Friday, August 1, 2008

Acupuncture Detox - The NADA Protocol




You may know someone who has gotten acupuncture to help them quit smoking or overeating or any other type of habitual or obsessive behavior. But did you know that acupuncture is also highly effective in helping people get off serious drugs like heroin, cocaine, morphine and more?

Obviously, acupuncture alone won't do the trick for serious drug abusers. Medical care, sometimes in an inpatient setting, is often required, with talk therapy in a group and one-on-one setting as an important part of full recovery. Acupuncture, specifically ear acupuncture, has been used in such settings to help those in recovery to settle their nerves, calm their spirits, and subdue the mental and physical cravings. I have seen the therapeutic effects first hand as an intern at St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, New York. The patients in the 28-day program received the NADA protocol ear acupuncture daily, and were offered full acupuncture treatments once a week by our visiting team of interns and supervisor.

The National Acupuncture Detox Association (NADA) trains people to put five needles in each ear in points that affect the Spirit, Sympathetic Nervous System, Kidneys, Liver, and Lungs. Because all of the points are in the ear, the treatment can be provided anywhere where a group of people can sit comfortably. In fact, there have been studies done that show the effect of the treatment for each individual is heightened when they are in a room full of people also receiving treatment.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction of any kind, the NADA protocol is a very useful tool that can benefit you in recovery.

1 comment:

Yang-chu Higgins said...

Good stuff!

The info about group needling is v. interesting. There's even research that might explain why? William Tiller, engineer from Stanford, has done some fascinating work in the area.

y.c.