Members of the public are encouraged to participate in free stress-reduction sessions incorporating the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) protocol at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM).
The sessions will be offered through WVSOM’s Center for Rural and Community Health (CRCH) and will take place at 2 and 4 p.m., April 17 and 18, on the WVSOM campus in Lewisburg. Face masks are required during the session and will be provided, and participants’ temperatures will be checked at the door. Additional COVID-19 safety precautions will include social distancing, the use of sanitizer, and the wearing of masks and gloves by those performing the protocol.
The NADA protocol is a form of acupuncture in which small needles are placed into specific areas on the exterior of the ear. Stress reduction is one of many benefits of the technique, which also can be used to reduce cravings for drugs and minimize withdrawal symptoms, ease symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and improve sleep. The protocol has been in use since the 1970s.
In the April sessions, the NADA protocol will be performed by new trainees. Deborah Schmidt, D.O., who chairs WVSOM’s osteopathic principles and practice department and is a member of the West Virginia Board of Acupuncture, said the sessions are valuable to health professionals because they help them learn to administer the protocol.
“We appreciate the public joining us for these stress-reduction sessions because it helps in the training of NADA acudetox providers. The goal in training these providers in southern West Virginia is to offer an inexpensive, nonpharmacologic method to assist those struggling with addiction and recovery,” Schmidt said. “Participants will have the opportunity to experience a simple, minimally invasive treatment that helps bring down stress levels and allows a chance to focus on well-being.”
In West Virginia, individuals permitted to administer the protocol include physicians and student doctors, physician assistants, registered professional nurses, practical nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, professional counselors, correctional officers and emergency medical services providers.
Individuals who want to receive stress reduction through the protocol may attend any of the sessions, which will be conducted in the WVSOM Student Center, and must preregister by 4 p.m., April 15, with Jenna Hinkle at 304-793-6584 or jhinkle@osteo.wvsom.edu. Attendees should park in the area beside the center’s second-floor entrance and enter through the door marked “NADA training.”
WVSOM’s CRCH is presenting the sessions with funding from the State Opioid Response Grant through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities.