Community Acupuncture

Disadvantaged people in need of regular acupuncture treatments find the community acupuncture model extremely helpful. Its low cost makes it affordable, the benefits of treatment are usually felt by the end of the treatment and importantly the group experience enhances the treatment effect. For many it is a highlight of the week and it is a way to interact socially.

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Acupuncture points are selected on the arms and legs only and hence there is no need to remove any clothing. This is a non-threatening environment. Common presentations at my community acupuncture clinic include pain, anxiety, stress, depression and some chronic disorders.

 

There are however limits to this sort of work. Back treatments are not possible so chronic disorders like vertebral issues are problematic, as is using common points on the torso. Some people also find the group setting too confronting. One of my private patients attended once and vowed never to return as the open questioning about their main complaint and being near some questionable characters was off-putting.

 

For the practitioner the work can be intense, given three or more people are being treated at the same time. The patients can also be very demanding, sometimes wanting 100% attention all of the time. However personally I find the work very rewarding and enjoyable. The challenge of having to diagnose and plan a treatment very quickly keeps me on my toes, plus without sounding corny, it develops humility.

 

For this article I also contacted Paul Nebauer about his experience at Bellingen Community Access Acupuncture and Shiatsu (BCAS).

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This clinic has 8 treatment tables for acupuncture with Shiatsu happening in an adjoining room. Paul is the primary acupuncture practitioner while Matt Sincock mainly does Shiatsu and some acupuncture.

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The clinic is busy with up to 30 patients once a week coming for a variety of complaints from musculoskeletal, reproductive, gastrointestinal, psychosocial, endocrine and sleep disorders.

 

Patients pay between $30 -70 per session as they choose and can have both acupuncture and shiatsu.

 

The atmosphere of the clinic is deliberately kept very informal and matter of fact. Whispering is actively discouraged, patients are encouraged to talk in normal voices about what’s happening and there is lots of conversation between patients on the tables. Laughter and jokes are a feature, as are tears. People bring their kids, babies are nursed and even dogs sometimes are present (but not treated!). In this way patients are able to contextualise their challenges as part of the normal human range of experience. It helps to de-catastrophise whatever is happening for them, and they are able to offer each other information and support, thus reducing their subjective distress.

 

Paul and Matt provide a high level of care with remedial massage, cupping, corrective exercises and counselling incorporated into the sessions. They both work very hard and are probably not paid accordingly, but do have the great reward of contributing in a very real way to the wellbeing of their Bellingen community. There is some spill-over work in their private clinics, though this is often limited to the more financial patients.

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Paul finds the community model of practice incredibly satisfying and rewarding enabling him and Matt to deliver affordable care for the less financially endowed members of their community. Equally, wealthier clients attend because they enjoy the communal atmosphere and regular treatments. It is a model that benefits both patients and practitioners, and it can be both profoundly moving and great fun!