Chinese Medicine Notes

Phillippe Sionneau

Posted on June 3, 2008 by Yael

Phillippe Siounneau is not a well known name here in Israel.
If practitioners know him, it’s mainly for his books, but that’s about it.
A few years ago I thought that having an interview with him would be a good way to get to know him, and indeed we exchanged e-mails, in which he appeared very kind and generous in sharing his ideas about Chinese Medicine.
I don’t know how well known he is abroad, I hope you will find this interview with him interesting enough to read and also give his books a chance to impress you- if they still haven’t.

Phillippe Sionneau is a French practitioner.
He was born in 1967, in France.
He received his B.A in Economics in 1983 and on 1986 he received a diploma in naturopathy from the R. Masson Institute.
In 1994 Sionneau finished his studies at Hubei College of Chinese Medicine, in Wuhan in China and received his B.Sc degree. This year also marked the beginning of his clinical work in various clinics in Paris, Geneva and Barcelona.
Over time, Sionneau became a well known practitioner in Europe, teaching across Europe- mainly France, Spain and Switzerland. He also practices different methods of Qi Gong.
Over the years, Sionneau wrote about 20 books, some of them on his own and some along with Bob Flaws.
In the end of this post I will present a few of his books.

This interview took place in 2004, I found Sionneau busy but he wrote me back and appeared to be very kind with many smilies and a real passion for Chinese Medicine.

CMNotes: You started with studying economy. Then studied naturopathy. Then you studied Chinese Medicine. How does one start with economy and gets to Chinese Medicine (CM)? How did that happen?
P.S: like many “good children” I studied what my parents expected of me. Then as I matured I moved toward my true passion- medicine; not western medicine, but “alternative” medicine. When I was very young I was interested in eating healthy, treating disease in a natural way etc. It started by European approaches of alternative medicine, as naturopathy, aromatherapy and so on.

CMNotes: How did you “meet up” with CM? How did you decide to study this field?
P.S: I was, and still am, an inquiring mind. I was unsatisfied with naturopathy because there is no real global approach to the human being, it is not a medical system with its own physiology, etiology, diagnosis, etc. In fact, it is more a compilation of recipes. When I met CM I fell in love with it, because it is a complete medical system. You can explain all life and diseases with this matrix of thinking… So, it was immediately obvious to me that CM will be my tool to study the complexity of human beings…

CMNotes: Why did you choose China over so many other schools in Europe and USA?
P.S: In my time, I didn’t know the schools in the USA and the schools in France were (and still are) very bad. The teachers do not understand Chinese (it is like teaching mathematics without knowing the numerals), their knowledge was very narrow and strictly on acupuncture, the pedagogic was very confusing, their knowledge of the Classics was non-existent… It was terrible.
But I met a Chinese Doctor who is living in the USA now, and he explained to me that in order to learn Chinese medicine I have no choice but to go to China, to the source… So he helped me going there and I studied in a college of Chinese medicine.

CMNotes: Which aspect of CM is closer to your heart and use more in your practice- acupuncture, Chinese herbs or Tui-Na? Do you see Shiatsu as part of CM?
P.S: Shiatsu is a very interesting method, but it belongs to Japanese medicine not Chinese medicine. In my practice I commonly use Chinese herbs, Chinese diet, Chinese massage and acupuncture. I see many different kinds of patients who need different ways of healing.

CMNotes: Do you use your naturopathy knowledge in your practice?
P.S: Not at all. You can be a good practitioner if you use numerous methods. My opinion is you should first master one deep system before using another. And I do not master CM. I should work more in clinic and research…

CMNotes: Where do you think they are similar and where do you think they are different?
P.S: It’s a very complex debate!
The difference between naturopathy and CM is the same difference between the mechanistic approach to life by westerners, and global and natural approach to life by ancient Chinese philosophy. The point of view in the West and naturopathy depends on science, on what we can see, measure, weigh, etc. In CM we talk often about subtle and invisible things like Qi, Yin, Yang, etc. The west is the world of the palpable, ancient China is the world of impalpable, intangible… So the medical expression of these two worlds is of course very different. I’ll give you an example:
Naturopathy says we must eat crude vegetable because there are more nutriments in them than the cooked one when we measure them; CM says: be careful, the “Qi” inside the crude vegetable are often cold, and more difficult to transform, so they can damage the spleen Qi, and your health, even if they are richer in nutriments.

CMNotes: I have read that you practice different techniques of Qi Gong. How do you find it to be helpful in your practice- for you and your patients?
P.S: I practiced Qi Gong, but I have no more time in my schedule to practice, I have too many children and patients for that. :-) I know, it is bad for my health!

CMNotes: How do you feel about combining between CM and Western Medicine, such as psychology and other fields?
P.S: The combination between CM and Wm is the future of medicine. In some fields the combination is very powerful, or at least better than the two medicine separated. In China we say that there are three medical ways: WM, CM and the combination of both. I hope the combination and collaboration between these two worlds will be more and more developed, aiming to help our patients more.

CMNotes: What is, or are, your favorite things about CM?
P.S: I love many things in CM, so it is difficult to select. But, I am impressed by the knowledge and wisdom of the classics.

CMNotes: What is the best part of teaching for you? Why did you start teaching?
P.S: I started teaching by accident and never stopped because students ask me to continue.
Finally, I teach because it is a good way to continue my own education! I think the main problem in the West is that our understanding of CM is too superficial because we continue to learn CM with our Western mind. Learn and practice CM is to first “THINK” like CM, according is system of thinking.

CMNotes: What 3 things, in your opinion, a practitioner of CM needs to do as he/she starts his/hers practice? What advice can you give to those of us who struggle with our practice? How can we become better healers once we finish our basic 4 years?
P.S: I suggest three things:
1. Love your job and do not stop studying. The continuing education is very important, especially in CM which is an ocean of knowledge.
2. Have an active practice: think about why you do this or that, then examine the result. It is good: why? it is not good: why? Analyze the consequences of your actions, and try to increase your competence. Then memorize the result, and do not make the same error twice.
3. Work, work and work, be dedicated to your patients. We are better doctor after 30 years experiences.

Books by Phillippe Sionneau

Dui Yao

Pao Zhi

The Treatment of Modern Western Medical Diseases With Chinese Medicine