What are the training requirements for acupuncturists?

The ancient Asian therapy of placing tiny needles into specific areas of the body for countless purposes—from stemming chronic pain to smoking—is one of the most popular complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) in the United States. And it's also one of the most regulated. Thousands of physicians practice acupuncture, and they need no additional licensing in any state.

Acupuncturists without a medical degree require licensing in all but eight states, which entails training and passing an exam. Some states also require a hands-on exam. About 16 states require a degree from a school accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and the other 26 states require three years or 1,800 hours of training.

In about 12 states, your doctor must refer you to the services of an acupuncturist before insurance will consider paying for it. To find out what your state requires, check the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Web site at http://www.nccaom.org.

Hypnotherapy is the least regulated of all complementary and alternative medicines (CAM). In all, 48 states have essentially no licensing or training requirements at all, which makes us wonder if hypnotists don't visit their governor every now with their swinging pocket watches. Only Illinois and Oregon are trying to implement licensing requirements.

Hypnotherapists can buy very official-sounding licenses from official-sounding organizations, most of which look impressive on their business cards but don't mean a whole lot otherwise. The irony? Hypnosis has been in the United States longer than any other CAM, and it can be one of the most the effective complementary therapies when combined with conventional health care.

I've seen benefits from hypnotherapy done by licensed psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and skilled social workers. There have been plenty of studies with varying results, and the NIH (National Institutes of Health) has conducted clinical trials to see if hypnotherapy can reduce surgery pain and tension, hot flashes in breast cancer survivors, and other ailments (if you'd like to explore being part of a study, click on http://nccam.nih.gov/clinicaltrials/hypnosis.htm. For more info and referrals, see the Web site for the National Guild of Hypnotists, http://www.ngh.net/, which is a 50-year-old nonprofit organization with a good reputation, as well as the American Psychotherapy and Medical Hypnosis Association Web site at http://www.apmha.com/.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.

Homeopaths believe that giving an extremely tiny dose of a substance that can cause sickness allows the body to safely build defenses against the real disease. Only three states (Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada) offer homeopathic licensing for physicians, but there are about 6,000 practitioners of homeopathy in the United States (most are practitioners in another field, such as chiropractic, naturopathy, veterinary medicine, or physical therapy). If you live in one of the 47 other states, find an MD or DO who is board-certified by the American Board of Homeotherapeutics.

Note that in Arizona and Nevada, homeopathic assistants can practice under the supervision of a homeopathic MD or DO. For info, see the North American Society of Homeopaths Web site at http://www.homeopathy.org.