Testimonials
#1. “Before acupuncture treatment with Laura, I felt hopeless, and that no one would be able to help me...”
I have received 5 Element acupuncture treatment from Laura Stelmok since 2009. I initially heard of Laura from several people in our small community in Maine. I had never before heard of a practitioner spoken of so highly and so instrumental in the treatment of chronic and severe illness. When I was referred by a friend to acupuncture with Laura, I had suffered for over a decade from severe, undiagnosed Lyme/Tickborne diseases, as well as anxiety, depression and alcohol addiction. I had been to dozens of eastern and western physicians for over a decade, with little to no relief.
To say that acupuncture treatment with Laura assisted me is a gross understatement. Through her ability to connect with me, hear me and treat me at the level of the body, the mind and the spirit I am a healthy man today. She immediately referred me to a Lyme doctor who diagnosed and treated me alongside of acupuncture. Her understanding of addiction, kind support and encouragement led me to enter into recovery and I have been sober for 16 years.
Before acupuncture treatment with Laura, I felt hopeless, and that no one would be able to help me. I was devastated by life and even suicidal. Today, such suffering is behind me, and I do not believe it would be without the depth of skill and dedication of my practitioner. I am incredibly grateful.
Laura carries with her decades of experience as a physician and student of Chinese Acupuncture and Taoist training. A great strength of Laura’s is her ability to truly listen and respond. From there, her knowledge and skill come in to offer profound treatment. I always feel comfortable and safe in all aspects of treatment in her clinic.
She holds training clinics for her acupuncture students in which I have had the opportunity to be a patient. The spirit and professionalism in these clinics is of great joy to me and a great benefit in my healing.
In short, Laura Stelmok’s clinic has been a tremendous asset to our community. 5 Element acupuncture is a medicine that has reached to the roots of dis-ease in myself and offered great healing. I do not hesitate to refer anyone at all to Laura’s clinic and recommend any young aspiring acupuncturist to learn from her. I believe many have a limited idea of the scope of what acupuncture can offer and hopefully this testimonial can help to broaden that orientation.
~~N.S. / Forester and Director of a not-for-profit school
#2. “...I arrived with deep trauma from abuse and layers of misguided “healing” from other modalities.”
When I first met Laura I had had minimal 5E acupuncture exposure and had only been treated with other types of acupuncture. I had a brief introduction to Five Element treatment as prerequisite to entering acupuncture training. It was through being treated by Laura that I realized the depths that could be reached through this medicine. Working with Laura in this tradition of acupuncture I have reached deeper revelations in myself in many areas of my life.
I arrived with deep trauma from abuse and layers of misguided “healing” from other modalities. There was an immediate feeling of having been “met” when I asked Laura if she could “help me”. I remember the flood of tears and the feeling that another way was possible.
Through the years of treatment with Laura, I have experienced incredible relief from pain and suffering. I have been able to make changes in my life that have led me on paths I could not have imagined. Laura, as my practitioner, has felt incredibly supportive of finding answers internally and I am often surprised by the shifts that happen physically, mentally and on the level of spirit. She has a diverse resume of experience and through that experience there is a feeling of being held in a way that allows for a deepening in presence and a renewed connection to life.
I am extremely grateful for having met Laura those many years ago.
~~J.P. / Acupuncture Practitioner
#3. “...While the first few years of treatment supported my migraine headaches, I primarily felt the re-building of my life force after my first consultation with Laura.”
I met Laura in 2017 when I was a practicing theater artist in New York City. I had two years of recovery from alcoholism and a severe eating disorder, and though my recovery felt strong in both, and my life was going in a better direction, there was still a way I felt I could not fully enter life or my artistic practice. I still felt "outside" somehow. I was also still experiencing chronic migraine headaches, which I’ve had since I was nine years old.
One of Laura's student practitioners in Brooklyn, NY recommended me to her for a consultation they felt was needed. My life hasn't been the same since that treatment. I was so moved by the realignment I felt within—a true feeling of North, a clockwise direction on the inner began. I not only remain a patient to this day, I quickly became a student of Laura's myself—not as an acupuncturist, but as a practicing artist.
While the first few years of treatment supported my migraine headaches, I primarily felt the re-building of my life force after my first consultation with Laura. Therefore, more recent treatments are able to focus deeply on the specific physical symptoms of my migraine headaches. This is absolutely changing the patterns, frequency, and severity of my symptoms, including far fewer headache days, postrdome and recovery days.
There is no way one testimonial can appropriately express the difference Laura and the medicine she practices and teaches have made in my life. I would recommend anyone to her and any of the acupuncturists who study with her.
The fortune I feel to have come upon her door remains extremely present in me. To have come upon this ancient practice of medicine which largely feels lost in our time. I have never experienced the patient-practitioner relationship in quite this way as she teaches and practices.
~~T.L. / Artist and Cybersecurity Professional, Topsham, ME
#4. “I have received a lot of help in my life but nothing else had been able to reach this place that felt unreachable. Laura’s skill and gifts as a practitioner went straight to those places. ...”
For over a decade I struggled with alcoholism and addiction, attempting to get sober countless times throughout those years. I was suffering from a tremendous amount of fear, anxiety, and depression. I became incredibly removed from life and felt like I was in a hole that I couldn’t get out of. When I was finally able to get some sobriety and began to build a foundation in recovery, the gratitude for the support I received inspired me into a life dedicated to helping others in their own recovery paths.
However, even in sobriety and my fulfilling work I kept running into challenges that felt unreachable and untouchable. Something in my nature felt off or incorrectly aligned in some way, and it impacted my ability to be present and connected in the way I fully wanted to be. On the outside everything might have appeared to be okay but internally something still needed care.
When I first met Laura, I was immediately touched by how she spoke about the medicine of acupuncture and could hear the deep care she has as a practitioner. I have received a lot of help in my life but nothing else had been able to reach this place that felt unreachable. Laura’s skill and gifts as a practitioner went straight to those places. Her treatments have helped layers of interference fall away, and I can spiritually resonate with life in ways I didn’t know were possible.
Acupuncture is an integral part of my life and recovery now. Not only has this changed me but there’s also a rippling effect on my ability to help others in the work I do, which is such a blessing.
~~C.L. / Program Director/Owner of Women’s Recovery Maine. Portland, ME
#5. “The physical, emotional, and spiritual healing that has come from her treatments is truly amazing ...”
Laura came into my life in 2004 when we were at a gathering and we were taking a break outside. My first conversation with her began with me complaining about menopause. Laura's response blew me away! I had never heard anyone talk about menopause the way she did. I felt I could talk to her forever and that I needed to know her. That evening began a lifelong friendship in ways I never could have expected and will forever be grateful for.
I began acupuncture treatments with her not long after that in 2005. It was my first experience with acupuncture. Laura is so gifted and has helped me in ways I didn't even know I needed. The physical, emotional, and spiritual healing that has come from her treatments is truly amazing. I have also born witness to so many people that Laura has helped. I. cannot imagine my life without her in it.
~~J.H. / Lobsterwoman and Home Health Caregiver, Thomaston, ME