How the NADA Protocol Significantly Transformed the Face of Substance Abuse Rehabilitation

For over 2,000 years, acupuncture has been a traditional way of treating people suffering from various types of discomforts and diseases. It is based on association of specific locations and a form of bioelectric energy moving within the body whose function is to support health. Its practice is regulated throughout the U.S.

A lot of well-known alternative healing practices follow the same principles that acupuncture is based on. These include Qi Gong, shiatsu, reiki, reflexology, and acupressure. Micro-acupuncture needles work on small areas of the body that are known to help restore and balance bodily functions. Used in this regard are the points on the ears, scalp, hands, and feet

In the United States, there are more than 2,000 alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs who have integrated ear acupuncture (auriculotherapy) into their protocol. This move was inspired by the more than three decades experience of the Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, New York, which administered 100 acupuncture treatments each day for the treatment of alcohol, drug, and other types of substance addiction. An offshoot of the Lincoln experience is the Miami Drug Court which is nationally recognized.

A foundation for psycho-social recovery and rehabilitation is what acupuncture provides. This treatment is meant to be a supportive element of a substance abuse treatment and also helps the patient for job readiness.

Overall functioning is improved through the several benefits that acupuncture provides. These benefits include acupuncture’s ability to:

– Help in reaching resistant patients
– Lower agitation and anxiety while contributing to receptive and calm behavior
– Help bring out an interior meditative core in even the most fearful and troubled individuals

The most common acupuncture technique used to treat addiction is auriculotherapy. Treatments are usually administered in large groups during for 45 minutes during which time patients are told to sit quietly together. This treatment protocol is known as the NADA or the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association protocol. Certain laws in many jurisdictions allow the training of clinical personnel who are then licensed to implement this protocol in facilities approved by the state. Some states such as California and Florida that have no such provision have very few NADA programs as compared to states that have these standards like New York and Virginia. Training for NADA includes integration with social services and sterile precautions. For those interested to work at NADA programs, apprenticeship training is required.

This present century has seen a significant rise in the use of the NADA protocol. Community members provided post-trauma treatments to victims of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. Treatments have been permanently introduced for firemen in both New Orleans and New York. In the UK, 130 prisons are now using acupuncture NADA protocol. All the treatments are given by correction officers who have undergone a five-year training sponsored by Smart-UK. The result of all this was an 80% decrease in violent incidents. In India, he NADA protocol has helped thousands in the military who were suffering from suicidal tendencies and stress.

In Northern Europe, the method of psychiatric hospital care has been radically changed by NADA acupuncture. A hundred public facilities have trained three thousand nurses for this procedure. The result was a significant reduction in the use of the drug benzodiazepine and much less use of seclusion. In war ravaged areas, services for refugees have been especially remarkable. In Thailand, the DARE program for several years have provided ear acupuncture for dozens of Burmese tribes living in camps near the border. In May 2008, in East Africa, the Real Medicine Foundation gave a two-week NADA training for treatment of people living in refugee camps. In just one year, 29,000 treatments have been administered by trainees living in these camps.

For children who have bed wetting problems, or suffering from night tremors, autism spectrum disorders, or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and adolescents who are prone to violence magnetic beads have been used as treatment. This technique is in the early stage of evaluation although countries such as the Philippines, Ireland, England, Germany, and the U.S have already reported some measure of success.

Being an inexpensive and safe treatment, the ear acupuncture protocol obviously has a potential for wider usage in the field of psychiatry.

Danielle DeVivo is a board certified and licensed acupuncturist in Saratoga Springs, NY.