Michelle Bouton
Acupuncture
Meet Dr. Michelle Bouton DACM
26 YEARS OF HANDS-ON CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
I moved to East Tennessee in 1999 and began my career as a massage therapist. I loved working one-on-one with patients, so it was difficult when years of repetitive work began causing problems with my own wrists and back.
That experience led me to acupuncture. It helped my pain, but I also began sleeping better, had more energy, and noticed other changes I hadn't expected. At the time, it honestly seemed a little like magic. I became fascinated by how one form of medicine could affect so many seemingly unrelated aspects of health, and eventually decided to study acupuncture and Chinese medicine myself, graduating in 2012.
BUILDING AND LEADING A GROUP PRACTICE
Not long after graduation, I founded Appalachian Acupuncture in Johnson City and grew it into a group practice of three acupuncturists, four massage therapists and an office manager. For the next several years, I balanced patient care with the responsibilities of owning and managing a busy clinical practice.
RETURNING TO WHAT I LOVE MOST
The pandemic caused many of us to reconsider our priorities, and I realized that managing a group clinic was drawing me away from the thing I enjoyed most about healthcare: working directly with patients.
In 2021, I sold the practice and returned to school to complete my doctorate, with a focus on integrative care and helping acupuncture and Chinese medicine work alongside a patient's existing medical care. During that time, I also taught Chinese herbal medicine to master's-level students and managed the school's medicinal teaching gardens.
COMFORTABLE WITH THE COMPLICATED
After completing my doctorate, I made a deliberate choice to return to solo practice.
Today, I especially enjoy working with people whose health stories don't fit neatly into a single box—often patients who have spent years moving between specialists, with each understandably concentrating on one piece of the puzzle.
From the perspective of Chinese medicine, symptoms that initially seem unrelated may form a recognizable pattern. I like connecting those dots.
Patients have described my style as “relaxed, yet action-oriented.” That's exactly what I hope to offer: enough time and space to understand the whole picture, paired with a practical plan for what we can do next.
I am a nationally certified NCCAOM Diplomate and regularly receive referrals from other healthcare professionals, including fertility and oncology providers. I welcome that collaboration and am happy to communicate with a patient's medical team when it helps create more coordinated care.
