Photo by Aaron Farrington
Complementary Practices
Auricular (Ear) Acupuncture
“Acudetox,” also known as “the NADA protocol,” is a standardized ear acupuncture protocol used for behavioral health that is a known best practice in the acute and chronic management of substance use disorders. NADA has also proved to be a beneficial treatment in situations where calming an aroused nervous system is an aid in recoveries, such as during mental health acute crises, trauma treatment, natural disasters, and chronic pain syndrome.
NADA stands for the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, a non-profit organization overseeing training and advocacy of this protocol. The protocol is a simple yet powerful treatment that involves placing 3 to 5 sterile needles in specific points on each ear. The treatment lasts about 30 to 45 minutes and often brings an immediate calming effect. The treatment can be done individually or in a group setting.
This protocol is helpful as an adjunct to addiction treatment. It helps reduce anxiety associated with opioid and other drug withdrawal and the behavioral change necessary in early recovery.
For some clients, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy may be accompanied by anxiety for those who have never used ketamine or other psychoactive substances. There may also be fear or anxiety when faced with the prospect of addressing painful and deeply held psychological issues or trauma. The NADA protocol can manage the fear and anxiety associated with the induction phase of ketamine and the initial post-treatment phase, where it can help with grounding and integration of the ketamine experience.
Laura Myers and Mark Farrington are certified as “Acudetox Specialists” and use this protocol in their practice. Mark Farrington is also a NADA registered trainer and can train behavioral health professionals in this protocol.
For more information, you can visit the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association website: www.acudetox.com
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally (Jon Kabat-Zinn). Mindfulness is nothing more mysterious than developing our ability to pay attention to our immediate experience. We are often preoccupied with thoughts about the past or the future or fantasies about what should have been. While these thoughts may be innocent and harmless, they often contribute to stress, fear, and suffering.
By practicing mindfulness meditation, we learn to be aware of what is happening in the present moment. This awareness does not judge, resist, or cling to anything. By simply being mindful, we learn to free ourselves from our habitual reactions and begin a friendlier relationship with our experience, ourselves, and others.
Developing this skill can help reduce stress and improve attention, memory, and concentration. In this way, it is an essential aid in managing depression, anxiety, chronic pain, addiction recovery, and relapse prevention.
Mindfulness practice can be a powerful tool due to its ability to increase tolerance of painful emotions, enhancing our ability to remain attentive even in emotional discomfort. In light of this, mindfulness skills are integral to clinical practice at the Center for Wellness and Change. Laura Meyer completed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training in 2008 and now provides specific mindfulness-based individual and group counseling at CWC.
https://med.virginia.edu/mindfulness-center/ - The UVA Mindfulness Center offers intensive training courses to develop mindfulness skills – the practice of focusing our attention on our inner experience at the moment that it is happening.
University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness – Research and training on mindfulness meditation’s role in health care, stress reduction and medicine.
UNERGI
Integrative Sessions for Personal Growth
UNERGI sessions are for personal self-care and exploration of personal growth and spirituality. Ute Arnold, the creator of UNERGI, says, "The Body is a mirror; it can provide access and information and healing presence, not always available at a conscious level. The awareness gained brings into consciousness that which is present in us all, our natural inclination toward self-awareness and appreciation for ourselves and our being."
UNERGI is a process of discovering what positive energy exists within us. Once we have an awareness of that energy, it can be utilized in moving us towards personal growth.
Many people feel that they have yet to reach their best state of wellness and well-being. UNERGI is a powerful tool to help achieve this. An increased sense of well-being may result in greater ease in relationships, social situations, or being at peace within yourself.
UNERGI is an experiential process where the client uses several modalities for self-exploration and integration of body, mind, and spirit. It is gentle and self-initiated. Clients work with polarities in their body during sessions, understanding and acknowledging hurts or blocks within. The facilitator helps the client identify their well-functioning "parts." Then, using these identified parts, they amplify their energy towards other parts that need improved functioning. In this way, they move toward wholeness, ease, and integration.
UNERGI work brings together many other therapeutic modalities, including Gestalt, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, chakra systems, and dreamwork. The experiential UNERGI process benefits people interested in exploring their wholeness through self-acceptance and love in a non-judgmental, caring, and safe environment.
UNGERI is an experiential, self-defined process for personal growth. The sessions do not claim to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, physical or medical condition.
Jim Clark is a 1997 Graduate of the three-year training program in UNERGI work.