Working with a Clinical Herbalist
Herbs as a modality of healing, wellness, and spiritual empowerment have been part of the human experience since time immemorial. As humans, we have evolved and grown with our green kin- moving from the depths of the primordial ocean onto land, then venturing out to forge our ways across the whole of the earth. If you’re interested in connecting to this most ancient and powerful of wellness ways, you may be wondering what working with a clinical herbalist in Salt Lake City, Utah might look like, how to find an exceptional practitioner, and what you can expect from the process. Here, I’d like to share a bit with you about my own approach to herbalism and how I like to show up for my own communities locally.
Our beautiful herbal apothecary & clinic is located in the historic Avenues area of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
Clinical herbalism is different from other forms of herbal medicine in that it is based in a formal education, syllabus, and clinical practicum to help train the student to be an exceptional practitioner who is ready to serve their community with nature’s remedies. While more clinical forms of herbalism are not at all the only forms of excellent herbalism, they do help us to ensure that we’re working with trained professionals who have received advanced education in pathology, physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, chemistry, safety, drug interactions, medicine making, dosing, protocols, assessment, and more.
In my practice, clinical herbalism focuses on the accurate assessment of traditional energetic patterns and the right herbs, formulas, and protocols that will address the pattern. That being said, I remain a spiritual herbalist through and through and even when my work focuses on specific patterns and expressions on the physical level, I am always finding way to bring in the deep spiritual wisdom of the plant spirits.
Another great reason to work with an herbalist who has clinical education is that they will have undergone supervised clinical work under the direction of expert herbalists as part of their formal education. Many clinical herbalists like myself will have worked in a community clinic, acupuncture clinic, naturopathic clinic, osteopathic office, or other type of wellness center where a professional herbalist is already in practice. The student herbalist will put in many hours of real-life work so that they can learn to apply all they received in school in a way that speaks directly to their communities.
For folks who are dealing with chronic or severe illnesses, who are taking many pharmaceutical medications, who are extremely sensitive, or who have compromised immunity or digestion, I always suggest a clinical herbalist as a preferred provider of herbal education.
Herbalists offer a broad-spectrum of herbal education tailored to the unique people they serve
Every professional herbalist has their own way of doing things, but there are some key offerings that I think every good herbalist should be giving to their respective communities.
HERBAL EDUCATION
All herbalists are essentially teachers. Our time with clients is really about giving them tailored guidance based on our deep connection with the plants. Rather than prescribing, diagnosing, or treating specific diseases, we prefer educating folks about the underlying energetic patterns of an issue while defining the right herbs, formulas, and protocols for that unique person.
In addition to the individual education that comes as part of an herbalist consultation, I think most if not all herbalists also love teaching community classes, workshops, conference classes, and the like. This is one of my favorite aspects of being an herbalist and I always enjoy teaching a small group or a massive convention gathering about why I love the plants.
ASSESSMENT
Herbalists are able to accurately define energetic disharmonies in a person using whatever assessment language and symbols are part of the particular tradition of herbal medicine they practice. These assessments are far more empowering than a standard diagnosis. A diagnosis is a set of common symptoms under the banner of a disease name that are usually treated with the same protocol. Conversely, an herbal assessment looks at the individual person as a whole, their experiences, their own hierarchy of wellness goals, and the way things are expressing for them in a unique way. Even if I see three clients in a row who all have the exact same disease name for their experiences, I will likely offer them education about vastly different herbs and protocols because they are each individual, unique people.
MEDICINE CRAFTING
Traditional and clinical herbalists love making medicine, and most of us will both make most of our own herbal medicine and write custom formulations for each client before compounding the remedy by hand for them as part of their consultation. Sometimes we might suggest branded formulas or non-herbal supplements, but more often than not we prefer that the herbal remedies we give our clients are made with our own hands and heart.
The ability to write an effective herbal formula for each person, define amounts of each herb, define dosing and usage, and suggest approproate protocols is an integral part of a clinical practice and a formal herbal education.
CONNECTIONS & KINSHIP
Even when a clinical herbalist doesn’t consider themselves to be a practitioner of the more spiritual side of working with the plants, I think it’s quite impossible that their work with clients won’t end up creating powerful and meaningful connections between those clients and nature. Plants have a wild way of calling us back in to being part of, and reminding us that we are just as much nature as any other part of the whole.
This process of reconnection and activating the heart center, for me, is the real magic of herbalism. My goal is always to help each person I work with to fall a little more in love with nature and the plants that they are working with.
The benefits of working with a clinical herbalist may be more profound than you imagine
For me, the ultimate goal of herbal work is connecting my clients to the virtues of the plants: their wisdom, magic, and medicine. While the relieving of troublesome symptoms, the unwinding of disharmonious patterns, and the cultivation of whole-person wellness are expected as part of one’s herbal journey, the heart of the matter is really a matter of the heart.
When people reconnect to the presence of the plants as allies, guides, and guardians on their life journeys, something profound happens. Suddenly they remember that they are part of it all, they belong here, and that they are both valuable and wanted as individuals in the great cosmos we call home. This is profound medicine in and of itself and is often the real reason people experience a reclamation of lost parts of themselves, the expulsion of things which should not be, and the harmonization of things which have become chaotic.
It is for these reasons that I consider my work as an herbalist to be a spiritual practice and a spiritual path- one I am always so grateful to be on and to excited to share with others. In my work as a full-time clinical herbalist in Salt Lake City, I get to meet so many incredible people who find their way to the plants for a myriad reasons. Each connection is so meaningful to me and watching folks as they experience what the plants can do never ceases to amaze me!
If you’d like to learn more about spiritual herbalism and how I approach the plants, check out the learn tab, and make sure to visit The Green Arte YouTube channel which has well over 300 free classes for you to dig into right now.
