About CAP:

The mission of Community Acupuncture Project (CAP) is to provide high quality treatment at affordable rates to as many people as possible, and as often as necessary. We treat patients in a respectful, trauma-informed care practice in a collective room with others seeking healing. Treatments are offered in recliner chairs and massage tables, seven days a week. Creating healing, hope and collective liberation, through acupuncture and social justice. All are welcome here.

CAP started in 2009 in Columbia City. In 2011 we opened a second location in West Seattle. On September 3rd, 2019 we opened our third location in Burien, WA. While the Columbia City and West Seattle locations have since closed, CAP Burien is still going strong thanks to the support of our patients and volunteers.  You will find upon visiting that there is an amazing healing power in the simplicity of people, needles and stillness.

CAP is member of a cooperative of community acupuncture clinics – the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture, or POCA. Like all POCA clinics, we offer sliding scale fees so our patients can access the treatment they need. To learn more about POCA or to locate a clinic in your area, visit www.pocacoop.com.

Anti Discrimination Philosophy
We aim to create a welcoming clinic environment for all members of our communities. The practitioners at CAP do not discriminate based on race, age, religion, ability, marital status, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, height, weight, national origin, language, education, HIV or immigration status. We offer LGBTQ+ competent care.

What is different about our clinic?

We treat in a community setting!
Whereas most acupuncturists in the US treat people in individual cubicles, community acupuncture takes place in a healing group setting. Patients sit in a room together in comfortable recliners and benefit from the healing energy from one another. This approach is similar to how acupuncture is practiced in China. The community setting allows for more time for treatment, instead of the needles being retained for at most half an hour. Our patients decide for themselves when they feel ”done;” in fact, many people fall asleep and wake feeling refreshed.

One of the largest benefits of a community setting is that it is possible for friends and family members to receive treatment together and many find it comforting as the collective energetic field (group chi) nurtures the entire group.

We practice a blend of acupuncture styles, mostly relying upon ”distal” points in the hands, feet and head to treat problems in other parts of the body. This means that you will not need to disrobe. For points located on the back or on the torso, we advise our patients to wear loose fitting clothing so we can easily gain access to those parts of the body.

We have a sliding scale
Our goal is to offer affordable acupuncture with a sliding scale – from $50-$100 for the first visit and $35-$80 for return visits – so that our treatment is accessible to more members of the community. We work on the honor system and patients pay what works for them, there is no income verification necessary.

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine have many benefits. In the United States, these healing forms have historically been enjoyed by only a small proportion of the population. Most acupuncturists see one or two patients per hour and charge between $65 and $175 per treatment. They tend to spend a long time talking with each patient, going over medical records, asking many questions.

We don’t – and this is a very important difference. In order to make acupuncture affordable for you and still make a living, we streamline our treatments and see multiple patients per hour. Instead of asking lots of questions, we are more problem focused and rely on our diagnostic skills to treat you. This is exactly how acupuncture is traditionally practiced in Asia – many patients per hour and very little talking.

Research in the United States (as well as thousands of years of tradition in Asia) has shown that acupuncture is most effective when it is done frequently and regularly – one treatment per week is the absolute minimum required to make progress on any kind of health issue, and unfortunately, usually all people can afford. Our sliding scale allows you to come as often as necessary to get you well and to help you stay well.

We are open 6 days a week
In order to make acupuncture as accessible as possible, we are open as often as possible with a few holiday exceptions. We will post these closings on our website, Facebook and Instagram.

Be sure to follow us! Click below to view hours for our clinic.

**Reminder: Our last appointment is 50 minutes before our closing time.**

CAP Burien is located on occupied Duwamish and Coastal Salish land.

Check out this Bastyr University article about our clinic: Acupuncture for All: Alumna Leads Community Care Mode

Interested in learning more about our Community Resources: Click Here

Want to learn more about our clinic and hear from our practitioners and patients? Watch our videos: