About the STOP Clinic

Prior to 1992, the only person in our area helping people stop smoking was Dr. Yoshitaro Kusumi in Raleigh on Dresser Court.  His technique was called “Aversion Therapy”.  He made you smoke in a very small room until you felt sick, then put needles in your ears and administered a shock that was quite painful.  According to reports from his past clients, “You either stopped smoking or you wanted to smack him”!

In 1989, I joined Alan Spanos, MD who ran a multidisciplinary chronic pain clinic in Raleigh called “Blue Ridge Clinical Associates”.  While working with Dr. Spanos, I had the opportunity to work with some of the finest acupuncturists from all over the World; Dr. Zhenjiang Chen from China; Dr. Yoshitaro Kusumi from Japan; and Dr. Alan Spanos from England.  We specialized in helping people heal naturally without surgery and very minimal amounts of medications.

Later, I realized being with this diverse group of practitioners, who practiced so many different modalities, including Acupuncturists, Medical Doctors, Physical Therapists, Medical Massage Therapists, Counselors, a Chiropractor (Mark Niemcheck, DC) and a Feldenkrais Specialist (Mary Cochran) was one of the greatest opportunities of my life!   Doctors Kusumi, Chen and Spanos were great mentors teaching me their techniques, answering questions and exposing me to their World of “Natural Healing” … the power of allowing one’s body to heal itself.  I remember a favorite quote from Dr. Kusumi, “If it won’t spoil, don’t eat it!”

I assisted Dr. Spanos with the majority of his chronic pain patients once they were on a treatment and maintenance schedule.  As an assistant to Dr. Spanos, I soon became the clinic’s expert on the use of our medical electrical treatment devices. One of my duties (that I loved) was teaching our chronic pain patients how to use the electrical devices to achieve the most efficient treatment and management for their pain. The TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit had a sedation mode and a treatment mode. The codetron machine had different electrical frequencies to address patient’s different levels of pain. In order to save the patients time and money, we rented the equipment to our patients and called this service, “poor man’s acupuncture”.

Our knowledge of the body’s meridians and acupuncture points enabled us to position the electrodes on acupuncture points that best served our patients’ pain needs, allowing them to reach optimal results quickly!

A brilliant soul, Dr. Spanos was a Medical Doctor all his working career and one day decided to become an acupuncturist.  He was so excited with the results of his treatments that he often called me into the treatment room to witness each “latest miracle”.  One day he called me into his room to meet a young lady he was treating for a “frozen shoulder”.  On her second visit, she shared, “I don’t know what you did to me, but ever since my last acupuncture treatment with you, I have NOT wanted a cigarette!”

Dr. Spanos was so excited about this latest discovery, he approached me and exclaimed, “There is a real need for a smoking cessation program in our area.  Why don’t you work on making one?”  I was very excited with this challenge and agreed to do so.  Six months later, we started offering our program to the public.

Two months after our smoking cessation program “went viral”, people started calling the office with requests to lose weight.  “My friend came to your Clinic to stop smoking and lost 6 pounds!  I want to come to your weight loss program.”  Dr. Spanos said, “Set it up!”  Two months later, we began offering a food addiction program.  Both programs are a huge success!

One of my favorite stories:  Two years after our program began, a client, George, came to us to stop smoking.  Being a truck driver, he was very excited that he was able to kick his life long habit!  On his second visit, he asked me if I could help his wife.  She suffered from a condition he called “Chemical Drug Sensitivity”.  He explained that his wife, Jean, had been sick and in a wheelchair, for the past 7 years.  It was very difficult for her to go anywhere without feeling “deathly ill”.  The smell of new carpet made her ill.  Smelling perfume in an elevator made her ill.  I replied to George, “I have no experience with this!”    But he begged me to try to help her.  He felt so good, he wanted her to feel good, too.

I asked Dr. Spanos for advice.  “Give her 3 treatments and see what happens.”  When George brought Jean to me, I was very nervous.

I asked Jean if she was willing to change her diet, deleting the inflammatory foods.  She said she was willing to do ANYTHING to go back to the life she once had.   When I first met Jean, she was in a wheelchair and on a breathing apparatus.  She was bent over in her wheelchair as though she were very uncomfortable.  When Jean returned to me after the first visit, she was no longer on the breathing apparatus.  After the second visit, she WALKED in WITHOUT her wheelchair.  Chills went all over my body.  After her third visit, Jean had returned to her gardening activities which she so dearly loved. After a few more visits we discovered, as long as Jean stayed away from the inflammatory foods, the symptoms of her illness also stayed away.

During my past 2 decades of working with people for nicotine addiction and food addiction, I have witnessed many “miraculous” healings take place.  Many of my past clients were gracious enough to share their results on our testimonial page.  “Miraculous anomalies / healings” have included the following illnesses:

• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Diabetes
• Thyroid Disease
• Polycythemia Vera
• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Restless Leg Syndrome
• Chemo-Induced peripheral Neuropathy
• Chemical Drug Sensitivity
• Obesity
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome, aka IBS
• Diverticulitis
• Hypoglycemia
• Migraines

We have also help with “minor” problems that are often just as annoying:

• Hot flashes
• Incontinence
• Insomnia
• Lethargy
• Reflux
• Indigestion
• Coughing
• Dehydration
• Premenstrual Syndrome, aka PMS
• Mood swings
• Morning sickness
• Constipation

The STOP Clinic has blessed me with this great opportunity to work with people helping them meet their health care goals and escape from sickness and addictions.  I often tell people, “The STOP Clinic” was meant to be and “morphed into a life of its own over the past 28 years.”  I feel honored that you are choosing to work with me and allowing me to be a small part of your journey and healing process.