Community Acupuncture Clinic

Please take a minute to read this introduction to our Community Clinic. We are delighted that you are interested in joining us!

We treat in a community setting:

In the United States most acupuncture treatments take place on tables in individual rooms. Did you know that traditionally this is not how acupuncture is practiced? In Asia, acupuncture usually occurs in a community setting, in one large open room with lots of tables and chairs available for treatments. In our Community Clinic we use recliners clustered in groups in a large, quiet, soothing space. Treating patients in a community setting has many benefits: it's easy for friends and family members to come in for treatment together; many patients find it comforting; and a collective energetic field is established which actually makes individual treatments more powerful. In some styles of acupuncture, the needles are removed after only a few minutes or after a half hour at most. The Community Clinic allows patients to keep their needles in as long as they want, and the "right" amount of time varies from patient to patient. Most people learn after a few treatments when they feel "done. This can take from twenty minutes to an hour or more! Many people fall asleep, and wake feeling refreshed.

We have a sliding scale:

Acupuncturists typically see patients one on one, and charge $65 to $175 per treatment. In this scenario a significant amount of time is consumed talking with the practitioner in a detailed interview and undergoing extensive palpation techniques. In the Community Clinic we make acupuncture more affordable by streamlining the treatments and seeing multiple patients in an hour. In order to do this we use a more traditional approach to diagnosis, instead of asking a lot of questions we rely almost exclusively on the tongue and pulse to decide how to balance and harmonize your body. This is how acupuncture is practiced in Asia, many patients per hour and very little talking. We do not ask for proof of income. Because we have a sliding scale, we cannot bill insurance during our community clinic hours. There is no proof of income needed to participate in the Community Clinic. Come and pay what you can, so that you can come in as frequently as you like and continue on your journey to greater health.

Our Commitment to you:
We want to make it possible for you to receive acupuncture regularly enough and long enough to get better and stay better. We want our community to be welcoming to all different kinds of people. We want to give you the tools to take care of your own health so that you will not need to rely on costly, high tech interventions. We will provide a safe environment and skilled practitioners.

What we need from you:

Responsibility:

We do not provide primary care medicine! Acupuncture is a wonderful complement to Western Medicine, but it is not a substitute for it. If you think you have a problem that is not "garden variety" (meaning, your are worried that you might have a serious infection, a malignant growth, or an injury that won't heal), or if you want someone knowledgeable to go over the details of your medical history with you, you need to see a primary care physician (ND,MD, or DO). We can provide some excellent, affordable referrals, even if you have no insurance coverage. But you cannot expect us to diagnose and treat something really serious. We can provide complimentary care for conditions which require a physician's attention, for instance, we often treat patients for the side effects of chemotherapy. But we need you to take responsibility for your own health.

The Community Clinic does not receive grants, state or federal money, or insurance reimbursement. We exist because patients pay for their treatments. It is a sustainable community business model.

The community setting requires some flexibility from you. For instance, many patients have a favorite recliner. When we are busy, someone may be sitting in yours. Similarly, we have a few patients who snore. Other patients who dislike snoring bring earplugs to their treatments. We are grateful for this! Some of our patients even bring favorite pillows or blankets from home with them because they prefer theirs to ours. That's fine with us. Basically we need you to participate in making yourself comfortable in the community room before we arrive to treat you.

In terms of how long you want to stay, tell the receptionist, when you check in, if you need to be somewhere at a certain time! If you want to be unpinned at a specific time, ask her to make a note and give it to the acupuncturist. We'll make sure you're out on time. In general, if you feel done, open your eyes and give us a meaningful look, if your eyes are closed, we think you're asleep and we won't wake you up.

The soothing atmosphere in our clinic exists because all of our patients create it by relaxing together. We appreciate everyone's presence! This kind of collective stillness is a rare and precious thing in our rushed and busy society. Maintaining this reservoir of calm requires that no one talk very much in the clinic space. If you would like to speak to a practitioner one on one at any length, please let us know. If you want to have a substantial conversation, we will probably need to schedule time outside the Community Clinic to address your concerns.

Part of our success is that our patients learn the "routine" and take on a lot of responsibility for the appointments. Making payments happens at the front desk before each treatment, so you can relax and enjoy your treatment. Please take all personal belongings, (bags, shoes, etc.) with you into the treatment room. And of course, please turn off your cell phone.

Acupuncture is a process. It is very rare for any acupuncturist to be able to resolve a problem with one treatment. In China, a typical treatment protocol for a chronic condition could be acupuncture ever other day for three months! Most of our patients don't need that much acupuncture, but virtually every patient requires a course of treatment, rather than a single treatment, in order to get what they want from acupuncture.

One big reason that we are able to keep our prices so low is because of the extraordinary amount of marketing that our patients do on our behalf. We cannot express how grateful we are for this. Our patients are such effective marketers because they have a first hand experience of how well acupuncture works. All of our satisfied patients basically made a commitment to a course of treatments.

On your first visit, your acupuncturist will suggest a course of treatment, which can be anything from "we would like to see you once a week for six weeks" to "we would really like to see you every day for the next four days". This suggestion is based on our experience with treating different kinds of conditions. If you don't come in often enough or long enough, acupuncture probably won't work for you. The purpose of our sliding scale is to help you make that commitment. If you have questions about how long it will take to see results, please ask us, or if you think you need to adjust your treatment plan, please let us know. We need you to commit to the process of treatment in order to get good results.

And last but not least…enjoy the space! We do, and hope that the Community Clinic can be an important part of your community. Thank you!