This event is part of the Chicago Minds community-building series. The event is curated for BIPOC healers.  Join us for an experiential acupuncture session for the first hour and stay for an extra hour of meet and mingle!  Get to know other BIPOC healers and build your community. The event will be hosted at Chicago Minds coworking lounge at 661 W Lake St. 

This info session is organized to share the radical history of NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) acupuncture and how it continues to be a great tool in community healing. The NADA protocol involves the insertion of 5 needles into 5 points on the ear, for therapeutic effect. This protocol has been used in a wide range of settings such as disaster relief, recovery programs, refugee camps, and prisons. While most practitioners of the NADA protocol are acupuncturists, NADA has trained many healthcare practitioners such as paramedics, nurses, physicians, counselors, psychologists, chiropractors, and outreach workers. The goal of NADA is to provide barrier-free, patient-centered, holistic care, with an emphasis on community wellness for behavioral health.

Workshop Objectives

Participants will: 

• Learn the radical history of NADA acupuncture as part of the Lincoln Detox Program
• Learn about the NADA protocol as a tool in behavioral health from addiction to anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, pain, and PTSD
• Learn the mechanism of action of acupuncture
• Be presented with a summary of the research on the NADA protocol
• Consider the benefits of acupuncture as part of community wellness
• Learn about opportunities to become an Acudetox Specialist
• Have the opportunity to experience the 5-needle NADA protocol in a community setting or opt to receive ear seeds on the 5 points if needle sensitive
  • • Needles stay on the ear for 30 min as the participant remains seated
    • Soothing sounds are played on a speaker to facilitate a meditative experience

About the Speaker

Dr. Alyssa Perez, DACM, Dipl. [o]M, LAc, LMT (she/her/ella) is a Latina licensed acupuncturist and board-certified herbalist. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety, stress, pain, digestive, and reproductive health.

As a non-Asian practitioner of East Asian Medicine, she recognizes the privilege she has in being able to access and practice a powerful, indigenous medicine. She strives to honor the medicine, the culture, and the people from whom it originated, and from whom she has learned. She is deeply invested in making acupuncture accessible, especially to BIPOC communities with a trauma-informed approach.

She is incredibly humbled every day by the vast nature and power of East Asian Medicine. And she looks forward to deepening her understanding of the medicine, its roots, and how it can help provide healing in the community.