Update on Larimer County Community Corrections Acu-detox Program

By Abbye Silverstein, Dipl.Ac, L.Ac

After one year of treating 85 Intensive Residential Treatment (IRT) clients with the NADA protocol, the Larimer County Community Corrections (LCCC) aka “the halfway house” compiled their results of this pilot program. The final results were: 78% positively completed the program and maintained sobriety upon termination of “the halfway house.” Based upon these results, the IRT program was tripled. In September, the IRT program added ten more beds for male clients and in November, twelve female clients will begin the first Northern Colorado Female IRT program that includes group and individual counseling, acupuncture and Qi Gong. There are a total of 32 clients receiving treatment for a six-week residential recovery program run under the jurisdiction of the Colorado State Department of Corrections.

As the acupuncturist administering this program, I treat the clients in their group rooms. There will be 3 groups receiving treatment in the evenings, four days per week for a six week period.

Last week, I received a call from Tower Productions Company who is producing a 3- part series on addiction in the U.S. for the Discovery Channel. The assistant found articles on the internet about my work with LCCC and contacted me to be part of a segment on cocaine recovery and acupuncture. Since the majority of my LCCC clients are methamphetamine addicts I was unsure if I had the right population for the show. That evening I asked my 2 groups if anyone was recovering from cocaine and four men said yes. Three of the four men consented to be interviewed for the segment. I will be interviewed about the program and give a demonstration with those who consented. The Director of LCCC has consented to have the segment filmed on the premises. The Tower Productions producer is excited about our program and my work with the clients. We are tentatively scheduled to film beginning this November and the show will air next year. So, look for AOM to get some air-time on the Discovery Channel!

This program at the LCCC was published in the Coloradoan newspaper in December 2007. In March 2008, I began a NADA de-stress program for the Aspen Club. The Aspen Club serves Larimer County citizens over 50, and is run by the Poudre Valley Hospital. The hospital does not offer acupuncture, but NADA is offered as stress relief for the over 50 population through the Aspen Club. This initiative has been well received and the director of the program and I are hoping to increase the acupuncture services to this community.

One door opens after another; it is a slow process to educate the public on the merits of acupuncture as a public health benefit. At the same time, practitioners of acupuncture and those who receive it know just how beneficial this medicine can be.