When Selina Whitridge opened White Salmon Acupuncture, she knew she wanted her practice to be more than just a business. She wanted a true team where people from different backgrounds and specialties could come together to help patients in the canyon. Now, one year later, she is working towards that dream every day.
When Whitridge moved to White Salmon in 2020, she realized there were no acupuncturists who were insured, so she wanted to change that and meet that need.
“It was really amazing and heartwarming because we just started in a small town and we got such a great response and so much support from the community,” she said. “It’s great to see that the clinic, which started last year, is already growing effortlessly to the point where other practitioners want to collaborate and collaborate.”
Last year, the practice consisted of Whitridge and another acupuncturist, but their success has allowed her to expand and grow to include other professionals . She is currently adding two naturopathic doctors and a massage therapist.
“We wanted to build a team spirit where different practitioners, such as naturopathic doctors and acupuncturists, could collaborate on managing a patient’s health,” Whitridge said. “We may have to change the name, but at White Salmon we aim to be a more integrated healthcare environment.”
White Salmon Acupuncture is located at 418 NE Tohomish St., Suite 200 in White Salmon, WA.
Chelsea Marr Photos
Being able to share her practice and other naturopathic medicine is very meaningful to Whitridge, which she said has personally changed her life.
In many ways, Whitridge said she considers her path to acupuncture and Chinese medicine to be a “beautiful coincidence.” When she was a child growing up on the East Coast, she contracted Lyme disease. For the next 10 years, she took antibiotics to treat her symptoms.
“When I was rebellious in college, I decided I didn’t want to continue taking this drug,” Whitridge said. “My parents were shocked, and my father found me, an expert in Chinese medicine who had written a book about Chinese medicine and Lyme.”
Whitridge realized that the practitioner was able to help her, but at the time she didn’t fully understand why. At the same time, she was studying food systems for her degree and realized that her diet greatly benefited her energy and health, as well as her Lyme disease symptoms.
Selina Whitridge started White Salmon Acupuncture in 2022. Her business offers acupuncture services as well as naturopathy and holistic medicine.
Chelsea Marr Photos
After graduating, Whitridge worked in Hawaii in horticultural therapy, the practice of using plants and gardening to improve mental and physical health. Meanwhile, she was processing her graduate school applications. She hadn’t yet decided where she wanted to go, but the naturopathic doctor she was working with encouraged her to attend her alma mater in Portland.
“I moved to Portland to study nutrition, and the nutrition program was at a school with a Chinese medicine program,” Whitridge said. “In a sense, I enrolled out of curiosity because I didn’t want to spend another four or five years in school, but I’m very happy to be here now. I’m really glad I studied Chinese medicine. It’s cool, you never know where life is going to take you.”
White Salmon Acupuncture is located at 418 NE Tohomoish St., Suite 200 in White Salmon. Business hours are Monday and Thursday from 9am to 5pm, Tuesday from 8am to 5pm, Wednesday from 11am to 7pm, and Friday and Saturday from 9am to 2pm. For more information about White Salmon Acupuncture or to schedule an appointment, visit whitesalmonacupuncture.org.
