How We Teach You In Clinic
If you ask our students what part of the course they enjoy the most – the resounding answer is “the teaching clinic”. This is where all your learning comes together treating real patients in a busy clinic.
Features of the acupuncture teaching clinic:
- You will be in clinic right from your first term.
- You have a total of 400 hours in clinic throughout the course.
- The more you gain in confidence and knowledge - the more you will be in clinic.
- In Year 1 you will be observing, in Year 2 you will be getting more hands on and in Year 3 you will be leading the patient consultation and treatment. All with supportive supervision.
- Clinic is open Monday to Friday.
- As far as possible you choose the clinic days that suit you.
- Clinic is a professional commitment and once you have agreed the dates for your clinic days we will expect you to attend.
- You have the opportunity to learn in a one-to-one clinic setting and the Monday multi-bed setting.
- You also get to arrange to observe practitioners in their clinics.
The multi-bed community clinic
Our multi-bed community clinic is open on Mondays for students to have the experience of working in this faster paced setting – where several patients are treated in a large room together.
Extra Cost Alert
If you miss clinic without informing the relevant people you will be charged.
Find out more on our costs and paying for the course page
The Student Take
Josh Carrington
"Being a student in the NCA multi-bed acupuncture clinic has been an enriching experience. The real-world exposure of treating multiple patients in a shared space has been both challenging and rewarding, enhancing my understanding of acupuncture as I encounter a wide variety of cases. The clinic serves a pretty diverse community, and I get genuine satisfaction from contributing to community health and wellness. The supervision in the clinic is great, providing valuable mentorship that has significantly boosted my confidence and competence as an acupuncture practitioner. I will continue to use the multi-bed model in my future practice as it serves to bring down some of the barriers that exist between potential patients and acupuncture treatment."
Your clinical experience is the ‘golden nugget’ in your acupuncture training, gradually building your skills and confidence until the day you step out as a fully qualified practitioner.
Your clinic supervisors
Each day in clinic sees a different supervisor in charge. Our supervisors are all acupuncturists who are working in their own clinics, and they bring their individual experience and knowledge to their teaching, with the common goal of developing you in your clinical confidence and competence.
Helen Singleton
BSc MSc MCSP HCPC
Clinic Director
Helen qualified as a Chartered Physiotherapist in 2000 and worked in a variety of settings in the NHS, the military and privately. Helen then studied for a Masters degree in Acupuncture at the Northern College of Acupuncture, completing these studies in 2016. She now combines physiotherapy, acupuncture and Pilates into her own practice in Beverley and also runs a low-cost community acupuncture clinic. Helen has been a teaching member of the College since 2017 and currently teaches on the Biomedicine and Bodywork modules.
Damián Allegretti
MAAC RBAF MRCHN, Dipl. TuiNa
London Clinic Supervisor (Thursdays)
Damián Allegretti is a dedicated acupuncturist and herbalist specializing in digestive, respiratory, and complex conditions, seamlessly blending Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with modern nutritional science. Trained at the European School of Acupuncture and MTC in Barcelona, Damian has studied Applied Channel Theory under the disciples of Dr. Wang Ju Yi, holds advanced diplomas in TuiNa and Zheng Gu, and has made Chinese herbal medicine a cornerstone of his practice. Based in London, he also teaches QiGong and is passionate about guiding others toward balance and well-being. Damian works for The Disability Foundation at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and serves on the editorial committee of The Clinician journal.
Caroline Bellman
MSc BSc(Hons) Lic Ac. MBAcC MBACP
Northwich Clinic Supervisor (Thursdays)
Caroline was working within the NHS and private healthcare in Forensic Psychology for over a decade before graduating from the NCA in 2016. She co-runs a community multi-bed clinic in Hulme, Manchester where she specialises in women’s health and mental health. As well as her acupuncture practice, Caroline continues to offer talking therapies treatments as well as running mindfulness yoga classes/workshops.
Chris Crockford
BSc.Acu MBAcC
York Multi-bed Clinic Supervisor (Mondays)
Chris has worked on humanitarian and community action projects for most of his career before retraining as an acupuncturist. His work within the Red Cross was focused on emergency care and training. He also developed the idea of a new kind of welfare service to help people at festivals and successfully led a business with his partner Sarah to deliver care at over one hundred major events. Chris graduated from the Northern College of Acupuncture in 2020 and now runs a busy community clinic in Sheffield with Sarah.
Sarah Crockford
BSc.Acu MBAcC
York Multi-bed Clinic Supervisor (Mondays)
Sarah completed a Shiatsu Diploma in 2015 and qualified as an acupuncturist from the NCA in 2019. In 2003 she and her husband Chris set up Ministry of Welfare, this gave her experience of running a large crew providing welfare at music festivals. As a member of the Red Cross from the age of 13, she worked on ambulances, trained First Aid at Work and ran youth projects. Together with Chris she runs Sheffield Community Acupuncture, since it’s launch in 2019 it has been busy and still growing. She and Chris run the multi-bed clinic at the NCA.
Nicky Thomas
DipAc MBAcC
York Clinic Supervisor (Tuesdays)
Nicky Thomas qualified as an acupuncturist in 1999 after studying for 4 years at the NCA. Over the past 14 years Nicky has practised acupuncture in York and then in Bahrain in the Middle East, from where she returned to join the clinical supervisors’ team at the NCA. As well as practising acupuncture in York, Nicky also teaches yoga, qi gong and tai chi and teaches qi gong on the acupuncture course.
Lindsay Fieldhouse
BSc Hons (Acu), MBAcC, mANP, mGNC
York Clinic Supervisor (Wednesdays)
Lindsay worked as a Retail Merchandiser for over fifteen years before studying at the NCA and graduating in 2017. Since then she has continued her studies and has added Nutritional Therapy to her skillset alongside training in a variety of acupuncture techniques, such as Paediatric Acupuncture, Dr Tan Balance Method and Japanese Acupuncture. In her clinical practice she combines Acupuncture & Naturopathy and specialises in Fertility, Pain Management and Emotional Trauma. She has a clinic in Wetherby, Leeds and is in the process of moving part of her practice to the Pickering & Malton area.
Cheng Hao Zhou
BM (TCM China) MBAcC MRCHM
York Clinic Supervisor (Thursdays)
Cheng was trained at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and qualified in 1992 as Doctor of TCM. She worked in the Chinese Health Service for eight years and qualified as “Doctor-in-Charge” in 1998. She joined the NCA team in 2001. Over the years she has developed experiences of clinical supervision , teaching, and various HE related quality assurance. She also appreciated experiences working with cancer care support at NHS based charity. Currently Cheng is one of the Acupuncture Clinical Supervisors, while teaches various subjects on both Acupuncture and CHM programmes, she is also the Module Leader for Year 3 Integration and Diversity Module and Clinic Management Module.
Alison Lyon-Murphy
MSc, BSc, DipPhys, HCPC
York Clinic Supervisor (Fridays)
Alison qualified as a physiotherapist in 1989 and spent several years working at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, specialising in neurological rehabilitation. She later moved into teaching at the University of Huddersfield, where she taught on the undergraduate physiotherapy programme.
In 2017, Alison began studying at the NCA, graduating in 2020. She now runs her own clinics in Otley and Knaresborough, where she combines Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with her background in Western medicine.
Since graduating, Alison has been part of the teaching team at the NCA, delivering sessions on bodywork, point location, and clinical skills. In 2026, she joined the clinic teaching team and particularly enjoys helping students bring theory to life through hands-on practice.
