Ping Ho

acupuncturist & Tui NA Massage therapist

Lic.Ac., MBAcC, BSc (Hons) Oriental Medicine Acupuncture

Ping was born in a small rural village in the south east of mainland China. She grew up in Hong Kong where Chinese Medicine has been an integral part of people’s lives. As a child, she observed her grandfather using herbs, acupressure and gua sha techniques in treating ailments of his own and his family.

Ping moved to the UK in 2003 and later studied at the International College of Oriental Medicine (ICOM). She practises traditional Acupuncture and Chinese tui na massage in Forest Row, East Grinstead and Crawley.  Apart from her private clinics, she also treats cancer patients on their recovery journeys for Macmillan (Queen Victoria Hospital) and The Olive Tree (Crawley Hospital). 

Since graduation, she has been supporting patients from all walks of life, with a wide range of conditions such as cancers, auto-immune diseases, gynaecolological issues, anxiety, menopause, infertility, depression, acute and chronic pain such as low back pain, acute sprains and sports injuries, etc.  She often combines various therapies such as tui na massage, cupping, moxibustion, acupressure, gua sha etc., with or without needles, in treatments to achieve better therapeutic results.

For her, Acupuncture treatments are not just mere tools to resolve illnesses. More importantly, Acupuncture helps our body and mind to achieve a more harmonious state, so that it can strengthen our immunity and promotes better health. This falls within a very old traditional Chinese concept, Yang Sheng (養生) –  nourishing one’s life by being mindful of what one does in one’s life (actions/thoughts/diet/exercise etc.).

Visit Ping’s website

Tom Ings

college principal, Acupuncturist, Lecturer & Clinic Supervisor

Lic.Ac., MBAcC, BSc (Hons) Oriental Medicine Acupuncture, PGCert

As the Principal and former Director of Studies at ICOM, Tom has taught across various modules at ICOM since 2008. He graduated in 2007 and works in a busy community clinic in Brighton and in the college clinic.

His strong interest is in the psychology of Chinese medicine, in its potential to help patients live more freely and more wisely. It becomes increasingly evident that our state of mind is of paramount importance to our sense of well-being. He is passionate about the possibilities Chinese Medicine has to help in this sphere.

Tom is the course co-ordinator for Chinese Medicine 1, Point Location 3 and Personal and Professional Development 1. He is also a clinical supervisor in the student clinic.

Elio Basagni

acupuncturist, Lecturer

Lic.Ac., MBAcC, BSc (Hons) Oriental Medicine Acupuncture, FHEA

Elio’s mission is to disseminate the idea that Acupuncture can be the answer to the crisis affecting all evolved health systems globally: a modern answer with old roots; a medicine that puts patients at the centre of the clinical stage again, treating them as individuals and consequently guiding them towards taking responsibility for their own health needs. To this purpose, Elio has spent the last 15 years deepening his clinical skills and understanding of the Classics. He feels part of the movement known as “Classical Chinese Medicine”, led by scholars like Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée, Jeffrey C. Yuen and Dr Li Liuhong.

Since 2010 he has worked in the ICOM clinic as a senior Practitioner and Clinic Supervisor. In 2010 he also founded the I-community project – a multibed clinical setting – in order to address the need of the local community for more frequent and affordable treatments, whilst maintaining the accuracy, care and attention to the patient, which are the trademark of ICOM.

Besides his busy clinical practice, Elio has been a teacher of Chinese Medicine, Point Location, Personal and Professional Development, as well as a member of the Clinic Supervision Team at ICOM. Elio served as the Principal of ICOM between 2019 and 2023 and was the College Assistant Programme Leader/Director of Studies from 2012 to 2018.

In the last decade, he has contributed to the design and development of the academic and clinical curriculum of the ICOM Acupuncture programme, working together with the University of Greenwich and the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board.

He was awarded a BSc honours with a first-class degree in Oriental Medicine – Acupuncture by the University of Brighton, having completed a four-year full-time course at the International College of Oriental Medicine where he also gained a Therapeutic Massage diploma. In June 2013 he achieved a Master in higher education at the University of Greenwich and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). In 2019 Elio was one of the international peer reviewers of the draft document produced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the Standardisation of the Terminology used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Elio practises and teaches liuhebafa tai chi style which he started studying in 1993 under the guide of Daoist Master J. W. Shadow.

Patients attending Elio’s clinic require most commonly treatment for:

  • musculo-skeletal problems (sciatica, back, shoulder and neck pain as well as all sort of joints problems – including tennis or golfer’s elbow, knee problems);
  • digestive problems (IBS, constipation, reflux, chronic loose stools, food intolerances, bloating etc.)
  • headaches (migraines, headaches related to hormones, weather, fatigue etc.);
  • menstrual and fertility related issues (painful periods, PMT, infertility IVF support, menopausal symptoms like hot flushes etc)
  • emotional issues (depression and anxiety related problems, including palpitations, panic attacks etc);
  • chronic fatigue,
  • fibromyalgia,
  • sleep disturbances
  • respiratory disturbances (allergic rhinitis, Asthma etc),
  • immunity or autoimmune related issues
  • general balance.

He is a member of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC). 

Visit Elio’s website