Iqaluit (Oct 25/04) - The owner of an acupuncture and massage clinic in Iqaluit won the Business Development Bank of Canada's 2004 young entrepreneur award for Nunavut.

Elise Bohemier, 32, says she is honoured by the award. She says it's a vindication of sorts for alternative medical treatments, which are often hiding in the basement.

Elise Bohemier, a massage therapist and acupuncturist in Iqaluit, won the Business Development Bank of Canada's 2004 Young Entrepreneur Award. - photo courtesy of Elise Bohemier

"I'm not selling computers or cars. It's a body-mind business. I was happy I could represent everyone else who is struggling to set up a business in my field," says the owner of Acupuncture and Massage.

Bohemier opened for business in 2001 and has seen a steady increase in clients.

Bohemier received a call from Isabelle Roussignat at the French Association Centre of Iqaluit in April encouraging her to apply for the award.

Bohemier had to fill out a 15-page form and explain why she thought her business was worthy of the award.

Originally from Montreal, Bohemier has travelled extensively throughout Europe and Central America.

In 1995, she spent three months in Iqaluit and noticed a lack of services in alternative medicine throughout Nunavut, prompting her eventual move to the city three years ago.

Since then, Bohemier says she has noticed a revolving door of health care workers in Iqaluit, which makes it difficult for patients to form a bond with the practitioner.

Bohemier says her clinic is often backed up by client demand.

"In the winter it's backed up two months or more," she says,

Soon, Bohemier will be able to offer another service at her clinic: psychotherapy.

She has been studying toward a certificate in psychotherapy on and off for the past 14 years. Thirteen times a year, Bohemier makes the journey to Montreal for training to become a mental health therapist.

The differences between a psychologist and a mental health therapist are many, she says. Psychologists never touch their patients, Bohemier explains.

"I cannot work with a person who has multiple personalities. I work with people just like you and me who are going through stressful periods in their lives," she says.

It's an unfortunate fact that Iqaluit is an ideal location for plying her trade, Bohemier says.

"There's a lot of people who have been hurt through abuse or trauma to their bodies.

"This work has to be done together. There's a link and there is a need for a combined approach," she says.