Tai Sophia Institute is dedicated to serving individuals who seek to learn the art of caring for themselves and each other in the course of life’s journey. From a small healing arts clinic founded in 1975, Tai Sophia has grown to become a preeminent academic institution for wellness-based research, education, and clinical care.
Our clinical services network includes 10 clinic sites throughout the Baltimore/Washington region. At each of these sites, our faculty and clinical interns deliver personalized health and wellness services to a broad base of clients in a diverse range of settings. Among the 10 sites, four are operated through organizational affiliations with the following organizations to provide acupuncture students with a wide range of experiences in using acupuncture in public health settings. This comprises a unique and important part of the curriculum for the Master of Acupuncture Program.
Within the acupuncture curriculum, the course Introduction to Addiction and Community Health enhances the Level II student’s knowledge of the Chinese Medicine viewpoint of substance abuse and recovery. The course teaches the student the application of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) Acudetox five-needle protocol. Following this course, students spend a minimum of sixty hours at off-campus, faculty supervised, community clinic settings where they gain experience in using acupuncture and life-skills treatment models for detoxification and support of overall health and wellness. This experience enables the students to develop the skills of powerful listening and treating with compassion. In addition, students practice achieving and maintaining rapport with patients, within a community health care model, prior to their academic/clinical internship. Within their internship, they are called to treat individual patients at the Faculty-Supervised Clinics. Students are supervised by Tai Sophia faculty or licensed acupuncturists employed by that agency.
For additional information contact:
Sharon Jennings-Rojas, M.Ac., L.Ac., RT(NADA)
Coordinator of Community Partnerships
410-888-9048 ext. 6654
sjennings-rojas@tai.edu
Healthcare for the Homeless
www.hchmd.org
(Phone: 410-837-5533)
421 Fallsway
Baltimore, MD 21202
Betty Kavanagh, LCSW-C, Behavioral Health Officer
Diana Keener, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor
STUDENT CLINIC: Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:00 am – 9:30 am
Healthcare for the Homeless provides health-related services, education and advocacy to reduce the incidence and burdens of homelessness in Maryland. A continuum of addiction services is provided ranging from street reach/outreach to auricular detox, outpatient treatment, and referral and placement in residential treatment programs. The program is based on a philosophical continuum, which integrates a harm reduction model with the abstinence based chronic disease model of addiction treatment.
Howard Community College, Wellness Center
www.howardcc.edu
(Phone: 410-772-4640)
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, Maryland 21044
Tara Rupp, Wellness Coordinator
Sherrie Black, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor
STUDENT CLINIC: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 am – 10:30 am
The Wellness Center empowers students to make informed decisions about their health, ultimately enhancing their wellbeing and quality of life. It offers a variety services including acupuncture, massage, and zero balancing, provides educational materials, hosts educational workshops, plans awareness activities, and provides students with referrals as necessary. Auricular acupuncture detoxification is provided to support the campus community with enhanced health through stress reduction and recovery from addictions.
Penn North Neighborhood Center / Maryland Community Health Initiatives
www.tai.edu/MCHI.aspx
(Phone: 410-728-2080)
2410 Pennsylvania Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21217
Vernard Nelson, Team Leader
Rhonda Armero, L.Ac., Senior Acupuncturist
STUDENT CLINIC: Monday through Friday, 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Founded by Tai Sophia Institute, Maryland CHI is committed to redefining health through services that incorporate the values of on-demand access, community/friendship as healing, acupuncture, movement, and nutrition as effective tools and substitutes for substance abuse. Practitioners bring a wealth of knowledge concerning health and well-being through complementary medicine to clients who are, primarily, individuals living with drug addictions and HIV/AIDS.
Recovery in Community
www.recoveryincommunity.org
(Phone: 410-362-1400)
31 North Fulton Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21223
Lena Franklin, Executive Director
Arthur Lazarowitz, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor
Rabab Al-Amin, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor
Recovery in Community (RIC) is a community-based program with the goal of reducing substance abuse and related criminal activity in three communities of Southwest Baltimore (Boyd Booth, Fayette Street Outreach, and Franklin Square). This area was the setting for the book and TV miniseries, "The Corner." RIC clients live in group houses and attend the program five days a week. Maryland CHI provides acupuncture services for the program. Other services include anger management, HIV support and education, and substance abuse education.
The Serenity Center
www.serenitycenter.homestead.com
(Phone: 410-884-6088)
9650 Basket Ring Road
Columbia, MD 21045-3421
STUDENT CLINIC: Tuesdays and Thursday, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm; Saturdays, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
The Serenity Center was established in 1993 by people in recovery as a non-profit organization to provide a safe and loving environment in Maryland that supports and encourages the discovery of physical, emotional, and spiritual growth through Twelve Step fellowships. Capable of accommodating four meetings simultaneously, the Center includes a large kitchen and space for informal gatherings and hosts meetings in both English and Spanish. The Center also is available for additional recovery meetings and for special events in Howard County associated with recovery through the 12 Steps. Through the Maryland Community Health Initiative, Tai Sophia interns provide acupuncture three days a week under faculty supervision.