Academy for Five Element Acupuncture is dedicated to teaching the Five Element tradition and keeping that tradition alive in the Western world. Many years of evolution and refinement have helped us create distinctive programs that will guide the next generation of practitioners.

An Oral Tradition

At its origins, Five Element acupuncture is an oral tradition that has been handed down through many generations. Transmitted through experience and example, it is based on learning through the senses. The Academy’s curriculum continues the oral tradition with experiential coursework that focuses on developing students’ perceptions of touch, smell, hearing and seeing- skills lost in our rushed and technologically drive world- and then teaches students how to use those senses as diagnostic tools. While our students also learn from the written texts that have become available, the majority of learning involves cultivating the Heart, the intuition and the senses of the practitioner as an equal part of the analytical treatment process. This process of combining the heart and the intellect requires much more than memorization. And it makes the student’s self-development and inner work an integral part of their development as a practitioner.

Teaching Emphasis

Our highly skilled faculty members play an integral part in transmitting the oral tradition of this medicine. They embrace the opportunity to share their extensive clinical expertise as they guide new students in the nuances involved in Five Element diagnosis and treatment. All of the instructors at Academy for Five Element Acupuncture are practitioners with their own practices, and some are among the most experienced Five Element practitioners in the nation.

Our intensive-based structure allows us to bring these gifted instructors to Florida from all over the U.S. Working with our diverse faculty exposes students to a more in-depth theoretical framework and clinical experience. As a result of such exposure, our students have a stronger foundation and knowledge base to support them once they finish their clinical residencies and begin their own practices. More importantly, they have developed lasting relationships with their instructors and supervisors who they can turn to a colleagues.

History of the Academy

  • Founded in 1988 by Professor J.R. Worsley, the college began as the Worsley Institute of Classical Acupuncture (WICA), operating as a for-profit business in Miami Lakes, Florida.
  • In 1995, with Professor Worsley’s approval and support, WICA transitioned into a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, continuing its operations under the same name. Professor Worsley served as one of the founding members of the non-profit’s governing board.
  • In 1997, after ten years of dedicated involvement with the organization, Professor Worsley concluded his formal involvement. That October, the governing board renamed the institution the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture and relocated to a larger campus in Hallandale, Florida.
  • In 1998, Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine accredited the acupuncture program.
  • In 2000, the Florida Commission for Independent Education awarded degree-granting power to the Academy. Qualified students are awarded a Master of Acupuncture degree.
  • In 2004, the Academy was certified by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the Title IV Student Aid Program.
  • In 2007, the Academy moved from South Florida to a new campus in Gainesville, Florida.
  • In 2021, the Certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine program was accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine.