscle tightness, knots, and strains. The temporary marks it leaves are not bruises. Practitioners read them: light pink suggests little stagnation, bright red suggests more recent tension, and dark red or purple suggests stagnation that is deeper or longer-standing. Cupping can be booked on its own or alongside acupuncture.
TCM Nutrition
In Chinese medicine, food is part of treatment. Dietary guidance is matched to your health history and needs rather than a one-size-fits-all diet.
What Is a TCM Doctor, and Why the Credential Matters
In Kansas, only practitioners licensed by the State Board of Healing Arts may use the title Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.), and the use of herbal products within that license depends on training and national certification. Not everyone who offers acupuncture or sells herbs is trained in the full diagnostic system.
Both practitioners at Grace Family hold advanced credentials in Chinese medicine:
Dr. Yang Gong, DTCM, L.Ac., Founder and Senior Clinician. Born into a family of Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, Dr. Yang Gong trained in China, earning her medical degree from Zhengzhou Zhongjing Traditional Chinese Medical College, and practiced at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Zhuhai and in specialized clinical settings, including sports medicine and oncology support. She has more than 30 years of clinical experience in acupuncture and herbal medicine and established this practice in 2002.
Dr. Jing Gong, DAOM, Dipl. O.M., L.Ac., Managing Director and Principal Clinician. Dr. Jing Gong holds a Doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and is nationally board certified as both an acupuncturist and an herbalist by NCBAHM, the national certification board formerly known as NCCAOM. She is a fifth-generation practitioner of Chinese medicine, trained under the guidance of her mother and grandparents.
Chinese Medicine for Kansas City, MO and Johnson County
The clinic is in Overland Park and serves patients on both sides of State Line, including Kansas City, MO, the Country Club Plaza area, Leawood, Prairie Village, Mission Hills, Lenexa, and Olathe. If acupuncture is your main interest, see acupuncture in Kansas City, MO.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A TCM doctor is a practitioner trained in the full Chinese medicine system: diagnosis, acupuncture, and herbal medicine. At Grace Family, Dr. Yang Gong holds a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (DTCM) and Dr. Jing Gong holds a Doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM). Both are Licensed Acupuncturists.
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For some uses, yes, and the evidence depends on the therapy. Research on acupuncture is most promising for some chronic pain conditions, and acupuncture is among the non-drug treatments recommended as a starting option for chronic low back pain. Much of the herbal research has been of poor quality, which is why it should be prescribed by a trained practitioner rather than self-selected.
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Two reasons come up often. Much of the herbal research has been of poor quality, so firm conclusions are hard to draw, and some Chinese herbal products have had quality problems, including contamination and wrong ingredients. Both are reasons to work with a licensed, certified practitioner, not reasons to avoid Chinese medicine altogether.
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Care at Grace Family covers pain, fertility support, menopause and other women's health concerns, anxiety and sleep, digestion, and chronic skin conditions. Chinese medicine does not replace medical diagnosis or emergency care, and your first visit will tell you whether it is a good fit for your case.
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Avoid herbal products bought without a diagnosis or from sources you cannot verify, and do not stop or change prescribed medication on your own. Tell your physician and your TCM practitioner about everything you take, and check with both first if you are pregnant or nursing.
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It depends on the pattern being treated and how long it has been present. Your practitioner reviews your formula at follow-up visits and adjusts it as your symptoms change.
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No. You can book directly online.
What Happens Next
Book online. Choose a time through our online booking.
Start with a full intake. Your first 60-minute visit opens with your main concern and health history.
Get a diagnosis and your first treatment. Tongue and pulse diagnosis, then treatment in the same visit.
Review your plan. Your plan is adjusted at follow-up visits as needed.