Bringing acupuncture together
SERVICES
Welcome to Association of Community and Multibed Acupuncture Clinics (ACMAC)
The Association of Community and Multibed Acupuncture Clinics (ACMAC) is formed of practitioners who wish to make acupuncture accessible to as many people as possible.
We support the provision of affordable acupuncture treatment in multibed clinics where costs are kept low by treating several people at the same time.
What are Multibed clinics and why do they work so well?
With acupuncture as with most other things, there is an obvious link between accessibility and affordability. Acupuncture in the West has, until recently, been practiced almost exclusively by one practitioner treating one patient at a time, in a small room, and charging a fee appropriate for a highly-trained professional. This is NOT how acupuncture is generally practiced in China.
Acupuncture takes time to work; you will usually feel a difference after one treatment, but the reality is that a course of treatment is required for most complaints, and that course may take months or years for very stubborn, chronic or serious complaints. The problem with paying very high prices for sessions is that patients will often not be able to come for treatment frequently enough and for long enough to get better and stay better.
The solution is called a ‘MULTIBED CLINIC’. It is such an obvious idea that it’s a shame it’s only been around in the West for a few years!
In a Multibed clinic, there are several beds in one large room. The practitioner greets his or her patient, helps them get comfortable, has a chat in a quiet voice, and the needles are inserted. Acupuncture needles take around 20-40 minutes to do their work, and the best thing a patient can do in that time is to relax as deeply as possible. While that patient is relaxing into their treatment, the practitioner can start a treatment with another patient. And so it continues...
It is easy to see therefore, that practitioners can reduce the fees they charge, because they are able to see many more patients and still cover their costs. And patients can benefit from treatment at a price that won’t break the bank, so hopefully they can come along for the treatment they need rather than having to ration it, or choose acupuncture over food!
Creating community
Apart from the obvious advantage of acupuncture being more affordable, multibed clinics also have two other main advantages.
Firstly, when many people are treated together, a powerful healing ‘atmosphere’ is created. It has a similar feeling to when many people meditate or practice yoga or martial arts together – it’s hard to put your finger on, but there is something in the air which allows you to relax more deeply, heal more quickly and connect to something bigger than yourself. We hope you come along and see what we mean.
Secondly, multibed clinics take illness/unwellness and from that create a sense of community rather than isolation. Many patients have reported that they felt ‘community’ was very scarce in their lives, and coming regularly to a multibed clinic met their needs for a sense of togetherness. Seeing other people also dealing with the hand that life has dealt them can help us all put our own problems in perspective, and helps us remember that we are not alone in our suffering.
This is why multibed clinics are also often called 'Community Clinics'
Service Categories
Acupuncture
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