Reducing anxiety and stress, improving sleep patterns and assisting with smoking cessation are just some of the many benefits acupuncture therapy is providing to clients at the Community Connections Recovery Program on Montreal Street.

The complementary therapy, which is offered by Occupational Therapist & Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist Adriana Farcas, is designed to provide additional support to individuals who are receiving mental health services from Providence Care’s hospital or community programs.

“Acupuncture is most effective in calming the mind and allowing a person to get in touch with the wisdom of the body,” Farcas explains. “It particularly helps people who have a lot of anxiety, anger or addiction issues. When people sit for needles and take part in the group meditation, they end up leaving calm, cool and collected – even if they came in quite agitated.”

The treatment Farcas provides is called Acudetox. It involves a simple, acupuncture modality in which small, stainless-steel disposable needles are inserted within various points of a person’s ears. Generally newer clients receive needles in only two acupuncture points (both ears) but as the treatments progress, they can receive as many as five. The process is quick and painless and once the needles are inserted, clients sit in quiet meditation together for about 45 minutes.

“I was very apprehensive about it at first because needles make me quite squeamish but it was absolutely fine,” says Prudence Pulver who has been receiving acupuncture treatments since last fall. “It’s a gentle process that helps me move to a more calm and centered way of being. The enhanced meditative state that acupuncture provides is definitely my favourite part about it. It definitely helps my anxiety. This service is truly a gift.”

Acudetox supports a person’s treatment and recovery process by promoting balance, relaxation, awareness and insight. The ancient alternative therapy has been shown to significantly assist people in their recovery from trauma, drug and alcohol addiction and other mental-health issues.

The free service is offered at Community Connections at 533 Montreal Street on Mondays at 1 p.m. and is open to all Providence Care clients.

For more information on programs offered at Community Connections or to learn more about Acudetox, contact 613-540-6166.