Chinese Medicine for Health and Happiness · Olympia, WA
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for health and happiness — practiced with care, depth, and attention.
Established patients: records, billing & scheduling in one place.
New patients are welcome. Most major insurance accepted · HSA & FSA welcome
How Susan practices
Two people with the same diagnosis may present entirely differently — and will be treated entirely differently.
Most healthcare addresses what you have. Chinese medicine asks why — looking at the full picture of who you are, how you got here, and what balance actually looks like for you specifically.
The underlying goal is to support and restore the body's own regulatory systems — the physiological processes that govern circulation, inflammation, hormonal balance, nervous system function, and immune response. When those systems are working well, health tends to follow. Treatment is designed to move them in that direction, and refined as you change.
Five principles
The whole person
History, constitution, environment, patterns over time — all of it matters, not just today's chief complaint.
Pattern over label
Chinese medicine identifies the underlying pattern of imbalance. When that pattern shifts, symptoms resolve.
Restoring function
Treatment works by supporting the body's own physiology — how it regulates inflammation, circulation, hormones, and the nervous system — rather than overriding or substituting for it.
Root cause, not management
The aim is lasting change — building the body's own capacity for balance, not indefinite symptom control.
Works alongside your care
Chinese medicine integrates naturally with conventional treatment. Susan communicates openly with other providers.
Services
Acupuncture and herbal medicine work together — each deepening the effect of the other.
Acupuncture works by stimulating specific points that influence the nervous system, promote local and systemic circulation, modulate inflammatory pathways, and support the body's own pain-regulating mechanisms. Fine needles are placed at precise points selected for your specific pattern — never a standard protocol. Most patients find treatment deeply relaxing; many notice improved sleep, energy, and mood alongside relief from their primary concern.
Chinese herbal formulas contain pharmacologically active constituents that support organ function, regulate immune activity, improve circulation, balance hormones, and calm or tonify the nervous system — depending on what your pattern calls for. Susan's post-graduate training in the jīng fāng and fāng jì traditions informs a level of herbal precision and depth uncommon in general practice. Herbal medicine works between visits, extending and deepening the effect of acupuncture treatment.
Herbal and wellness consultations by video, available to anyone. Susan assesses your health history, reviews your symptoms, and offers herbal and lifestyle guidance to support your body's function and balance. A customized herbal formula can be shipped directly to you.
Your first visit
Your first appointment begins with a thorough health history. Susan will ask about your current concerns, your overall health, sleep, digestion, and anything else that helps her understand the full picture.
She will take your pulse and examine your tongue — both essential diagnostic tools in Chinese medicine. From there she will develop a treatment plan and explain her thinking.
Eat something beforehand
Please have a meal or snack before your appointment. Receiving acupuncture on an empty stomach is not recommended.
Wear loose, comfortable clothing
Loose clothing makes it easy to access common acupuncture points on the arms, legs, and abdomen without needing to fully disrobe.
Health history & diagnosis
Susan will take a full health history, assess your pulse, and examine your tongue before beginning treatment. Depending on your presentation, she may also use abdominal palpation or channel palpation — feeling along the acupuncture meridians for areas of tension, tenderness, or change in tissue quality. All of this informs the diagnosis and shapes how treatment is tailored to you.
Rest with the needles
After the needles are placed, you will rest comfortably on the treatment table for 20–30 minutes. Most patients find this deeply relaxing. Many fall asleep.
After your treatment
Susan will discuss what she observed and what to expect going forward. If herbal medicine is appropriate, she will prescribe a formula to continue supporting your treatment between visits.
What we treat
Chinese medicine is a complete medical tradition, not a specialty. Susan sees patients of all ages — children, adults, and elders — for the full breadth of what patients bring. Acute and chronic, common and complex. Chinese medicine may offer a path forward where other approaches have not.
About Susan
Susan Monaco has been practicing in Olympia since 2008. She graduated from the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Academy with a Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and is nationally board-certified as an NCCAOM Diplomate in Oriental Medicine.
Beyond her graduate training, she has studied in two of the more rigorous classical herbal traditions — the jīng fāng lineage and the fāng jì tradition of formula composition — both transmitted through direct mentorship with senior scholars. That training shapes how she reads a case: patiently, classically, for the person in front of her.
Her goal has always been simple: help people feel well.
Insurance & Payment
Susan is in-network with several major plans. Benefits vary — it's worth a quick call to your insurer to check your acupuncture coverage before you book.
HSA and FSA accepted · Private pay welcome
My husband and I received exceptional care from Susan Monaco, L.Ac., both acupuncture and Chinese medicinal herbs. She is gentle and thoughtful in addition to being very experienced and an excellent diagnostician and practitioner.
— Mary M. Google
Susan is just incredible! She is a shiny gem here in Olympia. Her knowledge of Chinese herbs is amazing. She treated and cured my hormonal imbalances with herbs. With acupuncture she treated my anxiety, chronic headaches and problems with sleeping. A practitioner with integrity and heart!
— Yavanna C. Yelp
Susan is the most knowledgeable, kind, and honest provider I have seen in years. She is extremely passionate about her calling and it shows in each and every interaction I have had with her.
— Tara P. Google
Herbal and wellness consultations available to anyone, anywhere by video.
Remote Care
Herbal consultations and lifestyle guidance by video. Full intake, tailored formula, shipped to you.
Available to anyone, anywhere. Offered as a cash-pay wellness consultation.
Schedule online
Book through the patient portal. Telehealth visits are offered as cash-pay wellness consultations.
Consultation by video
Susan reviews your full health history, current concerns, and relevant lifestyle factors to understand your overall picture and assess how your body's systems are functioning.
Herbal and lifestyle guidance
Susan offers herb and lifestyle recommendations tailored to your individual constitution and needs. A customized herbal formula can be prepared and shipped directly to you.
Not sure if Chinese medicine is right for you? Call — Susan is happy to talk it through before you book.
222 Kenyon St NW, Suite 9 · Olympia, WA 98502
Most major insurance accepted · HSA / FSA welcome
Schedule
New and returning patients welcome. Not sure which appointment type is right for you? Call (360) 943-5570 and Susan will help you find the right fit.