Dr. Katherine Echo Kim, L.Ac. ADS Integrative Stress Management | Westport, CT

Acupuncture As Response to 9/11:
My Experience as an Acupuncturist at St. Vincent's Hospital Integrative Stress Management Clinic, NYC

Dr. Katherine Echo Kim, L.Ac., ADS

Twenty-five years ago, I was a first-year grad student studying acupuncture at Pacific College of Health and Science in NYC. Then 9/11 happened. Looking for a way to help but not having my acupuncture license yet, I completed a 70-hour AcuDetox training at Lincoln Recovery Center to earn my Acupuncture Detox Specialist (ADS) certification. With that, I went to St. Vincent's Hospital Integrative Stress Management Clinic (ISM) to treat New Yorkers with ear acupuncture, ear seeds, and energy work. AcuDetox provided support to alleviate symptoms of post-9/11 anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, and acute stress disorders.

The ISM clinic was radically pioneering, timely, and direct in its disaster-relief response to 9/11. It was the closest hospital to Ground Zero and became one of the first hospital-based, holistic, stress management clinics in the world. For several years, I gained valuable experience providing AcuDetox and working alongside a diverse team consisting of a nurse, social worker, massage therapist, Reiki practitioner, hypnotherapist, music therapist, qi gong teacher, and supporting staff. The ISM taught me how to develop complementary services that fit into trauma-relief triage care in an allopathic setting. Treatments were low-barrier, anonymous, with minimal to no talk.

There may be over 40K+ PubMed articles about acupuncture now, but in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was minimal evidence to prove acupuncture's efficacy. The Program Director introduced me to patient survey methods and evidence-based AcuDetox research.

AcuDetox wasn't Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-focused. The ISM didn't promote the use of terms like "qi" or "yin yang." Nobody had to subscribe to Eastern or "alternative", esoteric beliefs.

The ISM's collective healing space was created by the entire group and AcuDetox was the most utilized modality. Patients sat fully clothed in a chair and quietly relaxed as we introduced three to five acupoints to their ears using micro needles and ear seeds. The music therapist played a harp or flute. People silently stepped out to participate in a variety of stress-relief activities according to a sign-up sheet. No one was allowed to have phones or reading materials in their hands during treatments; it was a clear opportunity to unplug and decompress.

Introducing acupuncture in all these ways was revolutionary. The ISM has since been researched and replicated around the world. It was a profoundly different model compared to one-on-one, private clinical practice. During my years at the ISM, I became nationally board certified, licensed, and opened a practice in Union Square after St. Vincent's in Greenwich Village closed. Twenty-five years later, I still provide AcuDetox, now in CT.

September 11 was life-changing for many. I won't comment too much on personal impact, but professionally, this period laid a deep track for my career in integrative medicine. Each year, I remember as an acupuncturist. #NeverForget