Without a doubt, the events of 9/11 were among the most shocking and traumatic in U.S. history, particularly for residents of New York City.

For some residents, the road to recovery has been a long and painful one. In response to this ongoing need for trauma care - even seven years later - a group of New Your City acupuncturists has banded together to try and get auricular acupuncture included as a benefit through the New York City Department of Mental Health & Hygiene.

Wendy Z. Henry, LAc, ADS, with the Acupuncture Society of New York (ASNY) is spearheading this effort. She has a great deal of experience with using auricular acupuncture to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, addiction and other consequences of extreme trauma. As one of the members of Community Relief & Rebuilding through Education & Wellness (CRREW), she helped victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma through a program called the "9-11 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Benefit."

Through this program, the hurricane victims, if they had no other coverage, could receive treatment through the Red Cross. That program allowed for 32 mental health treatments, which included acupuncture. Although it ended in December 2007, the New York City Department of Mental Health & Hygiene is launching a program with the same name to aid victims, specifically residents of New York City ( www.nyc.gov ). This new program does not include auricular acupuncture.

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