A hole approach (Guardian newspaper story and interview about accupunture)
Wednesday 15 May 2002
Complementary therapy, once the preserve of the middle classes, is helping people on low incomes to tackle depression and drug and alcohol misuse. And it is being paid for with regeneration funding.
Pathways to Health, a charity specialising in acupuncture treatment, has received £68,000 over three years from East Brighton New Deal for Communities (NDC) to open three clinics in deprived neighbourhoods. The clinics will serve the council estates of the Whitehawk, Portslade and Moulscoomb areas on the outskirts of Brighton.
Ear acupuncture entails inserting fine needles at key points of the ear that relate to an organ, or channel of energy, and which stimulate a healing response. According to project coordinator Soreh Levy, it is an effective treatment for stress, anxiety and depression, drug and alcohol detoxification, mental health problems and the side effects of hepatitis C and HIV/Aids.
"It promotes healing by using the person's own energy, strengthening the body's resources, including the immune system, and reducing chances of relapse," says Levy. "Obtaining New Deal funding offers a wonderful opportunity to develop our therapeutic work in communities where people often feel socially and financially excluded from the benefits of complementary therapies."
Clients on a low income can refer themselves for 45-minute treatments costing just £2.50 - a fraction of the price charged privately for complementary therapies. A course of treatment can last anything from a few months to a few years.
Pathways to Health was co-founded by Levy in 1996, with support from the local branch of mental health charity Mind and a Brighton GP, Nigel Higson. It has already provided more than 6,000 treatments at its four existing drop-in centres, based at a mental health day centre, a substance misuse clinic, a GP surgery and Brighton bail centre hostel. But the new clinics will bring the treatment to people's homes.
Auricular acupuncture, as it is known technically, is based on a model developed in the US to combat substance abuse. Pioneering complementary therapist John Tindall introduced it to Britain, setting up the only NHS facility offering on-demand complementary medicine and traditional Chinese medicine at the Gateway clinic at Lambeth Hospital, south London.
Gradual acceptance of complementary health treatment as a tool in meeting social health needs is demonstrated by the New Deal funding. Hilary Powlson, healthy community manager for East Brighton NDC and the South Downs Health NHS trust, has been working with local residents on commissioning complementary therapy pilots. She says: "We are keen to promote access to a range of complementary therapies that will contribute to reducing stress and isolation. We have asked Pathways to Health to track clients using their east Brighton services to find out if there is any positive impact on issues such as smoking cessation or substance misuse."
The Portslade clinic has received an additional £5,000 from a scheme combining EU and local authority money to offer "global grants" to local groups that help individuals seeking to gain paid employment. An important aspect of Pathways to Health's work is to provide local residents with the opportunity to train to become an ear acupuncture practitioner.
Stacey Turner is a user-turned-practitioner. She began using ear acupuncture five years ago in a determined attempt to combat substance misuse and regain control of her life. "I was depressed and lethargic," she says. "My self-esteem was on the floor. Finding the enthusiasm and energy to change, in order to care for my young son and myself, seemed an impossible task."
As a lone parent relying on benefits - in her chaotic emotional and mental state, she felt she had no chance of keeping a job - access to complementary medicine had never seemed a realistic option. But she responded to a leaflet about Pathways at her GP surgery and attended twice-weekly clinics for the next six months.
"I could hardly believe that having five needles in each ear could practically knock me out and then give me amazing energy, with a clear view of possible future happiness," Turner says. "Then Pathways needed a volunteer and suddenly I was the person taking clients' details and making cups of detox tea."
After six months, she jumped at the chance to train as an ear acupuncturist, which involved an intensive weekend course and treatment of 50 clients under supervision. "I love my job," says Turner. "My enthusiasm never wanes as I watch clients in that process - sometimes steady, sometimes drastic - of reclaiming their lives."
