● ​Safe, simple, and effective acupuncture protocols

● ​​Trauma-informed care

● ​Customized capacity building for health promoters

● ​Cost-effective and sustainable models for acupuncture care

● ​Adjunctive addictions and mental health care

● ​Support for pain and chronic illness

● ​​Acupuncture-based disaster response mobilization

​Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most common and dependable medical therapies used in the world. It is by nature simple, safe and effective health care. Providers use thin, sterile, disposable pins inserted superficially into specific areas of thebody in order to help the body’s ability to heal itself. Over the three decades or so in which acupuncture has developed in the U.S.,it has been proven to be not only exceptionally safe, but statistically effective in an increasing body of scientific studies. - Andrew Wegman

Acupuncture as “Barefoot” means ``feet`` on the ground. It means that people on the ground in a given place are able to offer care for their own community. Our model strives to make acupuncture as a preferential option for the poor. The Barefoot Doctor movement in China trained community health workers in rural and underserved areas, who offered care for millions of people, in regions where urban-trained doctors would not work. Over the past 50 years, a variety of global health programs have cultivated this model of training the people within addictions recovery and humanitarian aid and development. The Barefoot Acupuncture Movement draws on these projects, putting acupuncture into the hands of people on the front lines of justice and healing.

TRE® is an innovative series of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension and trauma. The exercises safely activate a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating that releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system. Crossroads teaches individuals as well as health providers how to do this, so they can incorporate into their wellness activities.

Our meditation workshops are trauma-informed and crafted specifically for community health and prison projects. We can train staff and patients in stress and anger management skills to use as part of their daily work and lives. Skills taught are meditation, self acu-pressure, mindfulness, breathing exercises, and calming techniques.

​The NADA ear acupuncture (AKA acudetox) model is a training and therapy approach involving a standardized ear (auricular) acupuncture protocol used for various health conditions. As a capacity-building tool, this Barefoot model is taught to lay health workers and local personnel, provided as a barrier-free component of any community service or activity, and offered in a group setting. The model has been well-integrated within a variety of behavioral health and disaster relief settings, including hospitals, refugee camps, prisons, churches, protests and as part of non-violent resistance.

Doing acupuncture in a group setting allows people to share the healing experience with others. Similar to how acupuncture is traditionally practiced in Asia, patients do not require patients to disrobe. Our advanced training program for community health workers teaches basic protocols that are used mostly in the legs, arms and head, a style known as distal acupuncture. We also make sure our clinics are either free, by donation only, or offered on a sliding scale.​

​Moxa (also known as Moxibustion) is a proven, safe, cost-effective therapy used in traditional medicine by health professionals and health promoters worldwide, easily applied in any location with few resources. The dried and aged leaves of the plant mugwort (artemisia principii) are rolled into small strips. Tiny pieces of moxa the size of a half a grain of rice are applied to acupuncture points. This stimulates the acumoxa point with direct, specific heat (vs. using a needle).

​As part of our NADA ear acupuncture courses, we teach health providers, community health workers, parents, and teachers how to apply ear acupressure techniques for stress relief, focus and concentration, as well as food and drug cravings. These techniques are great for kids, and can also be used on both adults and children.​

​The Barefoot Acupuncture Movement uses the NADA ear acupuncture (acudetox) model, offering mobile care anywhere people can sit. Settings like shelters and community centers, open to the public, can offer an ideal, barrier-free environment for anyone seeking care. Unlike a private acupuncture session, where the practitioner spends a lot of one-on-one time with the patient, the NADA protocol is performed quickly, in a group setting, and non-verbally. First responders and survivors sit in silence while the practitioner inserts the same points into each person’s two ears. The focus is on creating safe space for people to rest.