Force Health Protection Conference

Acupuncture Treatment for

Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder
August, 2008
Alaine D. Duncan, M.Ac., L.Ac., Dipl.Ac.
 Disclaimer Statement

The views expressed in this presentation

are those of the author's and do
not reflect the official policy of the
Department of the Army, Department of
Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs
or the U.S. Government.
Our Qi Is With Us All The Time

Qi is the energy behind:

our muscle movements
our thoughts
our prayers.
Qi helps us cope, find
comfort, heal.
 Qi Helps Us Maintain Health

Qi provides power necessary for

Growth
Development
Movement
Maintenance of body temperature
Protection against illness
Overall regulation of the body

Our health is influenced by the quality,

quantity and balance of our qi.
 Acupuncture Maximizes Our Healing Capacities

Patients look to acupuncture for help to find:

Quiet for jangled nerves

Clarity for navigating the

obstacles in their process
Compassion for themselves
and others
Support for digesting the
gristle that remains from
difficult life memories
Inspiration that helps them let go.
 My Thanks To Dr. Engel

Assessing Acupuncturist
Dr. Engels Acupuncture and
PTSD Study, Deployment
Health Clinical Center, Walter
Reed Army Medical Center.
Staff Acupuncturist
War-Related Illness and Injury
Study Center, Washington,
DC Veterans Affairs Medical
Center
Executive Director
Crossings HealingWorks
 Crossings HealingWorks

To bring ancient healing

traditions that restore
and renew the body
mind spirit of people
touched by trauma
creating peace for one
family, one community,
one world
one person at a time.
 Restore & Renew Wellness Clinic

Our Restore & Renew

Wellness Clinic has
treated over 1,000
WRAMC staff with
complementary medicine,
helping them cope with
compassion fatigue.
We offer reduced fee,
sliding scale services to
members of the military,
their families and
caregivers in our private
practices.
 Acupuncture Is Energy Medicine

Acupuncture nourishes,
soothes transforms,
unwinds, and supports
the bodys qi by
stimulating discrete
points on the surface of
the skin with needles.
Qi Moves With Rhythm, Inside A Boundary

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 Trauma Releases A Shock Wave

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 Trauma Creates A Massive Disruption To Our Qi

Every aspect of our body,

mind, and spirit is affected:
Our organs, our
tissues, our cells
Our thinking, cognition
and mental focus
Our fundamental
experience of God
Acupuncture Restores Balance

Our Qi can remain disturbed even after our

minds have fully evaluated a traumatic
experience.
Disturbed Qi will:
engage in re-enactment behaviors
get triggered by remotely similar
circumstances
wreck havoc with sleep, digestion, auto-
immune function and pain patterns
sometimes years after a traumatic event.
Our Biological Inheritance

Our response has

nothing to do with
valor, honor, dignity
or choice its the Qi
weve been given.
 We Are Hard Wired To Survive

Acupuncture
accesses the
primitive impulses
that inform our fight,
flight, and freeze
responses
functions modern
neuro-science would
put in the brain stem.
 Our Qis Natural Vector Is Towards Balance

Acupuncture helps restore

balance, creating a
foundation for the bodys
own healing capacity to
flourish.

Acupuncture tends our

whole body, mind and
spirit.
 Acupuncturists Play Well With Others

Acupuncture often improves cognition, helping

psychotherapy clients to integrate and embody
their insights.

Acupuncture brings Qi to
physical injuries and can
support the work of physical
therapists.

Acupuncture may help mitigate side effects of necessary

medications. Some patients are able to reduce or eliminate
medications for sleep or pain for example.
Principles for Acupuncture Treatment of PTSD

1. The acupuncturists
presence and relationship
are critical elements to
healing PTSD.
It is not enough to choose
the right points; a
relationship needs to be
created, the right points
need to be offered, and
they need to be offered at
the right time. 1.
 Principles For Acupuncture Treatment Of PTSD

2. Acupuncture can help

reconnect broken or disturbed
pathways.
It works below the level of
cognition and helps people
feel more embodied, and
become more present and
self-aware.
It is a helpful adjunct to other
therapies. 2.
Principles For Acupuncture Treatment Of PTSD

3. PTSD creates a
massive disorganization 3.
in a person.
Naming peoples symptoms
as disorganization and
affirming their bodys
capacity to restore order
creates a foundation
they can build healing on.
The increased order, balance, and coherency that
acupuncture brings transforms trauma symptoms.
Principles For Acupuncture Treatment Of PTSD

4. PTSD is a vibrational illness.

Acupuncture is vibrational
medicine.
Acupuncture speaks the same
language as PTSD -- it brings
ordered Qi to disordered Qi.
Helping individuals with trauma
symptoms brings a healing
vibration to their families and
4.
friends also.
 Presence and Relationship Are Key

1. The acupuncturists
presence and relationship
are critical elements to
healing PTSD.
It is not enough to choose
the right points; a
relationship needs to be
created, the right points
need to be offered, and
they need to be offered at
the right time. 1.
Finding Safety Soothes Stuck Fight Responses

The Liver and Gall

Bladder Meridians
mediate the fight
response and help us
see new possibilities.

Gall Bladder Liver Meridian 1.

Meridian
 Rage and Terror Are Always Present

The Kidney and

Bladder Meridians
mediate the freeze
response and our
sense of safety.

Bladder Meridian Kidney Meridian 1.

The Heart Spirit Shines Through The Eyes

Peace in our hearts

brings peace to our
minds. 1.
Acupuncture Helps Connect Whats Disconnected

2. Acupuncture can help

reconnect broken or disturbed
pathways.
It works below the level of
cognition and helps people feel
more embodied, and become
more present and self-aware.
It is a helpful adjunct to other
therapies. 2.
 The Gift of Dissociation

Acupuncturists
appreciate Qis gift of
dissociation.
It stops energy from
coming through when
there is a risk of
burning our mind to
the ground.

Heart Meridian Governor Vessel

2.
Meridian
 Healing Is A Mystery

Did acupuncture help with the

trauma symptoms associated
with his head injury?
Did acupuncture help with the
organic injury to his brain
tissue?
Did acupuncture simply bring
order to his Qi, making the other
therapies he was using more
effective?
2.
 Healing Is Built On Education And Hope

3. PTSD creates a
massive disorganization 3.
in a person.

Naming peoples symptoms

as disorganization and
affirming their bodys
capacity to restore order
creates a foundation
they can build healing on.

The increased order, balance, and coherency that acupuncture

brings transforms trauma symptoms.
 Naming Internal Chaos As Disorganized Qi

3.

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Clients Can Work With Their Qi Between Sessions

3.

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 Theres A More Solid Person Navigating Now

My states come and go, Im more aware of 3.

them. I can slow myself down and pull

myself back into my zone.

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 PTSD Is Vibrational Illness

4. PTSD is a vibrational illness.

Acupuncture is vibrational
medicine.
Acupuncture speaks the same
language as PTSD -- it brings
ordered Qi to disordered Qi.
Helping individuals with trauma
symptoms brings a healing
vibration to their families and
4.
friends also.
 Acupuncture Brings Ordered Qi To Disordered Qi

Ear-acupuncture:

helps people sleep and think more

clearly

increases energy and ability to

focus

helps people tap into their own

reserves for balance and rejuvenation

initiates a soothing process that

helps people find quiet and comfort
inside 4.
 Group Ear Acupuncture

Sympathetic - for balance in the

autonomic nervous system
Shen Men - for settling and
bringing comfort to the heart
and to the mind
Kidney - to warm a freeze
response and help people
find a sense of safety in
themselves
Liver - to soften anger, help the eyes see new possibilities, to unwind
the fight response
Hippocampus - to ease the minds grip on traumatic memory to
bring relief to over-charged sensate memories that manifest as
nightmares and flashbacks complete with odors and images. 4.
 Acupuncture Is Vibrational Medicine

What is better than:

helping a 16-year-old girl
have a meaningful relationship
with her Dad
keeping a veteran out of jail
helping a transient community
on a subway car get where they
want to go in peace
keeping a veteran off the front
pages of the newspaper?
4.
Acupuncture Can Help Soldiers Get Home Safe

Acupuncture, by balancing and

tending Qi, helps:
the mind find a place to rest
the body release traumas
imprint
the spirit come back home.
We help Soldiers get home safe.
 My Thanks

Robert Duggan, M.Ac., L.Ac., and the faculty of the TAI Sophia Institute
who taught me how to be an acupuncturist.

Kathy Kain, RMT, and the faculty of the Foundation for Human
Enrichment who taught me basic neurophysiology and trauma healing.

Bonnie Benetato, Ph.D., Associate Director, War-Related Illness and

Injury Study Center, Washington, DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center
who directs their Complementary and Alternative Medicine program.

Gail Chinoy, MSN, RNC, Program Director, and all my colleagues of the
Restore & Renew Wellness Clinic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
 Contact Information

Alaine D. Duncan, M.Ac., L.Ac., Dipl.Ac.

Executive Director, Crossings HealingWorks

www.crossingshealingworks.org

301 565 4924 x 101

8505 Fenton Street, Suite 202

Silver Spring, MD 20910