Couple strives for balance in city's growing complementary medicine market

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06319/738298-28.stm

Wednesday, November 15, 2006By K.L. Holsopple
"Can acupuncture help me lose weight?" is one of the most common questions Melissa Sokulski hears at the Birch Center for Health, the South Side practice she shares with her husband, David.
Her answer is a resounding "Yes," which could explain some of the success the couple has had since opening their center for traditional Chinese medicine, massage and acupuncture early last year.
Acupuncture is a centuries old therapeutic technique in which fine needles are strategically inserted into the skin. The goal is to free blocked energy in the body so that the Qi, the Chinese concept of life energy, is balanced, alleviating pain and disease. The World Health Organization has identified a wide range of conditions that can be treated effectively with acupuncture, including infertility and depression.
Though practiced all over the world and widely in the United States, acupuncture and Oriental medicine have been slow to take root in Pittsburgh. The Greater Pittsburgh Yellow Pages lists only 13 names under "Acupuncture." In contrast, when Ms. Sokulski practiced in Boston in the late 1990s there were about 100 acupuncturists within a few blocks of her practice, including one in the same building.
Boston is home to the New England School of Acupuncture, the oldest school of acupuncture in the United States, where the couple received master's degrees in acupuncture and Chinese herbology.
The American Association of Oriental Medicine, an advocacy group , reported a 59 percent growth rate in licensed practitioners from 2000 to 2004.
Pittsburgh is experiencing a growing interest in alternative healing too, as evidenced by the success of area centers for holistic medicine, such as the Nuin Center in Highland Park.
The trend has benefited the Sokulskis . Their Birch Center for Health took only four months to become self-sustaining after the initial investment in renting the building and getting their Pennsylvania acupuncture licenses, which are regulated through the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine. They already owned massage and acupuncture tables and supplies from their previous practice in Boston. In a typical week, each of them have 10 to 12 private appointment slots on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and some Saturday mornings. Regular clients fill most of the available slots.
They built their client base from referrals from other clients, a comprehensive Web site and their quarterly newsletter, In Health, which is mailed to 200 clients and distributed to health stores and other like-minded businesses around the city. Ms. Sokulski sees building trust with existing and potential clients as the key to growing their business.
"Both Dave and I take the time to explain what we are doing and seeing, from our perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, to our patients and clients, and take time to answer their questions," she says.
Her perspective is doubly convincing because she came to acupuncture first as a patient. Having studied pre-med at Bryn Mawr , Ms. Sokulski became uncomfortable with traditional Western medicine's reliance on prescription medication and surgery. That led her to study at the Stillpoint School of Massage Therapy in western Massachusetts. While a student there, she developed a painful digestive condition for which her medical doctors could offer no solution. But an acupuncturist who had come to speak at her school was able to treat the problem and the condition has never returned.
Because their private consultations are so successful, the Sokulskis are able to offer a sliding scale clinic on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Mr. Sokulski sees about five clients each clinic day, but with three treatment rooms, there is room to see about five more. The clinic is designed for walk-in clients who are in acute pain or for those who may need consecutive treatments to stop addictions, which could be cost prohibitive for many.
The Sokulskis do not accept insurance, but provide receipts to their clients that can be submitted to insurance companies, many of which will cover treatments up to 80 percent.
The clinic is one of several services that set the Birch center apart from other practices. Though the birch tree represents beginnings and birth, the name of their center is also an acronym for Brain Injury Recovery for Children, a nod to one of their own daughters born with a brain injury. In fact, the couple moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to Mr. Sokulski's family, which provides support for their daughter's specialized treatment program. In their office, they offer Consilience Energy Management classes and treatments, dealing with the electromagnetic and vibrational systems in the body, to help other parents and families with brain injured children.
Mr. Sokulski, a former chemist, also practices facial rejuvenation acupuncture, a natural alternative to smoothing wrinkles without using chemicals or Botox. The treatment attracts clients from 20 to 70 years old at a cost of $1,200 for the 12 treatments in the regimen.
The couple hopes that their experience and training, coupled with the services that they offer at the Birch Center, will create more business for them and an opportunity to educate more people about the benefits of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. But even if Pittsburgh becomes a mecca for acupuncturists, they don't worry about competition.
"I'm sure that there are going to be more people moving to Pittsburgh in this field," Mrs. Sokulski says, "But I think more people are looking for alternatives and are willing to try new things."
She says in Boston there was never a shortage of clients because even though there were so many more practitioners, there were always plenty of people wanting treatment.
However, their business is not entirely market-driven. It also gives them satisfaction to work in a field they both believe in. "I actually really love doing acupuncture, and so does Dave," Ms. Sokulski says.