About the Practitioner

Beverley de Valois PhD MBAcC MIFPA

As well as running the Women’s Clinic @ Uxbridge, Beverley is a Research Acupuncturist working in the NHS where she is particularly interested in the use of acupuncture in the supportive care of people with cancer. She is one of the first acupuncturists in the UK to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy for research into traditional acupuncture.

Chinese Medicine

Beverley is a traditional acupuncturist, and is a member of the British Acupuncture Council.

In 1999 she graduated from the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine (CICM) in Reading, Berkshire, after completing a three-year course in acupuncture and moxibustion. She has also completed post-graduate clinical training in Chinese herbal patent remedies at CICM.

Beverley also studied Chinese Medicine at the Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China.

Aromatherapy

In addition to acupuncture, Beverley has practised aromatherapy since 1995. She trained at the Institute for Traditional Herbal Medicine (ITHMA), and is a member of the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA). In this field, she has worked primarily with people living with cancer, as part of the multi-disciplinary Macmillan Oncology and Palliative Care Team at the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust in London.

Research & PhD

Beverley has a passionate interest in acupuncture research, and in 2007 was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Thames Valley University. Her subject was “Using acupuncture to manage hot flushes and night sweats in women taking tamoxifen for early breast cancer: two observational studies”. She is one of the first acupuncturists in the UK to be awarded a PhD for research into clinical acupuncture.

Beverley works part-time as a Research Acupuncturist in the Supportive Oncology Research Team (SORT) at the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre at Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex which is part of the Mount Vernon Cancer Network. She is also an Honorary Research Associate with the Centre for Complementary Healthcare and Integrated Medicine (CCHIM) at Thames Valley University (TVU) in West London.

In September 2007 she was awarded funding as part of the Department of Health’s Research for Innovation, Speculation and Creativity (RISC) programme, and she will be conducting exploratory research into using acupuncture and moxibustion to promote well being and improve quality of life in patients with secondary lymphoedema. This research is a collaboration between the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre and the Lymphoedema Framework Project, situated in the Centre for Research and Implementation of Clinical Practice (CRICP) at TVU.

Academic

While doing her PhD, Beverley was a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Complementary Healthcare and Integrated Medicine at TVU. Click here for a copy of her academic CV.

Publications

Follow these links for publications and the thesis relating to Beverley’s research into using acupuncture to manage hot flushes and night sweats in women taking hormonal adjuvant treatments for early breast cancer, as well as other publications:

Thesis

de Valois, B (2006) Using acupuncture to manage hot flushes and night sweats in women taking tamoxifen for early breast cancer: two observational studies. Thames Valley University. [Unpublished PhD thesis]
Available from the British Library.

Published articles

Walker G, de Valois B, Young T, Davies R, Maher E J. (2007) Ear acupuncture for hot flushes -the perceptions of women with breast cancer. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 13(4) pp. 250-7.

de Valois, B. (2006) Serenity, patience, wisdom, courage, acceptance: reflections on the NADA protocol. European Journal of Oriental Medicine, 5(3), pp. 44-49.

Walker, G., de Valois, B., Davies, R., Young, T. and Maher, J. (2005) Opinions of research participants about study paperwork. Bulletin of Medical Ethics, No. 205, February, pp.21-24.

Walker, G., de Valois, B., Young, T., Davies, R., Maher, E.J. (2004) The experience of receiving traditional Chinese acupuncture. European Journal of Oriental Medicine, 4(5) pp. 59 –65

Book Chapter

de Valois, B. (2007) Acupuncture. In Enhancing Cancer Care: Complementary therapy and support. (ed) J. Barraclough. Oxford University Press: Oxford. pp 85-95.

Abstracts

de Valois, B., Young, T., Robinson, N., McCourt, C. & Maher, E.J. (2007). Using acupuncture to manage hot flashes and night sweats in women with early breast cancer. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 13(8), pp. 863-4

de Valois, B., Young, T., Robinson, N., McCourt, C., & Maher, E.J. (2007) Using acupuncture to manage menopausal symptoms in women taking adjuvant hormonal treatment for early breast cancer. Psycho-oncology 16: pp. 262-274.

de Valois, B., Young, T., Robinson, N., McCourt, C., & Maher, E. J. (2005) Evaluating the effects of the NADA protocol on physical and emotional wellbeing in women undergoing adjuvant treatment for early breast cancer. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Medicine 10(Supplement 1), p.14.

de Valois, B., Young, T., Robinson, N., McCourt, C., Ashford, R., Maher, E.J. (2004) Using the NADA protocol to manage menopausal side-effects in women with early breast cancer. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 9(Supplement 1), pp. 9-10.

de Valois, B., Young, T., Robinson, N., McCourt, C., Ashford, R., Maher, E.J. (2003) Using the NADA protocol to manage menopausal side-effects in women with early breast cancer. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 9(Supplement 1), pp. 9-10.

de Valois, B., Young, T., Hunter, M., Lucey, R., & Maher, E.J. (2002) Using traditional acupuncture to manage hot flushes in women taking tamoxifen. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies (FACT), 8(1), pp.134-135.