The Clinic

Olympia Community Acupuncture passionately provides affordable group acupuncture. We believe everybody should have access to dignified holistic care. 

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Our Mission is to provide affordable and accessible healthcare using acupuncture and other East Asian healing modalities to as many people in our region as possible in a safe and sustainable manner. Our purpose is to improve the quality of life for our patients and their families by providing support for their health, including relief of pain; reduction in the frequency, duration, and intensity of distressing symptoms; and prevention of the onset of acute and chronic diseases. We seek to lower or eliminate all barriers to receiving compassionate, expert care in the form of affordable group acupuncture.

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What We Offer: 

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We offer acupuncture in a group setting because in this manner we are able to effectively treat all sorts of conditions. At this time, we do not offer herbs but are happy to refer to practitioners in the area who do. We offer hand pump style distal cupping (ie not fire cupping) and gua sha on a limited basis when we feel it is appropriate. Similar to how acupuncture is practiced in Asia, our intake is limited to the time needed to gather the necessary information to diagnose and treat your condition. Each treatment we give is tailored to address the problems you want us to address.

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What We Don't Offer: 

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• We do not do private room acupuncture. Private room acupuncture offers people the opportunity to receive body-work, have more privacy, and have more extensive conversations with the acupuncturist. There are many acupuncturists in the area who provide private room acupuncture and we are happy to provide referrals to some of our colleagues upon request.

 

• We do not offer psychological counseling, extensive one-on-one conversation, or lifestyle coaching. We are of course going to listen to your concerns and use the information you give us to create a treatment that directly addresses your concerns. We were trained to do assessments and intakes in an efficient manner that gathers all pertinent information. Decreased "talking time" increases the time you get to spend with needles. We find the more people let their bodies relax and recalibrate the better they feel. We might occasionally offer simple lifestyle advice when it seems necessary or appropriate, however, we think acupuncture goes a long way to treating many conditions. We treat in a more traditional style that relies more on tongue, pulse, and palpation than on talking. We find this works well both clinically and allows us to offer acupuncture to more people.

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• We do not offer moxibustion or fire cupping. We think both are great but are not what we can reasonably do in our setting. We do, however, sell moxibustion sticks. We will occasionally use pump-style distal cupping in the clinic when we feel it is necessary. There is no need to make a special appointment to receive cupping and you will still keep your clothes on- like acupuncture we can treat local problems like shoulder or back pain by cupping near your knee or ankle!

 

• At this time, we are not providing or prescribing herbs. We may in the future but we are not equipped at this time to offer this resource. We are happy to provide referrals to herbalists and private room acupuncturists in the area who do.

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Statements and Policies

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Nondiscrimination Policy: Your care at OCA will not be affected by your national origin, race, age, ability, disability, sexuality, gender identity or expression, HIV status, language, history of incarceration, religion or lack thereof, substance use, body weight, shape, type, or education. That said, we are humans giving this care that will make mistakes, we strive to examine and release our biases and to work for equity. In our clinic, we strive to decrease barriers along these lines and to ensure that All Are Welcome!

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Cancellation Policy: We have a strict 24-hour notice policy for cancellations. We want lots of people to be able to come and get acupuncture. Frequent last-minute cancellations or no-shows take up slots others could have used to get care and affects our ability to help others. We ask those who cancel with less than 24 hours' notice to pay $15. The online scheduler won't allow online cancellations within 24 hours of your appointment. If you need to cancel less than 24 hours from your appointment please give us a call or text message to cancel.

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Fragrance-Free Policy: We ask that you refrain from using perfume, cologne, aftershave, essential oils, scented lotion, or similar products before coming into the clinic. Many people in our community experience very unpleasant reactions such as migraines or nausea when exposed to scented products and we want this clinic to be available to everybody.

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Kid Policy- We love treating kids- but only if they are up for it. Kids usually only rest with needles in place for about 15 minutes and that is plenty of time for them to benefit from it. We treat children for a variety of ailments including earaches, headaches, digestive concerns, skin disorders, asthma, genetic disorders, nightmares, and anxiety. We tend to use fewer needles with children and let them set the pace. For example, the first time coming in might just be a free consultation where they get to see their adult get poked with 1 or 2 needles on the forearm. If you, the guardian, need a treatment and can't find childcare, your child can join you in the treatment room if they are able to sit quietly for the duration of your treatment. We have puzzles and kids books for them to quietly enjoy and many guardians bring a phone or tablet with earbuds to occupy the child. Children must be able to sit quietly for the duration of your treatment in order to accommodate them in the clinic space.

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No Needles in the Back Policy: We won't ask you to remove clothing and get on a table. We won't be putting needles in your back. We use distal needling techniques to treat back, shoulder, and inguinal pain. We treat patients with back, shoulder and inguinal pain using distal methods everyday-because it works! Distal needling means putting needles in areas other than where the pain is- for example putting needles in your ankle or forearm to treat low back pain.

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Health At Every Size (HAES): We believe that human bodies naturally come in all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes. Many factors play into attaining and maintaining health. There is no "One Size Fits All" plan for health and a magic number on the scale doesn't equal healthy. At OCA we will not judge or shame your bodies' weight, size, or shape. For more information on HAES click here. For more information on the CDC's Social Determinants of Health click here.

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All Genders and Pronouns Welcome! Your gender and your pronouns will be honored here. We strive to let go of assumptions about gender and gender presentation. If a staff or volunteer ever slips up, this is a safe space to bring it up. 

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