Education:
Graduate of the Clinical Herbal Therapist program at Dominion Herbal College (est. in 1926). A four year course that includes a minimum of 500 hours of supervised Clinic, the study of anatomy, physiology, herbal materia medica, herbal pharmacy & pharmacology, nutrition, pathology, and much more.
Practice:
In private practice providing Clinical Herbal Therapy in Edmonton at Amber Leaf Wellness. This includes herbal apothecary services.
I feel it is important to be a member of a professional herbalist association. That way people, like yourself, have a way to confirm credentials and the quality of care you can expect. Also organizations such as this help give a voice, and thereby continued access for you, to quality herbal therapy in Canada. That is why I became a Registered Herbalist with the Ontario Herbalists Association.
Crazy about plants:
As far back as I can remember plants have been part of my life. I remember planting flowers with my grandmother and vegetables with my grandfather. As I got older I discovered books about identifying wild edible plants, and the fascination with plants became deeper, collecting as many books as I could find. I took night classes in identifying wild plants and how they could be used, whenever such classes were available near me.
When my children were old enough to attend Brownies, Guides, and Scouts I found myself teaching the kids (not just mine) what they could use from the wild. It's amazing how picky eaters at home, who won't eat their vegetables, are willing to eat weeds... and like them!
Plants are a never-ending source of wonder. These humble organisms are food and medicine for body and soul. Not only does mankind have a long history of their use for food and medicine, but also of gardens and their effect upon the soul or spirit of human beings. Gardens have had a role to play in various spiritual traditions.
Scientists continue, even today, to scour the globe for herbs that can be used as medicine, and modern science continues to support many of the traditional uses of plants (and show us WHY they work) as well as teach of some possibilities for new uses. Yet, with as incredible as plants are, we still often disregard them as just weeds.
Despite this lifelong interest in plants, I never realized that you could actually study herbal medicine formally and have a practice in Canada, until my children were nearly grown. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance!
Why herbal medicine?
Looking back, I have always found myself gravitating to things that help others, having acquired various certificates in first aid since I was approximately 10 years old - something that can probably be attributed, at least in part, to growing up in a spiritual tradition that emphasizes being of service to mankind. Combined with my love of herbs and the knowledge that they could be so helpful for good health, there simply was no other path to take, once it was discovered.
I signed up immediately for the prerequisite courses in chemistry and anatomy so that I could (once I passed) qualify for the Clinical Herbal Therapy program, which at that time was the only one of it's kind in North America. I also figured that if Dominion was where so many well known herbalists had attended then it was the right place to be.
Herbal medicine is so useful. It helps so many people. It could help so many more! -- In my day to day life, running errands and looking after my family (like you), I see people that suffer needlessly from health conditions that I know herbs have been helpful for. Yet they continue to suffer because they've been told that there is no other course of action, or they believe that herbs are too dangerous, or placebo, or they think they can do it alone, or they just don't know how beneficial herbs are. And so they continue to suffer. They don't know what a gift herbal therapy could be for them, and so I am helpless to help them... until they can see it too. This is another reason why I do what I do, working to educate people about the safe and effective use of herbs.
The road ahead:
Thankfully, many people have become aware of the benefits herbs have to offer for better health, and it is people like that who have given me the honour of helping them. It is a joy to see them improve their health and thereby live happier, healthier, more vital lives.
Since opening my practice I have pondered "where should I focus?" "Should I focus my practice?" There are so many people who could be helped by herbal therapy, but I am only one person and herbal medicine is such a vast subject. To become a herbalist is to embark on a lifelong journey of learning, and with each thing learned more benefits pass to my clients.
Then realization dawned - I want to focus on families and children. So many people are complaining about the over-medication of our children, that they want more gentle approaches to health care, and that they want something they can try before having to resort to more drastic health care measures. Maybe if we start there, perhaps we can prevent much of the needless suffering that we see today, where most people my age and older are on one (usually more) prescriptions, and are the victims of chronic health conditions that adversely affect their quality of life. It has also been said recently that our current generations of children are the first in many generations to have a life expectancy that is less than their parents - perhaps we can change that too.
Thus I see a need to fill as a family herbalist.
The role of modern medicine:
Something that I see as needed for the betterment of health care is the cooperation between herbalists (like myself) and physicians. Admittedly, many of my peers in wholistic medicine may disagree with me here, but as I keep telling people "If I'm ever in a serious car accident, take me to the hospital not my herbalist!" Each has a valuable role to play, and if they could work together for the true betterment of health then... WOW! The people we could help!!!
Many physicians admit that they don't know much about herbs. Here is an opportunity to bridge that gap. I would love to work with open-minded physicians as an integral part of the health care team for our mutual patients/clients, many of whom may already be using herbal medicine whether they tell their physician or not.
As I see it, these two forms of health care do not have to be mutually exclusive. Amazing things could happen if they worked as a team!
