In the days following the Boulder King Soopers mass shooting, locals flocked to therapy offices in hopes of processing the mass violence that occurred in their community.

Therapists, counselors and psychologists were fully booked, leaving community members looking for alternative ways to relieve stress, including through acudetox.

Avani Dilger, the founder of Natural Highs Addiction Counselor, a nonprofit that provides healthy alternatives to drugs and alcohol, saw the need for alternative stress relief and began providing acudetox.

Acudetox is a five-point ear acupuncture protocol in which five small needles are placed into each ear for between 20 to 45 minutes. The five positions are sympathetic, shen men, kidney, liver and lung. Each placement puts pressure on a different nerve, with the intention of reducing anxiety, depression, sleep problems, trauma and PTSD, according to BoulderAcudetox.org.

“We started giving it out after the King Soopers shooting, the day after,” Dilger said. “We thought we’d do it for a few weeks but the response has been so beneficial and so huge that we decided to keep going.”

Since she began, Dilger, who is a licensed professional counselor, a somatic psychotherapist and an acupuncture detoxification specialist, estimates that the nonprofit has provided more than 14,000 acudetox treatments throughout Boulder County.

“The ear is a microsystem to the body so everything on the body is represented in the ear just like it is on the soles of our feet,” Dilger said. “ … When people go through trauma or a disaster, it really affects their nervous system. A lot of the symptoms that people deal with with PTSD are actually physiological symptoms and nervous-system symptoms.”

Dilger said acudetox is a nervous-system intervention and therefore helps people with PTSD move through the sympathetic nervous system, relax and process trauma.Dilger offers it for free in a drop-in group setting in an effort to minimize any barriers to access.

While Boulder Acudetox mainly offers services in Boulder County, practitioners travel throughout Colorado to train others to be certified.

In 2021, Senate Bill 21-1146 was passed, which allowed anyone with certification to perform acudetox despite not being licensed, certified or registered as a mental health professional.

The services are currently offered in Boulder, Lafayette, Nederland, Longmont and Fort Collins, according to the organization’s website.

“The mission of our nonprofit is really to bring cutting-edge neuroscience to kids, to parents, to people in the criminal justice system, and to disadvantaged people,” Dilger said.

She added, “They’re always free and open to anybody and that, of course, reduces stigma and barriers. A lot of people don’t access mental health treatment or substance abuse treatment because of stigma and because of the financial barriers.”

In Boulder County, acudetox has been offered in public libraries, at the courthouse, in community centers and recovery centers.

During the King Soopers shooting trial, victims and victims’ families were offered acudetox through Boulder Strong by a practitioner on the Boulder acudetox team. Boulder police have also used it for their employees as part of city wellness initiatives. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said it currently does not use acudetox treatment in the jail but it’s being explored.

Patrick McInerney, 63, of Boulder has become a returning patient of acudetox and said it’s helped his alcohol cravings.

“It makes me feel like I’m doing something for myself,” McInerney said. “It’s a positive thing. It feels good and I like Avani. I feel like it’s helping me with my cravings, which I haven’t really had and with my mild depression.”

McInerney said for him the impact is subtle but he finds it relaxes him.

“It just felt relaxing to me. It always has, every time. It makes me feel happy, like a hit of endorphins,” McInerney said.

“I encourage it. I would say for everyone it’s probably a bit different in how they feel. Some might feel more profoundly with it. I think everyone would benefit.”

Dilger said there’s a wide variety of reactions she’s seen people have in response to the needles being placed in their ears, including some breaking down in tears.

Naropa student Shayden Fakhimi was one of the recipients of acudetox on Dec. 11 at the Boulder Public Library.

“I’m feeling emotionally regulated,” Fakhimi said as the needles were being inserted.

“I really like the sensation of the needles because it makes me more aware of my body.”

Fakhimi, 29, said she has been receiving acudetox and acupuncture treatment for three years and decided to join the drop in to relieve stress prior to her exam the next day.

“I have an exam in the morning and I was really over-caffeinated so I thought needles would calm me down a bit,” Fakhimi said.

Fakhimi said that since getting acudetox treatments she’s been sleeping better, feels more energized, less fatigued and has heightened senses of her surroundings.