There are many fantastic herbalist training programs available, but we take pride in knowing that we have some of the best quality programs at the most affordable price. One of the biggest differences between our the Herbal Academy and other schools is that we celebrate the community-centered spirit of herbalism, bringing onboard the best of the best to collaborate in our educational programs.
Some of the teachers you can expect to learn from are former AHG President Bevin Clare, ABC Board Member, HerbalGram contributing editor, and author Steven Foster; international lecturer, author, and herbalist Matthew Wood; and medical herbalist, Ayurvedic practitioner, and author Anne McIntyre; medical herbalist, writer, and educator Pamela Spence; medical herbalist and Chinese medicine practitioner Steve Kippax; Katheryn Langelier, Owner, Farmer, and Formulator at Herbal Revolution Farm & Apothecary; Medical Herbalist Erika Galentin; clinical herbalists; folk herbalists; and many others who have come together to collaborate, providing a comprehensive herbal learning experience. We’ve worked with dozens of professional herbalists and medical professionals to bring these programs to life.
You can learn more about our course development team here: http://theherbalacademy.com/team
Our courses combine the wisdom of the folk and other global healing traditions with modern herbal practice and science. We believe that all of these traditions/fields have important things to offer the study and practice of herbalism, as does personal experience. We integrate scientific research and clinical studies into our teachings routinely - we feel that when we can present a traditional use of an herb and then provide scientific validation of that use, it only strengthens our knowledge. And we understand that science is a language our modern culture embraces. That being said, we also deeply value and are indebted to the wisdom gained through centuries of traditional herbal practice in cultures around the world, and strive to highlight that as well. In concert with traditional herbal wisdom, modern science, and our practical experience, we integrate knowledge of energetics (of both people and herbs), tissue states, and the therapeutic rationale of choosing a particular herb for a particular imbalance. It is this information that really helps pinpoint the herbal approach for a particular person/imbalance.
We would say that the other major strength of our program is the amount of hands-on learning we emphasize and all of the recipes we provide throughout the course. We are all about getting our students' hands dirty outside and in the kitchen! We want students to fall in love with herbs and using them in their everyday lives. We ask students to choose recipes and projects to practice, and write about their experience creating them in the forums and in our student-only communities. In the Business Herbal Course, we’ll help students work through a business plan and in the Advanced Herbal Course, students are guided through the process of creating a Monograph project.
We have four foundational courses (Introductory, Intermediate, Business,and Advanced Herbal Course) and each of these have the option to be bundled into packages, which we call Herbalist Path Packages. These unique packages allow students to line up their career and educational goals with our programs to find the best track to fulfill their mission. When students are deciding which program is best for them, I always ask them what their goals are. I encourage you to think about that as you make this decision!
When you ask how our school differentiates from other schools, you’ll find that our business-focused program is really the only one of its kind. This track, comprised of the Entrepreneur Herbalist Path includes the Introductory, Intermediate and Business Herbal Courses, is geared towards those students who wish to develop herbal businesses. Herbalism is a unique field, and there are many laws and regulations that one must understand before opening a business or selling a product line. This program will help you do that as well as develop a business plan, create and build your brand, understand the nuts and bolts of running an herbal business, and develop an online presence. We are dedicated to helping our herbalist students grow personally, but also professionally, and the goal of this program is to prepare our students for starting a business and all the challenges that come with it.
Lastly, we understand the value of the herbal community in one's learning journey, so we have online forums for each of the courses, and our student-only MyHerbalStudies Community Facebook page is a vibrant place for all of our students to connect with and learn from each other both during their studies and after they have graduated. Teachers are always just an email away - we pride ourselves at responding to student questions and inquiries quickly.