Acupuncture for Addictions

Acupuncture helps those with addiction, mental illness

Sometimes it’s hard for Sandra Bauer to stop shaking.

The 56-year-old Dover resident struggles with a lot of anxiety that can be hard to control. She takes medication and sees a specialist from Connections Community Support Programs’ Assertive Community Treatment team in Dover every month.

Last Tuesday, however, it was as if all that stress disappeared. Bauer felt at peace. Her mind was calm. But it wasn’t medication that helped her feel at ease. It was five needles carefully positioned in her ears.

Bauer experienced acupuncture detoxification.

Known as acu-detox, the therapy utilizes standard acupuncture techniques to relieve stress, withdrawal symptoms and anxiety common in people living with addiction and behavioral health issues.

“I was trying to keep thinking about the beach,” Bauer said. The relaxed feeling lasted for “quite a while,” she said.

Acu-detox therapy is making a comeback in Delaware’s substance abuse and mental health community. It is not new by any means, just uncommon. Though its roots are in Eastern medical philosophies, it’s been practiced in modern medicine off and on for nearly four decades. Experts stress that it’s not a standalone therapy, but used as a supplement to a person’s treatment plan.

Starting in the mid-90s, the Kent and Sussex County Detox program in Ellendale offered acu-detox for patients until the center closed after 15 years. Delaware’s only detox facility, NET Kirkwood Detox, offered the treatment, but has since discontinued it.

Staff at Connections are currently being trained in the therapy to treat people with substance abuse and mental health issues. It’s just another tool in their toolbox, said Cathy McKay, Connections’ president and chief executive officer, said.

The state’s drug epidemic has prompted officials to get creative with treatment options while securing millions of dollars in funding to counter the rising tide of drug use. Some of that money will go toward opening a new 16-bed detox center in Harrington, run by Connections, which will help people withdraw from alcohol and drugs. It is expected to open in August.

McKay said she would like at least three nurses trained in acu-detox so they can practice at the new facility and at other outpatient locations.

“There’s a lot of different ways for people to get clean and you want to offer all the options so that people can see what works best for them,” McKay said. “It’s our intention to use all means that are available, that are evidence-based and proven to work.”

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