Acupuncturists Getting Acupuncture: A Community Clinic Roundup
We know acupuncture offers a wide range of benefits — from restoring the flow of Qi and easing stress, to supporting reproductive health and improving sleep. But community acupuncture brings something extra to the table. The experience of receiving treatment alongside others isn’t just symbolic; it fosters a real sense of collective healing. Sitting in a quiet room surrounded by people on their own healing journeys can be deeply grounding — even spiritually uplifting — for many.
In that spirit of shared healing, we spoke with four outstanding acupuncturists practicing in community clinics across Washington State. Each of them offered personal stories and insights into what it’s like to receive acupuncture — and how receiving treatments themselves helps them offer better care to their communities.
Thank you to all the practitioners who graciously shared their story!
Bellingham Community Acupuncture
Practitioner: Hallie Beaver, 36
How long have you been a patient at CAP?
I have been to CAP for treatments and for job shadowing. I love all the practitioners and appreciate their mentorship as a new business owner of a Community Clinic in Bellingham!
How do you feel receiving treatments helps you as a provider?
I get regular acupuncture for the same reasons my patients do. Sure, I’m an orthopedic mess with all the usual aches and pains—but that’s not the only reason I get acupuncture. I return for the feeling afterward, when all the mental, physical, and emotional clutter clears, and I feel like myself again.
When I’m centered and at peace, it ripples out into the clinic and opens the door for patients to safely return to themselves, too.
Why do you think it is important for acupuncturists to receive acupuncture?
It’s important for acupuncturists to receive treatments so we remember how it feels—the pricks, the sensations, the shift that follows. I think it’s easy as a practitioner to get caught up in trying to fix or correct things, but that’s not really the point. It is about helping patients return to themselves and connect with their body’s innate ability to heal and thrive.
www.bhamcommunityacupuncture.com
2205 Elm St, Bellingham, WA 98225
Sliding Scale $35-70, $55 for First Visit
Wenatchee Community Acupuncture
Practitioner: Jill Nielsen-Farrell, 55
How long have you been a patient at CAP?
I have been a patient for a few years whenever I can make it over the mountains and fit in a visit!
How do you feel receiving treatments helps you as a provider?
Acupuncture is GREAT for my stress, mood regulations and random physical complaints I experience. Being on the receiving end (versus working!) is an amazing gift and connects me deeper to the power of the medicine. I would do it much more regularly if I were closer to CAP or if I had a fellow acu-punk nearby!! Miss it when I can't tap in regularly!
Why do you think it is important for acupuncturists to receive acupuncture?
To prevent burnout, to connect with the energy of the medicine, to manage our own health and well-being.
I am so grateful that community acupuncture clinics are available across our country. Acupuncture is the medicine for these times - it does so much to balance the myriad ways that we can get out of balance. It's simple, affordable and accessible when offered in the community style. Most people who experience it, love it and want more.
www.wenatcheecommunityacupuncture.com
10 Orondo Avenue, Suite C, Wenatchee WA 98802.
First visit: $60, sliding scale $30-60, ear acupuncture $15-25.
Solo practitioner
Mt. Baker, Seattle - CommuniChi
Practitioner: Jordan, 65
How long have you been a patient at CAP?
15 years. I’ve been to all 3 of your locations.
How do you feel receiving treatments helps you as a provider and why do you think it is important for acupuncturists to receive acupuncture?
During acupuncture school, we receive hundreds of treatments of the course of 3+ years. This both helps us stay healthy and in balance, but also to understand what it feels like to receive acupuncture, increasing our sensitivity and awareness of the client's perspective. It's also instructive to learn different treatment styles and experience their effectiveness.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Congratulations to CAP Burien for their many years serving many thousands of clients, offering affordable acupuncture to the community. I always feel deeply relaxed and my aches and pains eased after being treated there. I'm always ready to send people to their clinic if I'm not able to help for whatever reason.
www.communichi.org
2109 31st Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98144
Open Monday, Wed., Friday
8 AM to 12 PM and 2 to 5 PM (by appointment)
Vashon Island, Island Points Acupuncture
Practitioner: Laurel Boyajian, L.Ac.
Island Points Community Acupuncture on Vashon Island has been operating since 2018. Open three days a week, it is a small, 3-chair clinic near the heart of town.
Hello! My name is Laurel and I’ve been a patient at CAP since at least 2017. I was first licensed as an acupuncturist in Oregon in 1992. For three years I worked at a drug diversion and treatment program contracted with Multnomah County. There was a big room with 25-30 tall-backed, upholstered chairs and people could walk in any time during the 3 or 4 hour shifts to relax for half an hour or so with needles in their ears. Two or three acupuncturists were on duty together. A lot of people were helped by that program.
In those years and following my move to Vashon Island (1996) I didn’t start my own private practice; it was too daunting to figure out how to finance and I didn’t feel good about charging so much for treatments. I also didn’t receive much acupuncture myself as I was priced out as a low-income single mother. Ten years later when I heard about Working Class Acupuncture from a friend I knew it was time to explore this community acupuncture idea; it fit so well with my life-long co-op experiences and general view that the world should be made to better serve people without wealth.
It would be another ten years before I was able to start a clinic of my own. For a time I let my license lapse and did other things: operated a cleaning business, learned how to spin my own yarn, grew dye plants, sold hand-dyed yarn at a farmer’s market, was Artist-in-Residence for first grade classes teaching yarn production, dying and weaving, sold some pastel paintings, built ten houses as part of a sweat-equity project and then moved into one of them, got married.
The getting married part helped me be able to take action since there was now a second income for my family. I joined POCA, bought Dr. Tan balance method books, bought books about how to do community acupuncture, and started getting regular treatments at CAP. In addition to learning the benefits of regular acupuncture, CAP became my clinical education as I took mental notes on points used during my treatments.
While managing my mother’s move to Vashon Island my sister and I were packing and hauling a lot of boxes. I tweaked my back and was in pain; I had to do something so I could keep helping. I found a community acupuncture clinic in Olympia so I could get treated while I was there working. the network of community clinics is so important to reaching out to more people.
I like having an appointment every week. Whether I know what I want to work on or not by the time I’m settling into my recliner I’ve picked something. I always have a good acu-nap and leave feeling more relaxed, less in pain, or benefitting in so many other ways. Getting regular acupuncture also helps me stay in tune with what my patients might be experiencing. It helps me be more empathic and understanding. It helps me give better advice about frequency of treatment and what they should expect.
Resources:
The Little Red Book of Community Acupuncture for Practitioners: 10th Anniversary Edition, Lisa Rohleder and Skip Van Meter (the founders of Working Class Acupuncture and, with others, the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture),
Acupuncture is Like Noodles, Lisa Rohleder
Fractal, Lisa Rohleder
Acupuncture Points Are Holes, Lisa Rohleder
Twelve and Twelve in Acupuncture and Twenty Four More, Dr. Richard Tan
islandpointsacu@gmail.com
707-267-7858 (text is best)