Abstract
Substance abuse remains one of the leading health care problems in the United States. Traditional treatment efforts are costly and patients continue to suffer high attrition and relapse rates. Alternative treatment interventions have increasingly gained popularity among Americans. Auricular acupuncture, one category of alternative treatment, has been used to ease many stress related physical and emotional disorders. Sixty patients presenting for substance abuse treatment were administered the Alcohol and Drug Withdrawal Questionnaire at baseline and after receiving their first acupuncture intervention. Twenty‐three patients were primarily cocaine dependent and 25 patients were primarily alcohol dependent. The remainder were dependent on opiates, cannabis, benzodiazapines, or amphetamines. Subjects were asked to rate their current level of general distress and symptomatology on a scale from 1 (indicating none) to 10 (indicating extreme). After post hoc corrections, there were statistically significant improvements on all measures from pre to post testing.
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