Community acupuncture is the practice of treating patients together in a large room. This differs from traditional acupuncture where treatment is administered in a private room setting.
Many clinics across the country, including ours, have chosen to adopt the community acupuncture model approach because it makes getting treatment more accessible and affordable.
Plus, 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 becomes established which actually makes individual treatments more powerful.
In addition to these benefits, one of the things we love about the community acupuncture model is that it mirrors how traditional acupuncture is practiced in many Asian countries. The community model hearkens back to how acupuncture was originally meant to be practiced. Plus, it demystifies the process by bringing it out into the open.
How Community Acupuncture Works
So, how does getting treated in a group setting work? Here’s a quick overview:
Because we are treating you in a large room alongside other people, you will be treated while seated or lying in a comfortable recliner. You will remain fully clothed and our licensed acupuncturists will only insert needles in places we can easily access––your arms, hands, lower legs, feet, head and neck.
While there will be other people in the room with you, the recliners are spaced out and you won’t hear much noise or talking from treatments happening around you. There is white noise machines and soft music to create a relaxing, soothing environment.
Once the needles are in, you can relax for as long as you like––anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. We won’t disturb you while you rest. But when you are ready to go, simply give us a wave and we’ll remove the needles before you leave.
Our Guide to Getting Treatment in a Community Setting
There are a few things we ask that you keep in mind when receiving treatment to help us create a calm, relaxing and healing environment for all of our patients.
- Keep talking to a minimum. To help us maintain a reservoir of calm in our treatment room, we ask that people refrain from talking in our treatment space. If you want to have a substantial conversation with someone from our team, we will need to schedule it separately. Likewise, we ask that you hold off on conversations with others around you until you have exited the treatment room.
- Be flexible and understanding. Because we are a community of patients and practitioners working together, we ask that everyone have a little flexibility so we can create an environment that welcomes all. For example, many of our 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 or headphones to their treatments. Some of our patients even bring favorite pillows or blankets from home with them, because they prefer theirs to ours. Please do whatever you need to do to make yourself comfortable in our community room.
- Be respectful of our time. We are able to offer acupuncture at an affordable price because our practitioners treat multiple patients per hour. We promise you we’ll always deliver the highest quality care possible, but because we work at a fast pace, we’re not always able to have lengthy conversations with you about your entire health history, or how acupuncture works, or what your pulses indicate, or what every point does. Many of our patients are interested in these topics, and we think that’s great, so we’ll happily give you plenty to read.
- Understand scheduling limitations. Many of our patients like to come in at the same time every week – we love being part of their routine! We understand that everyone has busy lives, so we will always do our best to schedule your appointment at a time that works for you. However we do have some limitations, and our acupuncturists are only human, so we might not be able to fit you in at the last minute or during our busiest times. For our patients with very busy schedules, we recommend scheduling out appointments in advance so you can get in when you need to. We’re happy to help you with this.
We hope this guide helps you better understand our approach to community acupuncture and what to expect when visiting our clinic!
