Who Should Study Herbal Medicine?

Certificate in Herbal Medicine

Our Certificate course is for anyone who loves Nature, who is drawn to the old ways of healing, and who wants to learn a great deal about how to help themselves and their loved ones through safe, effective, tried and true herbal medicine methods. It is an online program that goes into great practical depth so the student gets familiar and confident with using herbal medicines right away.

The Certificate can be done by itself, but it also sets the stage for the Diploma course and may be considered an essential, first step towards becoming a professional Medical Herbalist.

Anyone interested in this course should talk with our student liaison Danielle, whose details are on the contact page. Danielle will be able to answer any questions and she will be happy to send you a free sample of an audio and video lecture so you can feel for yourself whether this is the course for you!

Diploma of Medical Herbalism

The Diploma of Medical Herbalism can also be completed via distance learning and is designed for the person who wants to take things a lot further and is ready to learn a great deal of knowledge and skills to be able to work with a wide variety of people who may be struggling with all kinds of problems.

The Diploma is for a person with a passion to work for Nature. They must want to be able to relate to all kinds of people, to not be shy about wanting to make a difference, and to have plenty of inner strength to call on to do the work!

There are also two particular qualities that will be vital for any student to have success along this path.

The first is that they must be very good at self-directed study. The course will provide a great deal of guidance, structure and support, but each student will be in sole charge of how and when they listen to audio lectures, watch educational videos, read books and other material and work on their assignments.

The second is that the student must be ready to ‘walk the talk’ of holistic medicine. A good herbalist needs wisdom, and this can only be gained with the kind of understanding that comes with experience.

Our students will gain great knowledge about herbs from their studies and, equally, they need to create a living understanding of the plants by getting up-close and personal with them. We believe a practitioner is far more likely to become a safe and effective herbalist if they have had plenty of first hand experience with the plant medicines they use as tools in their trade. Our students learn the knowledge, the ‘materia medica’ of herbs by sampling and using the herb they study and then going into depth on their origins, botanical names, actions, energetics, indications, science, folklore, safety, pairing, formulation, preparation, manufacturing and how to dispense and use those same herbs for people in real-life situations!

Likewise, whilst it is understood that different people have different paths and that there is no one ‘right way’, we expect our Diploma students to commit to experiential learning – such as trying different kinds of therapeutic diets and/or practicing different kinds of exercises and techniques over a broad spectrum of areas. This means, when they prescribe a change of diet or lifestyle to another person, they have ‘been there’ and know exactly what’s involved in what they are asking others to do!

Working in a modern herbal medicine clinic, with all kinds of people with all kinds of problems, requires knowledge, skill, inner-strength and flexibility. Our endeavour is to help the student gain the practical knowledge and skills to manage and succeed with a wide range of challenges and to help them grow their practice so that they can eventually have the strength and flexibility of a healing tree. One that has deep roots in the community that they care for and that can grow and support an abundance of life from its many branches!