Meet Victoria Sous of Healing Paradise Acupuncture in Mount Prospect

Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Sous.

Empowered healing became a personal mission for Victoria after watching her parents battle kidney failure and multiple sclerosis. Week after week she attended appointments and watched how their disease and her experience with the modern medical system’s focus on treating the symptoms and not the whole disease as well as recognizing the shortcomings of a person’s identity being linked to their disease. She vowed to be a medical practitioner who focused on treating body, mind and spirit in order to promote healing.

With this passion in mind, Victoria enrolled in Loyola University’s undergraduate program where she truly felt Loyola’s mission of treating the body, mind and spirit through a focus on exploring the different aspects of medicine. It was during her senior year of college, that Victoria’s journey with acupuncture began when she started getting migraines. The migraines got consistently worse soon accompanied by symptoms of weight loss, fatigue, irritability, nausea and dizziness. These symptoms baffled her doctors and no medication seemed to help. Her doctors recommended that she try acupuncture and after a month of weekly treatments, the severity and frequency of my migraines lessened week by week until she no longer had any symptoms. Through research and weekly acupuncture visits, Victoria soon found the answer which she was looking for on how to provide empowered healing. This started her journey with acupuncture and she enrolled to obtain a Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

As a Loyola University Chicago alumni with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services and a minor in Psychology, Victoria’s education focused on fostering the body, mind, and spirit within herself and others. This mentality translated to her post college job experience working for a child development soccer program as both a soccer coach and later as the Director of Marketing. Working to inspire children while attending grad school for Traditional Chinese Medicine full time validated her calling to constantly nurture every aspect of a person to foster innate potential. She watched weekly the physical, emotional, social and cognitive development of every child and she knew that is what she wanted for each and every one of her patients.

The skills she learned with her soccer players translated in patient-centered care in the clinic with pediatric super hero sticker inspired acupuncture treatments, color meditations and therapeutic music to ensure a holistic and calming environment. She wanted a practice that fostered the empowerment of health decisions. Her vision for medicine is of collaboration not just the masking of symptoms but the treating of the whole body. She vows to heal every patient one needle at a time.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As the launch of any business, starting up was the hardest part. My focus was on educating the public on how acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine can benefit them. The struggle of both educating patients about acupuncture as well as informing them that I was not against western medicine was a common struggle. Patients felt that they had to choose between eastern and western medicine and were surprised when I welcomed both into healing as I believe there is a time and place for both when looking at holistic health. For example, acupuncture is great for pain management, mental health, and fertility but not for trauma. It was also a struggle as most patients needed to understand that acupuncture wasn’t a one treatment and I am healed kind of medicine.

It may take multiple treatments to heal a patient as we are treating the root of the condition and not just the symptoms. Depending on the pattern and how chronic the condition is, treatment plans may vary and once the root of the condition is addressed, the focus would then turn to maintenance treatments. As we are treating the whole body, patients who come in due to back pain may also find that their digestive issues are relieved given the whole body treatment. The key to good health is to remain proactive and stay one step ahead of potential problems before they have a chance to develop. It is far less costly to take your car to the mechanic for routine maintenance than it is to wait for it to break down. The same theory applies to your health. Your health is like a car; you can either maintain it or watch it break down. This is sometimes a hard concept for patients to grasp.

The biggest struggle of private practice is being my patient’s advocate. I have a patient who is a victim of Chicago’s gun violence and is paralyzed from the chest down because of it. I have been his Acupuncturist for five months and I have watched him go from being in a wheelchair to being weight bearing for up to 4 minutes, slowly regain bowel and bladder control and take steps to get his life back. It’s a mental struggle as you know that he is not Chicago’s only story of the tragic gun violence but I am proud to be a part of his journey to recovery. Follow his progress @MikeWalkTall

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Healing Paradise Acupuncture story. Tell us more about the business.
Healing Paradise Acupuncture has a mission to heal patients one needle at a time. I have developed a passion for redefining health as not the absence of physical disease but a cultivation of physical, mental and emotional growth for overall well-being. With a foundation of Chinese Medicine, addressing diet, lifestyle, exercise, and emotional well-being, I empower each patient to take control of their health one step at a time. I specialize in pain management and mental health but have had success with fertility, bell’s palsy, stroke recovery, and paralysis.

I am known for my personalized approach to acupuncture and for being extremely patient – centered. It is common for patients to have min celebrations for their birthdays, health milestones and even graduation day. What makes me proud is my practice recently had its first anniversary. I am grateful to each and every one of my patients. Each of them received a little gift bag with the gratitude letter below:

This month marks the 1 Year Anniversary of Healing Paradise Acupuncture. What started as a Vision for Holistic Healing for Empowered Living became a Community-Oriented Practice. A holistic community based on kindness, compassion, and building a patient-centered practice focused on “Healing Patients One Needle At A Time”.

I have so much gratitude to each and every one of you. Throughout this past year, I have seen your triumphs, your struggles, and your fight to take back your health in order to live a balanced life. As each of you become healthy, you unconsciously gave permission to your family, friends and loved ones to start the same health journey within themselves.

I watched proudly as you all became migraine-free, pain-free, regained your zen and even took your first steps after being told that you would never walk again. I was told that I was the last option for many of you. That you tried everything before entrusting me with your health goals. Lao Tzu once said that “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” Each and every step in your health journeys have inspired me to become a better acupuncturist and I thank you for that. I am grateful for every new day as it means that I have another day to make a positive difference in my own life and in the lives of those around me. Here’s to many more years serving Mount Prospect and the neighboring communities!

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think faith, luck, and hard work played a huge role in my life and business. Being a business owner has its ups and downs with challenging cases or setbacks to a patient’s health. As healing nor life is linear, it is about achieving balance and having a positive attitude. In my mind, the success of my practice is equivalent to how many patients I have healed.

Pricing:

• Initial Acupuncture Visit $80
• Follow Up Acupuncture Visit $60
• Cupping $40
• Tui Na $40

Contact Info:

• Address: 106 S. Emerson
  Mount Prospect, IL 60056
  (Located inside Breton Chiropractic)
• Website: https://www.healingparadiseacu.com/
• Phone: 224-307-4325
• Email: healingparadiseacupuncture@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingparadiseacupuncture/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healingparadiseacupuncture/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/healing-paradise-acupuncture-mount-prospect
• Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=healing+paradise+acupuncture&oq=heali&aqs=chrome.1.69i60j69i59j69i60j69i65l2j69i57.5509j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x880fba01837d45a1:0xd5707f194efcfd65,1,

Image Credit:
Liz Sheiner Photography

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