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Spring
Creek Academy is a specialty boarding school for teenagers who are
struggling in their home, school, or community. Most of the about 450
students are here because of problems with drugs, alcohol, negative
peers, low self-esteem, poor academics and low motivation. Beside the
academic program, students are participating in a variety of growth
and development programs, and recently, progressive directors Cameron
and Chaffin Pullan enlisted the help of Oriental Medicine.
From
September to December 2003, Miami based OM Programs, founded and operated
by Acupuncture Physicians Carmela and Felix Wolf conducted a four month
controlled trial program to research the effects of Oriental Medicine
on the emotional development of a group of Spring Creek students. The
program consisted of a total of twenty acupuncture treatments, Qigong
therapy, acupressure instruction, aromatherapy, and daily herbal therapy.
The treatment protocols were targeting stress and anger management,
anxiety, irritability, substance abuse, and general emotional imbalances.
The students participated in daily sessions for one week every month.
Every session started with approximately 30 minutes of Five Element
Qigong and was followed by acupuncture, utilizing combined auricular
and classical body point protocols. During acupuncture, meditation
grade Japanese aloes wood incense was burned to enhance relaxation.
An herbal formula, Bupleurum Dragonbone, was given twice daily for
the whole four months in a conservative dosage. Progress was monitored
through questionnaire feedback by faculty, participating students,
and a control group.
The
questionnaire asked participating students and the students in the
control group if they felt stressed, tired, frustrated, unmotivated,
irritated, unhappy, confused, misunderstood, unfocussed, anxious, angry,
depressed, worried, or uninterested. Students could answer with never,
rarely, sometimes, often, very often, or always, to each of the questions.
The
same questionnaire was given to the family representative of each of
the students. The family representative is the faculty member with
the most regular and comprehensive contact to the individual student.
The question here was if the respective student generally feels stressed,
tired, etc. and the possible answers were identical to the student
questionnaire: never, rarely, etc.
Each
answer was given a numerical value: 0 for 'never', 1 for 'rarely',
2 for 'sometimes', 3 for 'often', 4 for 'very often', and 5 for 'always'.
There were 14 questions total, so the highest possible number per questionnaire
was 14 x 5 = 70. A numerical value between 10 and 30 would be considered
desirable.
The
questionnaires were administered at the beginning (09/03) and end of
the program (12/03) to 34 continuously participating students and 30
students in the control group. No explanations or rationale for the
questionnaire was given to either group.
RESULTS:
Beginning
of program (09/03):
Control
group had an average numerical value of 34.85 (36.1 self assessed and
33.6 by faculty) Treatment group had an average numerical value of
38.7 (39.4 self-assessed and 38.0 by faculty)
End
of program (12/03):
Control
group had an average numerical value of 39.58 (40.86 self assessed
and 38.3 by faculty) Treatment group had an average numerical value
of 25.0 (24.3 self-assessed and 25.7 by faculty)
ANALYSIS:
As
expected, both groups had a fairly high initial value, documenting
emotional distress. The treatment group felt even worse reflecting
the fact that particularly troubled students were selected for the
program, either by their parents or by faculty. The emotional distress
worsened in the control group from September to December by 4.73 points
or 13.6% which may be due to the approaching winter, holiday season
away from family, etc.
The
treatment group, however, improved by a very impressive 13.7 points
or 35.4% from September to December. It is important to note that even
the faculty assessment of the treatment group improved by 32.4% (Student's
self assessment improved 38.2%)
CONCLUSION:
A
13.6% worsening of emotional distress in the control group versus a
35.4% improvement in the treatment group adding up to a total difference
of 49% speaks for itself. The researchers took great care, not to influence
or otherwise contaminate the evaluations by students and staff and
feel therefore that the results are solid and replicable.
STUDENT
TESTIMONIALS:
During
the 3rd round of treatments in November students were asked to give
some feedback on the program. A few sample answers are below.
Matt
G.: "This has actually been one of the most amazing things I've been
through. It has really stabilized my state of being and brought me
to a strange sense of inner peace and joy. I feel cured in many aspects,
both, mentally and physically."
Patrick
R.: "The acupuncture program here has helped me with my anger issues
and how I react to things. It has also helped me to become more centered
with myself and it improved my lower back pain."
Matt
M.: "The acupuncture program has been a very good thing for me. I feel
less stress and I feel calm and focused. This program has given me
a positive thing to go home and get involved in. My craving for drugs
has decreased and the focus in my life has increased. I look forward
to the acupuncture every night."
Christopher
V.: "This acupuncture therapy has been amazing! Over the last couple
of months my anger problem and my mental obsessions over drugs and
alcohol have decreased. I have been sleeping much better and I have
been a lot calmer and less jumpy. I am very grateful for having been
enrolled in it. Thanks a lot Felix and Carmela!!!"
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