The community acupuncture model, where multiple people are treated in a shared space, is rooted in thousands of years of history.
Acupuncturists in Asia traditionally treated multiple people together in communal spaces.
Patients came frequently, even daily, until symptoms resolved.
The Roots of Community Acupuncture & Liberation Acupuncture in the U.S.
- Immigrant pioneers formalized the community acupuncture model in the U.S. in the ’70s. Around the same time, The Black Panther Party and the Young Lords offered community acupuncture at the Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, as a part of a broader liberation movement linking healing with structural justice.
“Their toolkit care was born not necessarily out of desperation but rather a desire to reclaim authority and the right to heal.” –Eana Meng
Open Space Community Acupuncture is Rooted in a Liberation Framework
“Community acupuncture” is the business model of our clinic; liberation acupuncture is the guiding mission behind it. Liberation Acupuncture recognizes that individual health is tied to community health, and community health is founded on justice.
Read our Mission page to learn more.
- 2006, Lisa Rohleder, Lupine Hudson, and Michael McCoy founded the Community Acupuncture Network (CAN). CAN helped private practitioners (including OSCA founder, Daphne) convert from private practice to community acupuncture [1]. C.A.N. fostered community acupuncture clinics around the country, started a thriving affordable community acupuncture school, and created grants to help open clinics in underserved areas.
- Today, C.A.N. has evolved into the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA), a larger international multi-cooperative network of clinics, patients, and practitioners supporting affordable group-style care
OSCA is a clinic member of POCA and many of our staff and patients are members too. We are working together towards a common goal of affordable acupuncture.
You can join too!
No Community Acupuncture Without Community
Community Acupuncture is not a one-way relationship; it’s not only what we acupuncturists are doing. It’s also about the community that shows up for treatment.
Support Community Acupuncture
- Show up for treatment!
In addition to financial support, you are part of the healing that goes on in the shared space - Participate in events and workshops or share your skills and lead one!
One of the main ways that you can help support the clinic is to tell your friends - Spread the word about us and Community Acupuncture/Leave us a review
- Join POCA ($25/yr)
In our appreciation for your support, POCA community level members get unlimited reduced cost treatments at OSCA every May and October, as well as other perks.
Looking for community acupuncture outside of Somerville? go to the POCA website and click on ‘locate a clinic’ to search for the location of any POCA clinic nationwide.
Further Resources
Watch Dope is Death about the radical roots of community acupuncture in the U.S.
Check out this terrific introductory video by Media Awakenings.
… and the Official CA Documentary,
Community Acupuncture: The Calmest Revolution Ever Staged – directed by Brian Lindstrom
… listen to Acupuncture Touted for Low-Cost Care on National Public Radio’s ‘Marketplace’ program.
Community Acupuncture Statement
Because acupuncture does not have to be expensive in order to be effective ❧ Because military budgets balloon while health care is cut ❧ Because nothing breaks through the isolation of pain, illness and depression like healing in a room with other humans ❧ Because our favourite way to spread the word about how well acupuncture works is to make it available to people ❧ Because we are pleased to challenge the notion of value being attached to price ❧ Because there aren’t enough spaces where strangers switch off cell phones and slumber side by side ❧ Because for thousands of years acupuncture has been practiced in groups ❧ Because returning acupuncture to its roots makes us the happiest of humble radicals ❧ Because the vast majority of us love our work so much we couldn’t imagine doing anything else – We are a part of the community acupuncture movement.