Before starting the Aralia School of Herbal Medicine, I was a clinical herbalist for twenty years.

This meant that several days a week, I'd work with clients all day, talking with them about their health concerns and developing strategies for improved health. On the days that I wasn't seeing clients, I was making medicines and preparing formulas for them, based on what I had learned during the consultations.

Herbal Lineage

It's actually pretty unusual in the herb world for an herbalist to spend this much time in clinical practice. Part of the reason that it worked for me is that my teachers, Michael Moore and Adam Seller, had also been dedicated clinical practitioners. They built their knowledge from decades of real world experience with clients, as well as research, and I have continued to build on that body of knowledge through my years of practice.

Adam's school, the Pacific School of Herbal Medicine, has aimed to “train practitioners to be physiologically literate, culturally competent and sensitive, and ecologically aware”. These are some of the important values that have guided my work, as well as a client centered, harm reduction strategy.

The Importance of Clinical Practice

Now I want to share the knowledge and experience that I've accumulated with aspiring herbalists through the Aralia School of Herbal Medicine. There is a lot of herb information out there, but much of it is vague, general, or outright inaccurate. It is surprising how many herb schools have teachers with little to no experience in clinical practice, often starting to teach right after graduating from herb school themselves.

The importance of learning from a tradition of clinical experience can't be overstated: it's the only way we learn what works and what doesn't in the real world. My hope is that through this project I can help to bridge the gaps in herbal education, so that the efficacy of botanical medicine can be available to more people.

It's worth taking some time to find the right teachers when you're starting to learn about herbal medicine. Ideally they'll share some of your values, and you'll find their teaching style engaging. The best ones will be drawing on years of clinical experience, and will be eager to share not only what they know, but how they learned it.

Materia Medica Starts Soon!

My winter session of Materia Medica courses, which is also the beginning of the first Student Membership Cohort, begins on January 26 at 3 PM eastern time. We'll be talking about the medicinal properties of 5-8 medicinal herbs in each class, as well as aspects of each plants ecology, cultivation, harvesting, and preparation. Materia Medica is one of the three essential building blocks of any herbal practice. If you want to expand your herbal knowledge I really hope you'll join!

This class, and all of my classes, are included in the Student Membership. Find all the info when you click the button below, and please reach out if you have any questions!

Warmly,

Caty Crabb