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

Healthcare for the Homeless

www.HCHMD.org
421 Fallsway
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: 410-837-5533
Betty Kavanagh, LCSW-C, Behavioral Health Officer
Diana Keener, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor

STUDENT CLINIC:  Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

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/wellness groups, 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 and behavioral health treatment.

Howard Community College — Wellness Center

www.HowardCC.edu
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, Maryland 21044 
Phone: 410-772-4640
Tara Rupp, Wellness Coordinator
Sherrie Black, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor

STUDENT CLINIC:  Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

The Wellness Center empowers students to make informed decisions about their health, ultimately enhancing their wellbeing and quality of life.  The center offers a variety services including acupuncture, massage, and zero balancing.  The program also provides educational materials, hosts educational workshops, plans awareness activities, and provides students with referrals as necessary.  Auricular acupuncture — The Detox/Wellness Protocol — is provided to support the campus community with enhanced health through stress reduction, recovery from addictions, and reinforcing behavioral health and wellness.

Penn North Neighborhood Center / Maryland Community Health Initiatives

www.Penn-North.org
2410 Pennsylvania Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21217 
Phone: 410-728-2080
Blaize Connelly-Duggan, Executive Director
Vernard Nelson, Team Leader
Rhonda Armero, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor

STUDENT CLINIC:  Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Originally founded by Tai Sophia Institute, Maryland CHI is committed to redefining health through services that incorporate the value of on-demand access with comprehensive and supplementary services.  The Penn North Neighborhood Center utilizes community/peer support, acupuncture, therapeutic movement modalities, nutrition, and community based referrals and resources as effective tools to deal with the effects of substance abuse while supporting behavioral health and wellness.  Through complimentary medicine, practitioners bring a wealth of knowledge concerning health and well-being to clients who are, primarily, individuals living with an array of physical, emotional, and behavioral health challenges. 

Recovery in Community

www.RecoveryInCommunity.org
31 North Fulton Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21223 
Phone: 410-362-1400
Lena Franklin, Executive Director
Arthur Lazarowitz, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor
Rabab Al-Amin, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor

STUDENT CLINIC:  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
 
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.  Tai Sophia Institute practitioners provide acupuncture and wellness services for the program.  Other services include anger management, HIV support and education, and substance abuse education.

The Serenity Center

www.SerenityCenter.homestead.com
9650 Basket Ring Road
Columbia, MD  21045-3421
Phone: 410-884-6088
Arthur Lazarowitz, L.Ac., Acupuncture Supervisor

STUDENT CLINIC:  Tuesdays and Thursday, 6:45 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 9:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

In 1993, The Serenity Center was established by people in recovery as a non-profit organization.  The Center provides a safe and loving environment for those in recovery.  It 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 is also available for additional recovery meetings, and for special events in Howard County, that are aligned with the process of recovery as it relates to the 12 Steps.  Tai Sophia Institute interns provide acupuncture three days a week under faculty supervision.