Meet Dr. Vasco
Catherine Vasco (L.Ac.) earned a doctorate in acupuncture and Oriental medicine from Bastyr University with a concentration in integrative pain management. During her clinical internship, she cared for patients on the acute pain service at Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington’s Level 1 trauma center. She also worked on the palliative care team at Providence Everett, providing acupuncture to patients in advanced stages of illness.
Catherine is board certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and has served the community in a variety of clinical settings including an in-patient adolescent drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility and two community clinics. She earned a Master’s degree at Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts in Asheville, NC with a focus on Classical Chinese medicine.
Before pursuing a career in Chinese medicine, Catherine worked as a grant writer for the Los Angeles Film Festival. She lives in Ballard with her husband and daughter.
Clinical Philosophy
Chinese medicine is deeply rooted in Daoism. Our minds and bodies are not merely connected, they are a unified whole. This whole-human perspective and the two millennia of empirical data that followed dovetail with modern medical research yielding a well-studied and extraordinarily effective alternative to the conventional medical model. Chinese medical therapies are elegant in their simplicity, relatively affordable and produce minimal side effects, making this medicine an integral part of any comprehensive or preventative healthcare strategy.
My role as a clinician is to listen without judgment and work in partnership with you and your body’s innate resources and rhythms to facilitate meaningful change. My practice is trauma-informed, solution-focused and welcoming of all communities.
Credentials
Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.)
Washington State Department of Health
Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM)
Bastyr University, Honors at Entrance Scholarship Recipient
Master’s of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAOM)
Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts
Bachelor of Arts (BA), English Literature
University of Georgia, Cum Laude
Board Certified by NCCAOM
National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATIONS:
Death Care Midwifery, Center for End of Life Transitions
CPR/Lifesaving, American Heart Association
Clean Needle Technique, Council of Colleges of Oriental Medicine
HIV/AIDS Prevention, Washington State Department of Health
Healing Community Trauma (Level 1), Acupuncturists without Borders
Board Member, Sharing Hearts in Nepal
Publications
Vasco, C. (2022). The Treatment of Non-Scarring Alopecia with Acupuncture, Plum Blossom Hammer, and Chinese Herbs: A Case Report. Convergent Points: An East-West Case Report Journal, 1(2).
Lumiere, K., Dabrowski, M., Lowe, B., Atkinson, T., Sacher, A., Vasco, C. & Calhoun, K. (2022). Case reports in acupuncture: Building the base of the research pyramid.
Vasco, C. (2021). From Ancient History to Cutting Edge: A Narrative Literature Review of Microbleeding Techniques through the Lens of East Asian Medicine [research capstone]. Bastyr University.
“May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe.
Tiny, but useful.”
Mary Oliver