Adriana Rivadeneira Almenara, MAc, LAc is a practitioner of East Asian Medicine and a graduate of NUNM (class of 2011). She practices Classical Chinese Medicine and Worsley Five-Element Acupuncture within a trauma-informed, relational approach to care.

Her work reflects the same orientation introduced above: attention to how the body holds, adapts to, and reorganizes patterns of stress, emotion, and environment over time, rather than isolating symptoms from the system they arise within.

She works with people experiencing:

• Sensitive and highly responsive nervous systems
• Chronic pain, complex conditions, and long-standing health concerns
• Stress, anxiety, burnout, and emotional overwhelm
• Digestive, sleep, and hormonal concerns
• Neurodivergence and needle anxiety
• Recovery from addiction and life transitions

Treatment is responsive and adjusted in real time based on how the body is organizing during the session. Needles are typically used in a lighter, minimal way, often with short retention or in-and-out application, depending on what the system is able to integrate in the moment. Adriana remains present in the room throughout treatment, supporting a steady, relational process rather than a standardized protocol.

Over time, this allows patterns of tension and adaptation to soften, supporting greater internal stability and ease.

At its core, her work supports a return to relationship with the body—understood as intelligent, responsive, and capable of change when met with steady attention.