Client Testimonials
"I have worked with Valerie on two occasions and had fantastic results both times. The first was when I was trying to get pregnant for the first time. Valerie noticed a medical issue that my doctors didn't notice, made a recommendation for a new doctor and I got pregnant that month after starting thyroid medication, after I had previously been trying for about a year. I felt like Valerie really valued the importance of Western and Eastern medicine and I believe that combination was what my body needed.
The next time I worked with Valerie was recent with hypnosis. The intake appointment was fabulous. I felt really understood and hopeful. Valerie is definitely a healer. The hypnosis recording was everything I could want it to be. I enjoyed my time while listening, noticed immediate results, and felt fabulous during and after each hypnosis recording. I highly recommend working with Valerie!"
- Leah Gallagher, Petaluma
"Let me start by saying that Valerie is one of the most gifted practitioners I have ever met. A few months ago, Valerie helped me through an impasse when no one else could. I was really struggling with severe anxiety around a necessary medical procedure and was hovering in an emotional limbo that brought me a significant amount of suffering. I tried numerous other options, such as traditional therapy, to no avail. After a session with Valerie, in which we explored my unique situation, she took time and care to custom create a hypnotherapy recording for me. Literally days later I was already feeling a significant shift in my level of anxiety, and most importantly I soon moved past my nearly insurmountable fear related to the procedure. I can honestly say I owe my relief to Valerie and her skillful, gentle, instinctual approach. I recommend her for anyone dealing with fears and other major life stressors."
-C.C., Sonoma, California
“Valerie is great!” . . . “I decided after hearing about a friend's wonderful experience with Valerie that I wanted to try it for help with mood problems as an adjunct to psychotherapy. This was a great combination, and I have felt better this year than I have in a long time. Valerie is intuitive and very giving of her time, and I would highly recommend her to anyone.”
-Kelly B., San Francisco, CA
"I came to see Valerie because of a persistent, nagging feeling of isolation from others, particularly from the ones I love. I had been in depth psychotherapy for a long time, and in contrast to that work, hypnotherapy was much more targeted and focused on creating a vision of how I’d ideally like my life to be.
During our intake, I was struck by how carefully and lovingly Valerie listened to my concerns and my desires. She was very generous with her time and attention. She took great care to ensure that she understood the nuances of what I was trying to communicate.
Valerie put me at ease during our session. She started off with a quick demonstration of the effectiveness of hypnosis that quelled my skepticism and put me in the right frame of mind for what followed. The trust we established made it easy for me to revisit various difficult scenes from my past.
I was so moved by the recording she created at the end of our session. She beautifully and skillfully synthesized everything that I shared, and that I experienced during the session. I love listening to that recording. It has been a great source of solace and inspiration. Thank you, Valerie. I am truly grateful for this gift."
-Eric, San Francisco, CA
“From the first moment I met Valerie, I knew seeing her was going to be an interesting adventure. What I didn't realize was that I was going to experience a deep sense of well-being that can only be described as deliciously timeless. Valerie is wise, gentle, and intuitive. At the same time she is very professional and cares about results- her focus is on her patients from the moment they step into her world .”
-Brenda O., Pleasanton, CA
"Valerie Mendels was my very first acupuncturist. . . Even from our initial phone conversation I felt that she was someone very special, she was immediately calm and warm and compassionate. A great healer can set the healing process in motion from the first interaction with their patient, this is exactly how I felt in Valerie's presence. I didn't come in with any particular health problem, I was interested in promoting my own wellness and deepening my awareness of life. This was something Valerie was immediately enthusiastic about. In every session Valerie gave me her undivided attention in a way I had never experienced before. She is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met, choosing her words carefully and with great wisdom. I always looked forward to spending an hour with her each week. Her treatments were incredibly potent too. I will never forget the way I felt when I walked out of her office after my first treatment. I felt like I was floating but also very calm and focused. Most distinctively, I felt an incredible openness in my heart. My chest literally felt expanded, leading me down the street as I walked. After only a few weeks of treatment I was feeling terrific. I had so much more energy and it was a balanced grounded sort of energy. Friends started commenting that I seemed calmer and happier. Physical symptoms that I hadn't even asked for help with started to improve or go away completely, things like menstrual cramps, headaches and food cravings. Actually my experience of acupuncture with Valerie was so transformative that less than a year later I decided to go to school and study acupuncture myself! Now I am treating my own patients and I often find myself thinking, "what would Valerie have done here?". I am forever grateful to her for bringing me my first experience of this amazing medicine and for being such a positive role model as a practitioner.”
-Katie F., Gainesville, FL
“Valerie literally changed my life. I went to see her for migraines and insomnia and ended up with a totally new career which I love. She helped me though what I realize now was a difficult period in my life. The 5 Element style of acupuncture she used helped me to see things more clearly and gave me the strength and will power needed to make a huge change in my life. I am so grateful to her for this. Valerie is a very open and understanding person. She has the perfect combination of being very professional and yet warm and caring at the same time. I would recommend her to everyone, whether they have physical or emotional problems, she is just great.”
-Tania S., Barcelona, Spain
“My husband and I had been trying to conceive for over a year, and I had just been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries, which had caused my menstrual cycles to be irregular, few, and far between (sometimes with over 100 day cycles). I had been feeling frustrated, dejected, and pretty hopeless. At that stage, I decided to apply both Western medicine (with an RE) and Eastern acupuncture (with Valerie) to my TTC regimen. Each week, Valerie would patiently ask about where I was in my cycle, where I was in my Western medications, where I was on my emotional scale. Valerie took the time to really listen to what I needed - both physically and mentally - and would tailor a specific acupuncture treatment to my needs. Each week, I would leave the office feeling relaxed, refreshed, encouraged, and at peace. I'm happy to report that within 4 months, I got pregnant! I'm so happy that we decided to pursue both Eastern and Western medicine at the same time. I feel that acupuncture really helped my body adjust to the side effects of the fertility medications and gave me much needed mental peace as well. We are now just coming out of our 1st trimester, and can't wait to share the news with our families and friends in a couple of weeks. Good luck to those of you on your fertility journeys. Valerie is great acupuncturist, and you won't be disappointed!”
-K.H., Sausalito, CA
“Always enjoy my treatments from Valerie. She's played an important role in my pregnancy journey. She's taught me better diet changes, the difference between quality vitamins and herbs and most importantly how we can use our bodies to heal. Thank you!”
"I absolutely feel that the fertility coaching you offered me throughout our work together was not only practically useful but emotionally a mainline of faith hope and survival through the process. I feel like I could not have done it without you. I mean that."
“Hope you remember me-- client until your departure to Spain and still learning from your healing and guidance. I've started a new phase in my life and you keep popping into my mind with the desire to let you know what a profound impact you are still having in my life. . . . As I think and reflect over the changes in my life in the last few years I keep coming back to you. . . . Your concern and compassion planted the seeds that provided both the essence and the initial nurturing for the growth. . . I just wanted to make sure you new what a powerful, positive difference you've made in my life."
“How to say 'thank you'? Well, the simplest way must be to write 'thank you'. . . Your guidance is invaluable beyond mere words, as is your common sense and wisdom."
“Please know that I think of you often with fondness and immense gratitude. Things are very busy, can you believe [our daughter] is turning a year old in 3 weeks? I still, and will always, credit you with the miracle that was her conception, safe pregnancy and birth.”
“Thank you for the part you played in helping this life come to be. Valerie, [my husband] and I believe you have been the greatest factor in this wonderful, glorious improvement in our . . . odyssey. She [our daughter] is a blessing and you will always be held sacred in my heart as the most important part of the process that allowed her genesis. Thank you.”
"Just wanted to share our good news with you. I had a positive pregnancy test yesterday! [My husband] and I would like to say a 'very big thank you' for your help and encouragement. Your kind words really meant a great deal to me. We couldn't have managed without you!"
"I realize (with some embarrassment!) that I forgot to email you following my treatment with you in April last year to let you know that I was fortunate enough to become pregnant! You will probably not remember seeing me but there was one thing in particular you said to me during my treatment which had a huge impact on me. You told me that I appeared to be doing everything I possibly could to help me conceive except believe it would happen. I carried that positive thought with me during my treatment at Institut Marques and the result has been a successful pregnancy. I am therefore absolutely delighted and very proud to announce the arrival of ___ – born __December 2007. I have attached a couple of pictures – one just after he was born and the other more recent. My husband and I can’t thank you enough for your help and support at a very crucial time in our quest for a family."
“I often think of you when I see my two younger kids (photo attached) that probably wouldn’t be here without you!”
“Hi Valerie, You probably already suspected this but I confirmed last Thursday that I am, in fact, pregnant! I know this would not have happened without you.”
“You have given so many of us what we wanted and needed along our journey to health & happiness. It's actually been 3 years since I've seen you. We began fertility treatment in April 2012 and by May I was pregnant. I continued to see you throughout my pregnancy and in February 2013 I had my daughter. Since then it's been a busy 3 years watching her grow. I'm still in awe of her everyday. I absolutely love being a mother and I owe that to you and your absolute dedication to what you do. . . . And although I haven't been back to see you you've always held a special place in my heart during that very vulnerable time of my life. You will always be a part of her "birth story" because I believe acupuncture is what my body needed to kickstart my ability to conceive. After all, my husband and I had been trying for 3 years "naturally" and I was on fertility medications for a year and a half. Until I combined that with acupuncture we had been unsuccessful. And only four treatments in I found out I was pregnant! . . . You’ve literally given us life and have made us happier than we could have ever imagined!”
"You are a top notch professional Valerie. I have no doubt success will find you wherever you are. The world needs more people like you. I really do mean that. What more can I say other than I am deeply thankful for my time with you and your healing touch."