Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Lang.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have spent the last two decades working to support and empower women. I was barely out of my teen years when I started the first teen sexual assault survivor support group at an agency serving domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. I went on to work as a sexual assault victim advocate in Detroit’s trauma hospital. I felt a huge call to work upstream to prevent sexual assault from happening in the first place and went on to do statewide policy change and coalition building to improve both sexual assault prevention and response services. In 2001 I moved to Atlanta to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supporting all the states in implementing primary prevention initiatives to change the social norms and societal structures that support sexual violence.
After a decade at CDC, I got really burned out. I was tired of talking about rape every day, and I missed working directly with women. I wanted to facilitate health and healing in a different capacity and a more holistic way. Acupuncture had made a huge impact on my own health, resolving issues for which Western medicine offered no solutions. I decided to get a Masters in Acupuncture, and in 2014 I opened Dogwood Healing Arts, an acupuncture clinic in Decatur. It was the best decision I have ever made!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A smooth road… that depends on what you make of it! No road is totally smooth, but I have been so supported in all of my efforts by many people. I struggled with burn out throughout my social work career. My very first paying job as a social worker was working in a domestic violence shelter and I would have these exhausting dreams of lines of women and children needing shelter, and I had nowhere to place them.
When I decided to go to acupuncture school doors opened easily and effortlessly. Now building an acupuncture practice with no entrepreneurial or small business experience or training, well that was more of a learning curve. But eventually that came together as well, and I now have a thriving practice. Four years in and I still wake up every day grateful to be doing this work and excited for the day ahead.
My advice for young women starting out and for women looking to make a career change is to follow your heart. I know that sounds cliché but if you have a passion for something, go for it. If you have something great to offer the world, do it. That is what the world needs. My experience is that whenever I have made the leap toward something that filled my heart the proverbial net truly did appear.
Alright – so let’s talk about your work. Tell us about Dogwood Healing Arts – what should we know?
I am a licensed acupuncturist and the owner of Dogwood Healing Arts in Decatur. I spend most of my day inserting tiny needles into people to relieve their suffering. I also provide cupping, herbal medicine, and other Chinese medical arts.
Much of my work is in the arena of women’s health, so I treat everything from PMS to fertility to menopause. Emotional health is also a large part of my practice. Acupuncture and herbs are very effective for issues like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Chinese Medicine treats the mind-body-spirit, so it is a perfect fit with my social work and trauma response background. Lastly, I treat all sorts of pain conditions. That is what acupuncture is most well known for addressing. My favorite thing is the big sigh that patients make when they are lying on the table and the pain goes away, or their mind slows down and the enter a state of deep relaxation.
What patients always share with me is that they feel deeply seen, heard and valued. I pride myself on taking time with patients to fully hear what they are experiencing and get to the root cause so I can resolve the underlying issue not only treat the symptoms. In an era when doctor visits last less than 10 minutes and you are given a pill that may or may not actually help this is such a relief to many of my patients.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
Oh my gosh, so many. I have always been inspired by women who speak their truth, who have vision and take action. So many of the women I worked with in the anti-rape movement inspired me. These are the women who started rape crisis centers and domestic violence programs, sometimes at their kitchen tables when there was nothing else available in the community. I have been inspired by Emma Gonzales and the other young people who organized March for Our Lives. Those young people are our future! There are so many women doing great work to support equality and justice.
These days I also draw inspiration from all the women entrepreneurs around me. I am so inspired by young women who see a need or have a passion and just start their own business to address that need. At that age, it would have never occurred to me to start my own business! I love being an acupuncturist…I don’t always love being a small business owner, so I draw inspiration from those visionary women who start their own successful companies on their terms.
Pricing:
- Initial acupuncture appointment $110
- Follow-up acupuncture treatments $80
Contact Info:
- Address: 619 B East College Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030 - Website: www.dogwoodhealingarts.com
- Phone: 404-695-0905
- Email: karen@dogwoodhealingarts.com
- Facebook:
Image Credit:
Nikki Incandela
Karen Lang
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