Center Adds "Healing in Community" to its Acupuncture Services

A community acupuncture clinic is now part of the many healing arts services available at the Center. Like private acupuncture sessions, community acupuncture offers individualized treatments, but in a group setting, allowing the acupuncturist to care for more than one patient at a time. Unlike private acupuncture services that often start at $50 and commonly go as high as $150, fees for community acupuncture are offered on a sliding scale where the patient decides what they can afford. Regardless of what rate the patient chooses, they receive the same service as all other community acupuncture patients.

In October, Blue Pearl Institute, LLC (BPI) opened the Community Acupuncture Clinic at the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality & Healing (the Center) providing acupuncture services in a group setting at reduced rates. BPI’s owner, Janene Lang, is a Wisconsin native and licensed acupuncturist (WI lic # 765-55). She holds a BLS from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and received her training in acupuncture at the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine in Racine. Regarding what sets her practice apart, Lang states, "I work with the energetic aspect of human experience and acknowledge its importance in identifying and eliminating the source of suffering.” Acupuncture, she explains, “is a means to balance that energy to restore an internal environment in which healing takes place naturally.”

The Community Acupuncture Clinic has been operating at the Center since October but acupuncture has been on its menu of services since it beginning. The Center first opened its doors in 2000 offering acupuncture and massage, as well as yoga and meditation classes. The Center is the product of its Director’s doctoral dissertation. Dr. Michael Ketterhagen, Spiritual Director, holds a doctorate in Spirituality and Healing and is Associate Professor of Theology at Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Both Lang and Ketterhagen embrace the healing in community theory.

After establishing a practice at the Center in 2014, Lang discovered there was a mutual interest in bringing community acupuncture to Fond du Lac. Ketterhagen states, “According to research, acupuncture in community is more effective.” Lang gives additional reasons saying, “Research also shows that acupuncture is most effective when received with frequency and regularity - community acupuncture relieves the financial burden allowing for regular appointments more often as most insurances do not cover it.”

According to Lang, “The idea of healing in community is not new; it’s always been a part of Oriental medicine.” Acupuncture in group settings is a traditional practice in Asia but not practiced in the U.S. until 2002 by Portland acupuncturists, Lisa Rohleder and Skip Van Meter, whose passion was to make acupuncture accessible by removing a major barrier: expense. Regarding the low fee scale Lang says, “We only ask that patients consider the value of the benefits they receive and the fact that the continuation of the clinic depends on their patronage.”

According to Lang’s website, “The practice of acupuncture is based on the theory of Qi and its pathways in the body known as meridians. Qi can be thought of as "life force" or bio-energy, that which makes us alive, animates us, causes growth, development, healing, and makes possible all the biological functions in the body that require not only energy but direction on a cellular level…When Qi does not move in a healthy pattern, acupuncture needles can be inserted at designated points along the meridians to correct the dysfunction. Each point has its unique location, angle, depth, precautionary specifications as well as actions and indications.”

Scientific studies have shown acupuncture to be effective for many common complaints such as back and joint pain, headaches including migraines, high blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety, depression, asthma to name a few. For a full list of studies, see the World Health Organization’s report at http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/s4926e/s4926e.pdf.

For more information on community acupuncture at the Center, you may contact Janene Lang, L.Ac. at (920) 318-1352 or visit her community acupuncture page at http://kettlemoraineacupuncture.com/community-style-acupuncture.

Community Acupuncture Clinic Information

Where: Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality & Healing, 74 S. Main St., Ste. 301, Fond du Lac, WI

When: By appointment, morning, afternoon and evening hours available

Rate: Patient chooses amount between $25 – $50 with a one-time $10 first appointment charge

How: For an appointment contact the acupuncturist directly at (920) 318-1352

For a complete list of holistic therapies and classes offered at the Center for Spirituality and Healing visit fcsh.org.