katrina relief

[Guest guest]

For all who are interested and able-bodied:

 

Those of you who are interested in Acupuncture and

Oriental Medicine Community response to Hurricane

Katrina may be interested in the following:

 

Acupuncturists Without Borders

Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort

 

A team of acupuncturists from around the country are

setting up a program to work with people suffering

from the devastating psychological (among other)

effects of Hurricane Katrina. This group is devoted

to using acupuncture and the NADA (National

Acupuncture Detoxification Association) protocol for

treating trauma from disasters and conflict.

 

During the month of September we will be raising

funds, organizing logistics and putting together teams

of acupuncturists who can go to Houston or other

areas. We will implement the program on the ground as

soon as feasible.

 

We will be recruiting Acupuncturists who are

interested in participating in this effort, and we

will be requesting that Acupuncture College Clinics

and Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine related

organizations set up fundraising drives to support

this effort.

 

The things we need most are individuals who can commit

some time to doing Acupuncture Relief, and funds to

support the effort.

 

Contributions, which may be collected through several

national and state Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

organizations, can be made through the Acupuncture

Alliance by sending checks to Acupuncture and

Oriental Medicine Alliance Attn: Robin-Hurricane

Relief, 6405 43rd Ave. Ct. NW, Suite A, Gig Harbor, WA

98335 or you can make a credit card donation by phone

(ask for Robin) 253-851-6896 rbeckman.

If you are interested in participating or

contributing in another way, you can contact me at

cneipris, or you can contact the

project Director.

 

Diana Fried, Director

acupuncturewithoutborders

(505) 417-0152

 

 

If people are NADA trainers they can automatically

join our group. If they are NADA certified, or are

acupuncturists without NADA training, we will have a

screening process that will consist of a one-page

written proposal we will request with specific

questions (pending approval by the State Licensing

Board). Our main objective will be to find people who

can cope with the difficult situations, and the

trauma, we will face.

Our program will initially be based in Houston. Our

expectation is that there will be a call to send teams

to other areas where refugees are located.

We will be setting up a base in Houston. Riverside

Hospital is considering our proposal to use their

facility as a home base. We will also be contacting

the acupuncture school in Houston as a possible

location as well. From there we will go to the

Astrodome or to other locations where we can serve

people directly. We will attempt to have teams working

all day long.

We will treat refugees and others working on the

relief effort, including trauma service workers,

doctors, nurses, city officials, aid workers, etc.

We will have a web page set up to cover our

activities.

Our goal is that team members will stay for a minimum

of one week, and preferably two weeks or longer.

Ideally we will have five team members on the ground

at all times.

We will have a supervising team member available at

all times.

We will attempt to raise enough money so that we can

cover expenses for all team members, minimally, and

ideally pay for time as well. We will ask for one

week of volunteer time in all cases. We will propose

that those who are in a position to cover their own

time and expenses do so.

We will use research tools to measure the success of

our work. This will consist of an initial

post-traumatic stress disorder instrument, and we will

attempt follow up with the same individuals. Nityamo

Lian, who works in acupuncture research and recently

completed a NIH-funded grant which studied acupuncture

diagnosis and treatment of Post-traumatic Stress

Disorder will head the research effort and will

supervise the collection of material.

We will be working with State Licensing Boards to get

approval for acupuncturists from around the country to

do this work temporarily.

We are working with national acupuncture associations

and will be contacting all state associations.

 

 

Survivors of traumatic events report acu detox (NADA

protocol) to be useful in alleviating symptoms of

Acute Stress Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder. Trauma and post-traumatic stress can cause

people to dissociate and act out in ways they would

never otherwise do. The NADA treatments are a

powerful way to bring people back to themselves at a

deep level. NADA treatments have the potential to

transform situations from a level of crisis to a level

that is manageable.

 

 

WHY USE ACU DETOX AFTER TRAUMATIC EVENTS

 

 

Very EFFECTIVE: The effects are cumulative, meaning

the more you receive it, the longer treatments last,

and the less you need it.

 

Very SIMPLE: No side effects.

 

Very FLEXIBLE: It can be done anywhere with no special

facilities/equipment. It can be easily integrated

into a wide range of settings including hospitals,

clinical practices, outdoor clinics in developing

countries or in natural disaster situations, while

people are waiting for other services.

 

Very ECONOMICAL: Treatments cost .30 cents or less

per person.

 

Very ACCESSIBLE: Immediate “treatment on demand”

without lengthy intake or wait. Neither does client

have to wait to feel its impact, as relaxation

generally occurs within minutes. Placing needles just

in the ear, recipients can easily receive a treatment

fully dressed (for ex: on the scene emergency workers

who need a break)

 

It can be used on all those who may be involved in a

traumatic incident:

The victims

The mental health staff

The police and emergency personnel attending to

incident

Each other (acu detox specialists)

 

 

It is a nonverbal treatment. Inability to be verbal is

not an obstacle to getting help. This means that it is

especially useful for:

Those who may not be receptive initially to verbal

counseling due to wanting to avoid the stigma of

mental illness.

Those not able to communicate verbally due to feeling

numb.

Don’t speak the dominant language well, are deaf,

mentally retarded, unfamiliar with cultural norms.

Those not able to communicate verbally due to

emotional overwhelm.

 

Bessel Van der Kolk showed through MRI’s that the

frontal lobes of the brain can shut down in emotional

overload when people get close to their trauma- the

limbic/emotional areas light up and the Broca’s/speech

area shuts down, blocking verbal access and ability.

 

Those who might not seek out treatment for Acute

Stress Disorder, may be willing to have acupuncture.

Done in groups, it can help break the isolation often

felt after traumatic events. Creating resiliency may

depend on a positive group interaction.

 

 

CORE TEAM BIOS

 

Diana Fried, Diplomate in Acupuncture (NCCAOM), has

many years of experience and training in

emotional/trauma healing work, along with years of

work in international grassroots community

development, including travel and work in Central

America and Africa. She graduated from the Academy

for Five Element Acupuncture (1999), and is trained in

acupuncture detox work by the National Acupuncture

Detoxification Association (NADA). Writer and media

consultant.

 

Laura Cooley is a licensed acupuncturist and

Registered National Acupuncture Detoxification

Association (NADA) Trainer. She is nationally

certified and holds licenses in Vermont and Texas.

Laura served as Volunteer Director of acupuncture

services for the Austin HIV Wellness Center and for 9

years. She has trained over 600 health care

professionals in the use of acu detox, She supervises

programs that use this tool in drug treatment

programs, jails, hospital settings, homeless and HIV

outreach programs for the purposes of drug treatment,

alleviation of trauma symptoms, and stress relief.

Currently Laura is making a video to document the

usefulness of acupuncture in emergency/disaster

situations and creating a training manual for treating

trauma with ear acupuncture.

 

Wendy Henry, a graduate of Pacific College of Oriental

Medicine, and a licensed acupuncturist in New York,

has been instrumental in coordinating Acupuncture and

Wellness programs for trauma survivors, firefighters,

search and rescue workers, and individuals affected by

9/11. She works for the Fire Department of New York

in addition to her private practice.

 

Dard Muhammad is a licensed acupuncturist in Texas. He

has been doing acupuncture detox work since 1992. He

has done treatments at the Corrections Center and now

works with substance abuse at the Riverside Hospital.

He is a registered NADA trainer.

 

Cynthia Neipris is licensed as an acupuncturist in New

York and California, with certification from the

National Acupuncture Detoxification Association as an

Acu-Detox Specialist. She is the Outreach and

Community Education Coordinator for the New York

campus of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, one of

the largest and most well respected Acupuncture and

Oriental Medicine Colleges in the nation. She

previously served as Assistant Academic Dean at Yo San

University of Traditional .

 

Nityamo Lian is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine in New

Mexico. She is nationally certified in Acupuncture and

Chinese Herbology. She works in acupuncture research

and recently completed a NIH-funded grant which

studied acupuncture diagnosis and treatment of

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Dr Lian is active in

promoting acupuncture use in public health settings.

She started a low-income, public health, pain clinic,

and she volunteers at Healthcare for the Homeless

doing acupuncture detoxification for substance users