Bastyr Center For Natural Health

The practitioners I saw were very loving and kind — but the staff could not give two craps. That type of business model just does not work.
As I was waiting on paperwork that had been urgently ordered by my doctor to assess if I had cancer — which I’m still not sure if I have — the staff nonchalantly kept messing my paperwork up to the point that my ASAP specialist appointment was a week and a half delayed.
Very sorry to give a negative review. I understand and appreciate the teaching model practice and the practitioners I interacted with — I have also made use of NCNM’s teaching clinic in Portland, which I enjoyed. I realize there is a limit to the type of care a teaching clinic can provide.
However it is still people’s lives you are dealing with — no one at the office can be laid back and cavalier in the face of a distressed patient with a serious immediate health issue. Will not be going back or recommending to others, unless I hear something has drastically changed. Sincerely hope things get better.

The people at Bastyr have always been extremely helpful and nice. Just recently a doctor there gave me great info about several tests I might want to have done and a frank assessment about the limits of tests I’d already had done. Another doctor there tried to give me referrals and other helpful info through a number of phone calls when I was really sick. If one needs to talk to a doctor, the on-​call doctor will call back usually within an hour. I cannot say that I have had a «miracle cure» quite yet, but I’m on the road; it’s an amazing place!

Was recently traveling through Seattle and went here with a friend, and thought I would get myself seen because there were openings. I had no idea this place was not a real medical clinic. At first, I thought they just focused more on natural approaches, but then I learned this place is grade-​A bullocks, fully tumbling down the pit of despair. There are all of the signs of a medical establishment but none of the substance. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and food allergies to things I love and eat all the time. I am a fit guy with no complaints. When I got home I called my doctor to ask him if I should be concerned, and he said that «naturopaths are not doctors, and I am so sorry that you didn’t know that.» Please think again before wasting your money on quackery. Wish I could give ZERO stars.

I am surprised at all the negativity on Unilocal for this student clinic! This place is AMAZING!
It is a student teaching clinic for Bastyr University whose sole purpose is to teach students how to be clinicians– Naturopaths, Acupuncturists, Nutritionists, etc… As for the front desk and insurance billing, that is a whole other entity that has little to do with patient care from my perspective.
These students are learning techniques for building rapport, getting to the bottom of a health concern, and performing sometimes difficult physical exams and you can tell that some are better than others but all in different stages of their learning process. The bottom line is that they care and they are willing to do the work to help you out.
My experience here has always been positive.

I’m a little disappointed to see so many negative reviews, but my experience here has always been fantastic. I go through practitioner care and I do not receive treatments via the student clinic, so maybe that’s the difference? My acupuncturist, Dr. Apachai, is an amazing practitioner who cares, offers a deep and thorough body of knowledge and experience. He’s helped me with many issues and I’m so glad I found him and the BCfNH.

Unfortunately I can’t comment on the quality of medical care at Bastyr because my husband and I never got to experience it… Bastyr’s unhelpful policies, disorganization, and the brusque attitude of at least one of its clinicians twice prevented my husband from getting care at this clinic. I don’t think there will be a third time…
The first time, several years ago, I tried to make an appointment for my husband to see someone and was told that because he is an adult, he needs to make the appointment himself. I tried to explain about his language barrier and disabilities that made it extremely challenging for him to make the appointment, but they didn’t care. So, that was the end of attempt #1, at which point we gave up on Bastyr for years.
A couple months ago we decided to try again, and this time Bastyr did let me schedule my husband’s appointment — hooray! They explained that we could either arrive 20 minutes early to complete paperwork, or we could print out the paperwork from their website, complete it at home, and bring it in, which is what we did, because who likes sitting in the doctor’s waiting room?
The morning of the appointment, just as we were preparing to leave the house, Bastyr called and told us the doctor was running 20 minutes late. Fine, we thought, no problem. 10 minutes later, another call: the doctor is NOT running late after all and is ready to see you, are you here? I explained that we are just getting ready to leave the house and will be there in 20 minutes. The administrator’s response was that we were supposed to be at the clinic 20 minutes early, so we should have been there already. I explained that we completed the paperwork at home so were planning to arrive just in time for the appointment. She tried to argue with me, then said fine, just get here as quickly as you can, and we’ll speed up your check-​in.
When we got there (20 minutes after our original appointment time, just as the first phone call advised us), the administrator again chastised us for not coming 20 minutes early, claiming that we should have gotten there with 20 minutes to spare even with our paperwork in hand.
By the time the clinician, Dr. Philps, came out to get us, it was 30 minutes after the original appointment time. «I have 30 minutes for you, take it or leave it,» she informed us right off the bat. (A patient’s first appointment at Bastyr is supposed to be 1 hour.) When I explained that we got there late because we were told that she was running late, she brushed me off and said that, yes, she was a few minutes late, but her next patient was coming in 30 minutes so that was all she could give us. I expressed my doubts that 30 minutes would be enough time for an initial visit. «If you can talk fast, it will be enough,» was Dr. Philps’ response.
At this point, we declined the visit, got our copay back, and left. It was extremely frustrating to have been treated so rudely by the staff and especially the doctor. Both made it look like it was our fault that we were late, and neither apologized for their own poor organization and miscommunication (except for when the administrator said something like, «I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you this time,» as we were leaving).
It is unfortunate that both of our attempts to seek naturopathic care for my husband at Bastyr ended in failure. We decided not to return after our most recent experience, and are now confirmed in this decision after reading other Unilocal reviews complaining about the quality of care received. In a way, maybe it’s a good thing my husband didn’t end up getting care there after all! :)

This might be a clinic for «minor» complaints or allergies. But I went there to get nutritional support and ideas for alternative treatment after being diagnosed with Uterine Cancer Stage I. I came to my appointment, explained what I was hoping for. I was told to go back to my doctor and have surgery and given a sheet for Estrogen reduction. Paid full price for this appointment. Very disappointed. Thank goodness I found a great acupuncturist who worked with me on the nutritional aspect and the cancer was held at stage I for 3 years. I finally did have surgery which I thought would happen eventually but the time between diagnosis and surgery was priceless in terms of understanding the psychological reasons. I worked with alternative practioners and learned a lot about my body and my mental makeup.

Unfortunately I’m very disappointed in this clinic. I’ve had digestive issues and hoped a naturopath could help. All I really knew was that FODMAPs affected me negatively and that’s what I told «Dr. «Culver. After 2 hours of questions I walked out with a probiotic that had FOS in it (that’s the FO in FODMAPs) and Echinacea/​goldenseal which includes a disaccharide (the D in FODMAPs). Needless to say both effected my GI tract negatively. I then made a follow up appointment to sort this out and was told on arrival that they made a mistake with my insurance authorization and I could keep the appointment but might have to pay out of pocket despite being told that it was previously authorized. No thanks. It’s pretty obvious that this clinic isn’t going to meet my standards.

The staff here are very professional and will take great care of you.

I had the best experience at Bastyr Clinic! From the time I checked in, to the time I got home! It is a natural health institution, so the majority of people are skeptical, but I have full faith in the doctors that helped me today. Not only were they super involved in my case, but they wrote everything I said down while still focusing on me, were pro active about brainstorming diagnosis’s and very interested in third variables that could be associated with my current condition. They never ruled out possibilities, they didn’t treat my ideas like they were stupid like other regular MD’s have, and to top it off, there were three very well educated minds in the room, and they didn’t let each other miss anything! I don’t think I will go to another doctor ever again, it would just be a waste of my time!
Not to mention, their hours are convenient for working individuals.

Oh goodness. How do I explain? I feel bad giving a negative review because I really appreciate the process of learning and that is the mission of Bastyr. However, I just want to get treatments without being asked a bunch of questions by people who don’t really seem to know what they are doing yet. I went to the acupuncture clinic and the students were sort of awkward and the instructor was sort of rude. I was happy to see that my favorite acupuncturist/​Chinese medicine practitioner just opened a clinic in University District, so I’m head there instead!

Everything about Bastyr Center for Natural Health exuberates health, wellness, peace, grace, and healing — — and I never want to leave.
Their physicians and students have been so open and communicative to all of my extensive health issues and I never could have imagined there was «this place in this world» that existed… that wasn’t «Western medicine». They aren’t in some «haul ass» hurry to get in you in and get you out and that alone has made me feel at ease in every sense.
To suggest that the doctors and everyone I have interacted with have been «friendly» is a complete understatement. They actually CARE. You can tell they CARE.
I’m currently receiving treatment in both the homeopathy and constitutional hydrotherapy departments; I went into both knowing absolutely NOTHING about what I’d be getting myself into. The doctors and students (students are optional) explained everything and now I feel like I’m a pro!
After nearly four years traveling throughout the United States to a number of our nation’s best hospitals and physicians for the best of the best treatments for my health, I’ve found that some of the best is right here in Seattle at Bastyr Center for Natural Health.

Meh. I took my 15 month old here in July to check it out — they are offering a well child exam for $ 20 for the months of July and August and figured it would be a cool way to see what they offer here and learn more about seeing an ND. I thought the reason that they were offering these appointment was to get more families coming there for their medical care…
so we got there for the appointment and I had to fill out paperwork — they have nothing specific to pediatrics, so I had to fill out everything (including all those yes no check boxes for every condition under the sun) on adult paperwork for a child. since it was adult paperwork, it made it confusing where I should put my daughters information vs where my information should be. not a huge deal, but just weird.
then we got called back to the exam room. we were seeing 2 ND students who had absolutely no idea what was going on. They admitted to us that this was their first well child exam. ever. No supervision. So they were just kind of floundering around going through a check list of what they do during adult physical exams. Things like trying to palpate the liver and whatnot…
Then the supervising doctor came in, said she was really busy but wanted to introduce herself. She seemed nice and competent, but was in a rush and took off almost as soon as she asked the student doctors if they were ok.
The student doctors finished up the exam, then asked a bunch of questions that were really not very age appropriate for my daughter (again, it was clear they had no idea about child development/​pediatrics) and asked if I had any previous height/​weight information on her. I provided them with that, and then the doctor came back by…
I had come with 2 questions to ask to get their opinion on and jumped on this chance to ask the ND about them. The first question was about some dry skin patches on my daughter that had been coming and going for awhile. The ND said that my daughter needed more fish oil to take care of that — not really much exam done or questioning, but I think the fish oil was maybe a good suggestion. My other question was about milk, since I am still breastfeeding, I just wanted to know whether my daughter needed any additional milk product or what should be given to her while I’m away… the answer we got was very vague, almost like the doctor herself didn’t know and tried to make it up. She was like «well you could always do formula if necessary» — pretty sure we are past that age… then when I asked about soy milk, she got extremely judgmental and said «well if you want to give her all those GMOs» and that was that. She took off.
The student doctors said we were done and they would call us if anything funny showed up on my daughter’s growth curve and we left. We never heard from them.
Overall, it seemed like they are only offering these $ 20 appointments to train their student doctors and really providing no benefit or service to the community. Aren’t people usually paid to be practiced on? I left with no idea what kind of services they provide and won’t be back.

I was seen through the teaching clinic for counseling and even though our time was too short since I didn’t start when the new sessions began, I have to say I had a good relationship with the third year student and she helped deal with some issues and recommended a book, which I am reading now. It was unfortunate I was not able to make my last apt. but all in all it was a great experience and I felt she was able to listen and add suggestions. I only wished we had longer sessions. I want to thank my counselor for her time, understanding and compassion Thank you for offering this service and it was affordable !!! Lesley S.

I came here requesting a more intensive acupuncture and cupping treatment for my acute neck and shoulder pain. A generous lifestyle of dental assisting will do that to you and of course life’s added stress. My budget is also on a smaller scale, so I was thrilled to know that I could have proper treatment done for me, but at more than half the cost at most holistic places. Less frills and more focus on the ailment/​treatment and I am more than ok with that!
I was with two doctors the entire time, both very relaxed and thoroughly went through the treatment with me before and during. Spot on with timing as well!
Since this was my first time, the treatment was slightly rushed but thankfully I can afford to come back and it’ll be a quicker start. The best part is that I felt the students and physicians both made it very personal from meeting me at the reception to leading me out. Almost all general practices do not do that! That speaks volumes!

They were helpful, thorough, and knowledgeable… but because it was a teaching situation it took a LONG time (nearly 3 hours) and felt a bit tedious/​redundant. Regardless, they recommended a treatment for my son that seems to be working and have great follow-​up.

My new naturopath sent me here to get labs on a Saturday. Appointments were required but thankfully they could fit me in so I wouldn’t have to fast again overnight. There’s parking underneath the building and also on the street if you can find it. I been back a couple times since my first visit and the last time, I had to wriggle back inside my car because some wise-​ass coloured WAY outside their parking lines. Ugh.

My husband and I just visited the Bastyr Clinic in Seattle and it was a great experience! It’s a little bit of a drive for us but well worth it :)
We went to Team Care and met with a pair of students and a doctor in different rooms. It is such a great experience to not only have your health problems solved but also help and be a part of someone’s training for their passion! oh? Everyone wants to check my ear? go for it! ahahaha!
Looking forward to my next visit with them.

Bastyr offered free acupuncture after the Seattle Marathon! The staff made sure everything moved quickly and for a lot of people who have never done acupuncture before, the doctors made sure to explain every step and explain the philosophy («I’m going to put needles in your hand for your foot pain because it’s like if you want to turn off a light in the middle of the room, you have to flick the switch somewhere else»).
The session was only 10 minutes, so I don’t know if it would’ve been more effective if the needles had stayed in longer. But it was a lovely experience and my foot did feel better.

This was my second acupuncture experience and it was pretty awful! The acupuncturists were all very nice and professional, but when I received the acupuncture (in my stomach) they put the needles in WAY too deep. I was in pain during the session but figured that it was normal since I hadn’t done it before… but the next day when I woke up, I had bruising all up and down my stomach as well as the inability to sit down. The bruising was so deep that I literally couldn’t sit without being in excruciating pain!
So I had been warned that there may be bruising. That wasn’t so much the issue. The main issue that I had was when I called the supervisor of Bastyr. I called him merely to ask what I could do while waiting for the bruising to go down and if he thought there was a chance of internal bleeding. His only response was that I couldn’t sue them because I had been warned about the bruising and he didn’t give a poop that I was in pain at all. Not good service in my opinion.
I would not go back here, just because he treated me the way he did. In Jennifer Aniston’s words, «Uncool.»