Detroit Community Acupuncture

We’re back!

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:40:21 +0000

We’re working on some updates to the website, including new photos, but until that’s complete you can click HERE to see some pictures of the new location.
If you use facebook, click to “like” DCA (if you haven’t already)! We post occasional updates and specials there as well as here.

Also: don’t forget that to “break in” the new space we’re offering a 2-for-$20 special for the remainder of July: just schedule to come in with a friend, and your appointments are both only $10 each! Our phone number is the same as before: 313-831-3222, or you can schedule online here. We have been having some AT&T problems this past week (do moves ever go perfectly smoothly?) so please forgive any delay in returning calls – we do want to see you!

The Big Move: closing and re-opening dates, and July specials!

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:21:28 +0000

As many of you have heard, the clinic will be moving soon. We’ll be in the same neighborhood–almost exactly two blocks South of where we are now. The new address is 4100 Woodward, at the corner of Alexandrine, on the ground floor of the old motel there (Apartment Finders currently occupies the upper floor).

We’re really looking forward to the new space: we’ll have room for a few more recliners, and we’ll have free parking again! The landlord has been working hard on the build-outs and updates, and we anticipate being able to get in there soon to paint and decorate. We’re still looking for a few things for the new space, so give a holler if you have something on our list, or something else you think we could use. Thanks!

We’re going to be closed Friday June 25th through Thursday, July 1st, to finish up any last things and to catch our breath, and then we’ll open in the new location on July 2nd, with a Free First Friday! Then, the whole rest of July we’ll be having a “Two for $20″ special for new patients, “regulars,” and folks who haven’t been in in awhile (just schedule with a friend and pay only $20 for both of your treatments). So spread the word and help us put some good healing energy in the new space! And thank you *so much* to everyone who has supported us in getting this far.

May Day!

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:37:03 +0000

Join us tomorrow from 10:00 to 4:00 for treatments celebrating May Day! We have a few spots left – call to reserve a spot or take your chances and drop by!

Don’t forget, we also have our “Free First Friday” promotion for new patients next Friday, May 7th; we still have a few openings for that day as well. And watch this space for details about our May Smoking Cessation promotion – we’ll post about that on Monday.

Free First Fridays!

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:53:57 +0000

Starting this Friday, April 2nd, we’re hopping on our Ferndale colleagues’ bandwagon and offering FREE treatments for patients who are new to our clinic on the First Friday of every month. Starting tomorrow! Spaces are filling up pretty fast so call to schedule, or you can schedule yourself here.

New hours for Spring! (And new staff acupuncturist!)

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:17:25 +0000

Morning people, rejoice! Starting this coming week, DCA will be open Tuesday and Friday mornings, from 10:00 to 1:00. The acupuncturist on duty will be Jalyn Spencer, who has filled in in the past (and who some of you have met at the front desk on Mondays).

The online scheduling system is now set up so that you can schedule with Nora or Jalyn or either (depending on when you want to come in); or, as always, feel free to call to schedule or find out more.

Snow happens.

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:43:47 +0000

The clinic will pretty much always be open if we can. If we have to have a “snow day” or close for some other emergency, we’ll try to post it here and on our Facebook page (the exception being an internet-interrupting emergency).

That said, we know a snowstorm can make it hard for patients to get here. Please give us a call to reschedule as soon as you know you can’t make it. (You can also reschedule online, if you’re already in the system – which you’ll know because you’ll have received confirmation emails.) If you can make your appointment, no need to call; we’ll just look forward to seeing you…and it’s nice and cozy in here!

New Hours & 2-for-1 Special

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:56:01 +0000

There have been lots of little things going on behind the scenes here at DCA headquarters, including re-creating some files that were lost when a computer died; among other things this means we’ve changed to a new and more user-friendly online scheduling system. I’m sending out directions to all patients for whom I have a functioning email; if you don’t get it, email or call the clinic at 313-831-3222. Or, feel free to use the “Schedule” link to the left, click on the yellow button, and try it out!

We’re also changing and slightly expanding our open hours, starting Monday, February 15th. Our new hours will be Monday, Tuesday, THURSDAY and Friday from 2:00 to 7:00 (last appointment at 6:00), and SATURDAY we’ll be open from NOON till 4:00 (last appointment at 3:00). Nora will no longer be working on Wednesdays, but starting in March, Jalyn Spencer WILL be treating patients on Wednesdays. We’ll post an announcement with more details soon. The clinic will continue to be closed on Sundays (for the time being). Of course, our long-term goal is to continue to expand, and to be open more hours for your convenience.

To get you all used to the new schedule, and because it’s Valentine’s day on Sunday and we love our patients, AND because the Chinese (Lunar) New Year starts on Sunday, we’re having a 2-for-1 special for the last two weeks in February. Start the Lunar New Year off right, by sharing the love! Call the clinic to schedule, or use the new online scheduling system. As usual, this special is for both new and returning patients.

One more thing: unfortunately, because so many people from the surrounding neighborhood have been using the parking lot attached to the building, the building owners have decided to put a gate on the lot, and our patients will no longer be able to use it. Please know that we are as unhappy about it as you are, and we are busy trying to figure out alternative solutions. Your patience and loyalty in the meantime is greatly appreciated, and we’ll try to keep some quarters on hand for meter-feeding.

Happy New Year of the Tiger! – that’s *got* to be a better one for Detroit, right?

Holiday hours

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:06:39 +0000

The clinic will be closed this Friday & Saturday, December 25th & 26th, and the following Friday & Saturday, January 1st and 2nd. That means we will ONLY be open Monday through Wednesday the next two weeks (as we’ll be closed Thursdays and Sundays as usual). So make sure to schedule your treatments in, and if we don’t see you till January, have safe, happy, healthy holidays!

Thinking about Miriam Lee

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:45:22 +0000

From Avi Magidoff:

There is a tremendous advantage in treating people in open spaces and with other people. I have noticed this through teaching and conducting grand rounds. Although I use the same techniques in my private practice as I do when I teach, patients always seem to respond better and faster when I treat them in a large room and in front of other people. I can only attribute this to the Qi being able to circulate: ideas are exchanged, inhibition is not encouraged, etc. In my experience when patients interact with each other (and other people) and share the healing process, they heal faster.

Miriam Lee, one of my mentors and one of the first practicing acupuncturists in the U.S., would treat in a one-bedroom basement apartment, with 9 beds separated only by curtains. Patients could hear every word exchanged in every interaction, and could literally touch the person on the other side of the curtain. Miriam would often ask people to walk out into the common space and see how their leg, shoulder, back pain (or whatever ailment they had) were doing as the needles were in them. This way everyone got to participate in everyone’s healing. It became a communal experience. At times Miriam would offer patients lunch. I am aware of not one of her students who has been able to achieve the results Miriam did, in spite of years of training and Miriam openly sharing her “secrets.”

There are some models of treating people in a community setting, primarily in detox clinics, but these models serve “specialised” populations. What about all the other people who would benefit from a community experience, from learning about healing through a collective experience, from mutual support, from the successes and failures of fellow patients, from the wisdom of others in general?

In fact we might argue that a specialised community clinic is not really a community clinic since it includes only small portions of the community. A true community is composed of the under-served and the over-served, the rich and the poor, those who are used to privatised medicine in luxurious settings, and those who have only been to Kaiser. And most importantly, the community is composed of people with many different kinds of health issues, severe, mild, chronic, acute, as well as people who are officially not sick but still seek healing on many levels.

DCA’s first anniversary! Party for your right to rest!

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:53:50 +0000

Beloved patients and friends of the clinic, we will have been in business one year this upcoming Saturday! Please join us in celebrating this landmark in any or all of the following ways:
NOEL NIGHT PARTY
We opened last year on Noel Night – this year, it’s December 5th. From 5:00 to 8:00, we’ll have snacks and chatting in the reception area, and free 20-minute “sample” treatments in the community treatment room, open to anyone.
And yes, we do have gift certificates!
MIRIAM LEE’S BIRTHDAY
Miriam Lee, one of DCA’s heroes, was born on December 9th (she just passed away this past summer). We’re celebrating her birthday this coming Wednesday (the 9th) with free treatments for new patients! Call 832-3222 to schedule.
SATURDAYS – FIRST VISIT $1
Every Saturday in December (except the 26th), new patients can celebrate our one year anniversary by paying $1 for their first visit! Again, call 831-3222 to schedule.
NOODLES POTLUCK!
On Saturday, 12/19, from 5:00 to 7:00, we’re having a holiday potluck. Bring your favorite noodle-based dish, sweet or savory, because “noodles taste better when you eat them together.” (Bring your recipe, and I’ll post it on the website!)
And all month, any purchase of Acupuncture is Like Noodles comes with a gift certificate to give to a new patient. Perfect for that hard-to-shop-for person on your holiday gift list!