A pause before you apply

The Yellow Path Advanced Licentiate Programme is not for everyone. We say that deliberately and without apology.

This page exists so you can decide whether this way of learning and the timing is right for you.

We strongly recommend reading this page carefully before applying.

What the Yellow Path Advanced Licentiate Programme Is:

This advanced training exists to build on the Yellow Path Licentiate programme.

It is an apprenticeship-style training grounded in lineage, long clinical experience and careful attention to how practitioners develop knowledge, experience and become clinically competent classical Five-Element acupuncturists within the context of their own practices.

Teaching takes place in small cohorts (8-10 students) and includes:

● deepening of understanding in theory and philosophy of Five-Element acupuncture;

● clinical observation and supervised practice;

● group enquiry and discussion;

● direct feedback on clinical and professional conduct.

The emphasis is on development, clarity, personal/professional responsibility and integrity in practice, rather than entry-level learning, speed, breadth, or comfort.

What This Programme Is Not

This programme is not:

● an opportunity to learn theory/clinical skills missed at the Lic.Ac. level;

● a personal healing or therapy programme;

● a trauma-support or emotionally led environment;

● a space organised around affirmation or consensus;

● something that adapts itself to individual preferences.

If you are primarily seeking emotional support, reassurance or validation, this programme is unlikely to be the right fit right now.

How Learning Happens Here

Learning on the Yellow Path is direct and relational.

If you are accepted on the Advanced Licentiate programme, you will be challenged on your existing knowledge, in how you think, how you practise and how you relate to others. That challenge is not a problem to be fixed; it is part of your development as an ‘Instrument of Nature’ and how you transform as a person.

You are expected to take responsibility for your own emotional regulation, behaviour and participation. Discomfort or disagreement does not indicate harm.

Physical Contact and Clinical Context

This is a professional acupuncture training. Physical contact is therefore an ordinary and necessary part of learning.

This includes acupuncture point location, pulse and abdominal diagnosis, physical examination and supervised clinical practice. At times, this may involve working in sensitive anatomical areas, including the perineum, where clinically relevant.

All physical contact takes place within a professional, respectful and supervised context.

Students are expected to communicate clearly about consent and boundaries within that framework.

Responsibility and Suitability

This advanced programme requires a level of psychological robustness, self-responsibility and the self-discipline to take the time to put your attention on the areas that you lack – between the in-person sessions. It is not enough to show up once a month and not do the practice and study required to succeed.

It is unlikely to be suitable if you:

● need reassurance in order to learn;

● experience challenge as personal attack;

● struggle with clear authority or hierarchy;

● wish to remain primarily in the role of client or consumer and be spoon fed.

Suitability is considered throughout the programme, not only at the point of entry. This protects the integrity of the work, the cohort you join and the integrity of the teaching.

A Moment of Choice

Before applying, we invite you to pause and notice your response to what you have read.

If something here gives you pause, that information matters.

Clarity at the threshold is a form of care for you, for the cohort you join, the wider Yellow Path community and for the work itself.

Advanced Licentiate programme requirements:

● The Advanced Licentiate programme is for students who hold a Licentiate in Five-Element Acupuncture.

● This programme is designed to deepen your existing knowledge and refine your clinical skills as you actively practice between sessions. This means a weekly discipline of revising theory, point location and pulse taking – conducted alone or in study groups you organise.

● We require you are doing an average minimum of 15 treatments per month over the course of the 10 months of the programme (you will need to submit fully completed treatment sheets as evidence) from your practice/s. This ensures you are transferring the knowledge and experienced acquired in class to your day-to-day practice.

Proceeding to Application

By continuing to the application process, you confirm that you have:

● read and understood this page;

● considered whether this form of advanced training is appropriate for you at this time;

● chosen to apply freely and without pressure.

Applicants who proceed will be asked to complete a short self-reflection questionnaire as part of the application before an interview is offered.