ITEA Receives National Accreditation

10/23/2007 – by Sandra Lillie: Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture, Inc. (ITEA) is proud to announce that its acupuncture program recently attained national accreditation to grant a Master of Acupuncture in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture degree.

The Master of Acupuncture in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture program of the Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), which is the recognized accrediting agency for the approval of programs preparing acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners. ACAOM is located at Maryland Trade Center #3, 7501 Greenway Center Drive, Ste. 1, Greenbelt, MD 20770, 301/313-0855; fax 301/313-0912.

The accreditation process took the staff of ITEA several years. The school was required first to submit an initial Eligibility Report to ACAOM, describing in detail every aspect of the school. Once that document was accepted by ACAOM, site visitors came to Boulder and Louisville for three days to physically inspect the school and the program. A successful site visit led to ITEA attaining Candidacy status in November of 2003. In order to gain full accreditation, ITEA went through a Self-Study process involving everyone connected with the school and involving every aspect of the school and its processes. Recommendations for improvement were given throughout this process, and the entire sequence of events and the results were written in a Self-Study Report sent to ACAOM. When this report was accepted, ACAOM scheduled another site visit, and by that time, ITEA staff had implemented all recommendations. The Institute is accredited for three years, and will do another Self-Study in order to become re-accredited.

The ongoing support of the community has been essential to our success. ITEA wishes to extend heartfelt thanks to the Classical Five-Element community, its students, faculty, and board of directors and to the Institute’s many other friends and supporters.

The ACAOM announcement affirms ITEA’s standing at this time as the only school granting a Master of Acupuncture in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture.

ITEA is located at 608 Main Street in historic “Old Town” Louisville, Colorado, 80302. For more info, call 720.890-8922 or visit www.itea.edu.

More About ITEA's Master of Acupuncture Program

ITEA Mission

The Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture, Inc. (ITEA) is dedicated to excellence in the teaching of pure Classical Five-Element Acupuncture (CF-EA), as taught by J.R. and J.B. Worsley. The school is committed to producing graduates who have a deep understanding and respect for the integrity of the human body, mind, and spirit as it exists within nature, and who have developed the inner qualities needed to be effective healers. The Institute is further committed to serving the public at the highest levels of competence and knowledge of CF-EA, through inspiring its graduates to educate the public and to teach future students.

The ITEA Program and Format

The Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture’s (ITEA’s) four-year program teaches the oral tradition of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture (CF-EA). Class sizes are limited to ensure the highest quality of learning.

Through education based on spiral learning—revisiting a subject in ever more depth—ITEA’s students are thoroughly trained in this tradition. In addition, they also learn western sciences and practice management, and are prepared to sit for the national acupuncture exam given by the NCCAOM. Currently, over 95% of students who have graduated from the program are practicing acupuncturists.

The structure of the program at the Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture consists of 15 day intensives, four times a year. It is not necessary for students to live near the school during the first and second years of training. They must relocate to the Louisville, CO area before beginning the third year of studies and clinical training. The third and fourth years contain two Intensives of 16 days, with short class sessions of one to four days interspersed throughout the year, usually on Fridays and/or weekends. Intensives are offered August-September, October-November, January-February and April-May.

  • YEAR ONE: fundamentals of CF-EA, principles and diagnostic skills, surface anatomy, medical terminology and pharmacology are introduced.
  • YEAR TWO: deeper understanding of the diagnostic skills, and the ability to have rapport with all types of individuals are covered. Biomedical science study is also continued.
  • YEAR THREE: practice is begun in the ITEA Student Clinic. Classroom experience focuses on skills of practice management, professionalism, interaction with other healthcare providers and specific treatment situations.
  • YEAR FOUR: clinical training continues, including writing drug and nutritional reports, evaluation of western medical tests and lab work.

For more information please contact us at (720) 890-8922 or info@itea.edu.

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