News
from and about the NADA community
Latest News from NADA

Organizational Spotlight: Black Acupuncturist Association
As part of Black History month, we're featuring an organization that NADA member Tenisha Dandridge founded: Black Acupuncturist Association (BAA). Dandridge serves as President of BAA, a national platform for Black acupuncturists in the United States and those who...
More News from NADA
February 2021 Membership Cafe (Recording)
Looking Forward: NADA's Role in Genuine Social Change In February 2021 the NADA hosted a special open NADA Membership Café featuring guest speaker Walter Bosque (NADA Trainer & Lincoln Detox Collective Member). VIEW THE RECORDING https://youtu.be/IIJLRFL4xzw...
NADA Launches Youth Committee
At our February 2021 Membership Café Looking Forward: NADA's Role in Genuine Social Change NADA launched a Youth Committee to ensure we are bringing this people's medicine to the next generation. Under 35? We invite you to get involved. Fill out this Youth Committee...
New Guidepoints News from NADA Issue Published
Sign-up to receive ‘Guidepoints News from NADA’ in your inbox quarterly. Stories in the Fall/Winter 2020 Issue: NADA Philippines Health Mission to Bicol Disaster Area During the Pandemic Danish Hospice Integrates NADA in Its Entire Program Ajandok Eöry, friend,...
Membership Spotlight: Sharon Jennings-Rojas
A daughter of Jamaican immigrants, I grew up in several places. Born in Denmark Hill, London, my parents trained as health care professionals (my mother, a registered nurse; and my father, a hospital administrator). My later years were spent living in the South Bronx, Queens, and going to church in Brooklyn. I’ve spent considerable time in the Caribbean and Africa where the connection between health care and wellness (body, mind and soul) is deeply rooted to faith based systems and spiritual practices. This is why my work with the Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center really spoke to me and paved the path of community health and wellness that I continue to advocate for.
Black History Month 2021
February marks Black History Month. Throughout this month, we'll be sharing resources that highlight and commemorate the many contributions of the Black community to acupuncture in the United States. We'll be collecting the resources on this page. Have a suggestion?...
NADA Work in Australia Grows
In late 2020, Sydney based Acupuncture for Community launched a new website. Check-out their work and latest news & events. There is NADA work in dozens of countries across the world. Learn more about NADA work beyond North America. Acupuncture for Community is...
Membership Spotlight: Karen Marrero Chong
I recall being 15 years old when I realized for the sake of my own independence that to heal myself and to help those around me, that I must learn everything I can about health and healing. I remember being fascinated when I first heard in acupuncture school something about the NADA protocol and the points on the ears…so I went off to the Bronx to Lincoln Hospital to learn about that because it was something I felt I could immediately start integrating into the work I already did.
Service Awards for Courage and Vision
At the Southwest regional meeting we recognized a group of recovery mentors at the Magilligan Prison in Northern Ireland who have provided ear acupressure to their fellow prisoners. Before the pandemic, they also worked in the acupuncture clinic assisting Trish Cathcart, who introduced the NADA protocol into all the prisons in Northern Ireland. We made a service award for each mentor (Albert, Billy, Dessie, Eamon, Paul, Ryan C and Ryan T) and for Trish, recognizing their courage and vision.
NADA’s First Virtual Conference, Southwest Style
On October 15, 2020, NADA held its first virtual conference titled Innovations in Healing with the NADA Protocol. The presentations featured the Southwest region of the United States, and included speakers from Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. One of the organizers appreciated the online space, because “it allowed people to attend since travel was not an issue.” Even when we come to a time when travel and gathering may become easier, we have learned that the space for meeting online is not going away – it is a strategy that builds access, one of NADA’s principal values.
Community Update
On June 8, following several weeks of protests across the United States and world against the brutal and senseless murder of George Floyd specifically and the violence of systemic racism broadly, NADA issued a statement of solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives in which we stated: “Structural change cannot happen without the individual components engaging in their own transformation and evolution of undoing racism. NADA pledges to do its piece in this learning and transformation, and to share its process with the community.” This is our first follow-up update in sharing our process and progress with the NADA community.
Opening access to the NADA protocol is becoming a legislative trend
with Vermont and Colorado paving the new path. Twenty-four states have statutes on the practice of the NADA protocol by a diversity of workers. On July 1, 2019, Vermont became the first to deregulate the practice of the protocol entirely. One year later, the state of Colorado followed suit, as part of changes made during the sunset review of the Mental Health Practice Act. These changes point to a growing trend of the NADA protocol becoming more available and accessible in clinical and community spaces, and to state governments having a less fearful approach to NADA providers serving their communities.
Remembering Dr. Ajándok Eőry
By Emese Eőry Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner Nurse, Ear Acupuncture Addictologist This article comes from Guidepoints News from NADA Summer 2020 Issue. Sign-up to receive Guidepoints in your inbox quartlery. The Guidepoints newsletter is the only...
Your Art Your Story
Hope and healing after suicide. Many suicide loss survivors have post-traumatic stress disorder and disenfranchised grief, and it is difficult for them to find help. In 2019, I was introduced to NADA and started training in the NADA protocol. Although I don’t yet practice the protocol in a clinical setting, I use it on myself and really notice the benefits. I believe the NADA protocol is a powerful tool for bereavement support and would like to connect with practitioners who have employed it–using needles and/or seeds and magnetic beads–in grief support settings.
New Guidepoints News from NADA Issue Published
Stories in the Summer 2020 Issue:
Opening access to the NADA protocol is becoming a legislative trend with Vermont and Colorado paving the new path pg. 1, 3-4
Remembering Dr. Ajándok Eőry pg. 5-6
Your Art, Your Story: Healing From Suicide Loss Through Art and Community pg. 7-10
NADA’s First Virtual Conference: Southwest Style pg. 11-12
Service Awards for Courage and Vision pg. 13
Participate in our End of Year Campaign “Celebrating the NADA Movement”
Become a NADA member, renew, or make a donation to build the NADA movement.
Support the International NADA Community this Giving Tuesday
For the second year, we are giving visibility to the DARE Network, “a community-based grassroots organization providing culturally appropriate treatment and prevention programs to reduce substance abuse and associated societal problems within the communities of the...
NADA commemorates Truthsgiving
On this U.S. colonial holiday, we invite you to reframe “Thanksgiving” as Truthsgiving. Commemorating Truthsgiving, we join in solidarity with Native communities’ ongoing resistance to genocide and colonization. We acknowledge the 400 years of trauma that have been inflicted on the Indigenous communities of North America as well as globally.
Membership Spotlight: Hajera Ahmed
Hajera Ahmed is working to expand access to the NADA protocol in Washington state. “The thing that stuck out most about Acudetox to me is that there isn’t a hierarchy around who ‘deserves’ healing. EVERYONE deserves love and care, EVERYONE deserves access to a warm space to rest and EVERYONE deserves healing. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or what you do for work or what you believe or what language you speak. Everyone can be their own healer, and hold space for others if they are willing.”
NADA Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Takeover of Lincoln Hospital
Today, on the 50th anniversary of this event we honor the activists, organizers, collectives, and broader South Bronx community who created the conditions for the NADA protocol to later be developed.
Join us for our December Membership Café reflecting on 2020
December 16th at 10 AM MST / 12 PM EST Our monthly membership café is taking a pause for November. We'll see you again in December! The theme will be reflecting together on NADA in 2020. Email Taneha Watts, membership coordinator, with questions at...