Our six-month program includes the following, at a minimum:
- Basic botany, ecology, plant taxonomy, evolution of plants, botanical vocabulary, plant identification.
- Herbal actions and energetics, flavors of herbs and their meaning.
- Wildcrafting procedures and ethics. Ecological conservation.
- Making herbal medicines, including drying herbs, preparation of medicinal teas, tincturing by various methods (including percolation), oxymels, elixirs, infused oils & salves, lotions, liniments, medicine balls, and medicinal mushroom double-extractions. Food as Medicine / Creative ways to consume herbs.
- History and traditions of Western herbalism.
- Holistic/Vitalist approach to the human body in health & disease, basic treatment goals and priorities.
- Diversity of human constitution and constitutional medicine.
- Major organ systems in the human body, their anatomy & function, common disorders & treatment approaches, and commonly used herbs.
- In-depth teaching on dozens of individual herbs: botany & identification, tastes & energetics, actions, uses, formulation, contraindications. (Materia Medica)
- Making herbal formulas.
- Basic clinical skills: Interview, assessment, setting priorities, treatment strategies. Clinical skills for working with transgender patients.
- Nutrition fundamentals, working with food allergies and intolerances, elimination diets, and diet counseling.
- Herbal first aid.
- Focused classes on: Health Justice in practice. Herbs for mental health. Working with addiction. Healing from Trauma & PTSD. Creating affordable protocols.
