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Welcome to Open Hands Acupuncture! Please take a minute to read this introduction to our clinic and to our community. We are delighted that you are interested in joining us, What is different about Open Hands Acupuncture? We treat in a community setting Most US acupuncturists treat patients on tables in individual cubicles. This is not traditional in Asia, where acupuncture usually occurs in a community setting. In our clinic we primarily use recliners, clustered in groups in a large, quiet and soothing space. Treating patients in a community setting has many benefits; it is easy for friends and family members to come in for treatment together; many patients find it comforting; and a collective energetic field becomes established which actually makes individual treatment more powerful. In some styles of acupuncture, the needles are removed after only a few minutes or after a half hour at most. The style of acupuncture we practice at Open Hands Acupuncture allows patients to keep their needles in as long as they want, and the “right” amount of time varies from patient to patient. Most people learn after a few treatments when they feel “done”; this can take from twenty minutes to a couple of hours! Many people fall asleep, and wake feeling refreshed. We have a sliding scale Open Hands Acupuncture makes acupuncture affordable by streamlining our treatments and seeing multiple patients in an hour. We will talk with you for a short period of time, do tongue and pulse diagnosis and use these components to come up with a treatment protocol for you. Please see the cost page that explains our sliding scale. We offer some private treatments – Coming this Spring! We have set aside certain hours for private treatments. Insurance companies don’t allow sliding scales. Our private treatments are not on a sliding scale and this makes billing insurance a possibility for those who have insurance that covers acupuncture. Let us know if you want to schedule. Our Commitment to You We want to make it possible for you to receive acupuncture regularly enough and long enough to get better and stay better. We want our community to be welcoming to all different kinds of people. We want to give you the tools to take care of your own healthcare so you will not need to rely on insurance companies and pharmaceuticals for costly, high tech interventions. We will provide a safe environment with skilled practitioners. What We Need From You Responsibility Open Hands Acupuncture, does not provide primary care medicine. Acupuncture is a wonderful complement to western medicine, but is not a substitute for it. If you have a problem that is not “garden variety” (meaning, you are worried that you might have a serious infection, a malignant growth, or an injury that won’t heal), or if you want someone knowledgeable to go over details of your medical history with you, you need to see a primary care physician. We can provide some excellent referrals but you cannot expect us to diagnose and treat something very serious. Flexibility The community setting requires some flexibility from you. For instance, many patients have a favorite recliner. When we are busy, someone may be sitting in yours. Similarly, we have a few patients who snore. Other patients who dislike snoring bring earplugs to their treatments. We need you to participate in making yourself comfortable in the community room. In terms of how long you want to stay, let us know if you need to be somewhere at a certain time! If you need to be unpinned at a certain time we will make sure you are and that you get out on time. In general, if you feel done, open your eyes and give us a meaningful look. If your eyes are closed we will assume you’re asleep and we won’t wake you up. Community Mindedness The soothing atmosphere in our clinic exists because all of our patients create it by relaxing together. We appreciate everyone’s presence. This kind of collective stillness is a rare and precious thing in our rushed and busy society. Maintaining this reservoir of calm requires that no one talk very much in the clinic space. If you would like to speak to a practitioner one-on-one at any length, please let us know. Part of our success is that patients learn the “routine” and take on a lot of responsibility for the appointments. Please take all personal belonging, (bags, shoes, etc.) with you back into the treatment room. And, of course, please turn off your cell phone. Commitment Acupuncture is a PROCESS. It is rare for acupuncture to be able to resolve a problem with one treatment. In China, a typical treatment protocol for a chronic condition could be acupuncture every other day for three months! Most of our patients don’t need that much acupuncture, but virtually every patient requires a course of treatment, rather than a single treatment, in order to get what they want from acupuncture. On your first visit, your acupuncturist will suggest a course of treatment, which can be anything from “we’d like to see you once a week for six weeks”, to “we’d really like to see you every day for the next four days”. This suggestion is based on our experience with treating different kinds of conditions. If you don’t come in often enough or long enough, acupuncture probably won’t work for you. The purpose of our sliding scale is to help you make that commitment. If you have questions about how long it will take to see results, please ask us, or if you think you need to adjust your treatment plan, please let us know. We need you to commit to the process of treatment in order to get good results. And, last, but not least…enjoy the space. We do hope that Open Hands Acupuncture can be an important part of your community. Thank you, Open Hands Acupuncture |
ABOUT YOUR PRACTITIONERS Amy Wolf, L.Ac. graduated with a
B.A. in Sociology and Women’s Studies from the University of
Oregon. She worked in social services before going to the Oregon
College of Oriental Medicine where she received her Master’s
of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Amy loves Portland and the
community she has created here. She enjoys reading, cooking, biking,
running, hiking, going to shows and spending time with her fabulous
friends and family. Amy is passionate about Chinese medicine and is
delighted with her profession as an acupuncturist.
 Katie Miller, L.Ac. graduated
with a B.A. in Linguistics and French from Boston University. She then
taught English in Bulgaria as a Peace Corps Volunteer for 2 years.
Before studying Chinese medicine, she worked with youth through both
Americorps and Portland Public Schools for 3 years. She received her
Master’s in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Oregon
College of Oriental Medicine. While she has treated a wide variety of
conditions, she focuses on treating allergies, repetitive stress
injuries and mental health with acupuncture and herbs. Katie enjoys
spending time with her dog, cat and chickens.
ABOUT OUR CLINIC 
Open Hands Acupuncture is an acupuncture clinic located in North Portland. Our mission is to provide compassionate and affordable healthcare by offering community acupuncture treatments, educating and empowering our patients, and honoring the unique circumstances of all those who come to our clinic. We think that acupuncture and Chinese herbs are powerful tools to use in the pursuit of better health. We strongly believe that healthcare should be accessible and affordable and our sliding scale fee reflects this position. Healthcare is not a privilege, it is a basic right and here at Open Hands Acupuncture, we honor that right. We practice a community acupuncture model wherein people are treated together in a large room. This model was developed here in Portland by Working Class Acupuncture. They think acupuncture can change the world. So do we. Come in and see if you agree. OPEN HANDS IN THE NEWS Just Out: May 4, 2007 |
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COST Treatments at Open Hands Acupuncture are on a $15 to $35 dollar sliding scale, you pay what seems right for you in that range. There is an initial $10 paperwork charge at the first treatment. We feel that this makes payment affordable for most income levels. Acupuncture is most effective when practiced regularly over a period of time. This can be weeks or months depending on your condition. Our sliding scale is designed to make it possible for people to receive regular treatments. We only accept cash and checks. |
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WHAT WE TREAT At Open Hands Acupuncture we treat a wide variety of conditions and complaints. This is a list of some of the things we treat most often.
This is not a complete list, If you have any questions about something not on this list please contact us. |
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ABOUT CHINESE MEDICINE Chinese medicine has a long history. For a few thousand years, acupuncture and Chinese herbs have been used to effectively treat a wide variety of heath conditions. Acupuncture treatment is based on the idea that we have a life energy/force (qi) that flows through meridians or energy pathways. Disease is caused by blockages of qi in these meridians or imbalances of qi. By inserting needles into particular points along these pathways, we tap into this energy and restore the body to a more balanced state. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs combine together to be a complete system of medicine and are effective in treating a variety of complaints and conditions. |
All Rights Reserved: Open Hands Acupuncture LLC, 2010