Why did CSAT decide to do a TIP on acupuncture?

Resources for Acupuncture in Chemical Dependency Treatment and Recovery

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs

What kinds of agencies or services should think about adding an acupuncture component?

Does acupuncture really work?

Are there any drugs that it doesn't work for?

Does it help with other addictions?

How much does it cost?

How do programs pay for it?

Is acupuncture safe? What are the liability issues? Is there increased risk of spreading infectious disease?

Does the treatment hurt?

How much time does the treatment take?

Do clients need to make an appointment for acupuncture?

What do clients do while they're getting needled?

Why did CSAT decide to do a TIP on acupuncture?

While acupuncture for treating addiction began receiving government support from criminal justice agencies in the late 1980s, its formal endorsement by public health and substance abuse agencies took another twenty years to achieve. This latter support is most directly the result of the advocacy and vigilance of Alan Trachtenberg, MD, a public health physician who has worked with federal mental health and substance abuse agencies. Thanks to his efforts, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has considered acupuncture to be an "allowable cost" in the detoxification phase of treatment since the mid-90s.

In 2001, Laura Cooley, L.Ac., a Registered Trainer for the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association in Texas, had an opportunity to make an outreach presentation to a group of criminal justice planners. Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger was in the group and received a demonstration treatment. She returned to Washington committed to calling the Federal Government's attention to acupuncture's benefits. She called CSAT Director Dr. Westley Clark and requested a meeting. Clark was aware that acupuncture was being widely used in treatment, and with the political support provided by Granger, made the decision to develop the TIP under the leadership of Dr. Trachtenberg, who was then CSAT's Director of Pharmaologic and Alternative Threrapies,.

Trachtenberg assembled a consensus panel of experts from the field. The panel co-chairs were Michael O. Smith, MD, Director of Lincoln Hospital Recovery Center in New York, and Janet Konefal, Ph.D., M.P.H., C.A., Associate Professor and Chief, Division of Complementary Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami School of Medicine. The final editing of the TIP was assigned to Arthur Margolin, Ph.D., Research Scientist at Yale University School of Medicine. (click here for complete list of the consensus panel participants.)

The Process was subsequently abandoned for lack of strong advocacy.

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