Hi!
I'm just wondering where in Ireland / the UK you can study herbalism?
I'm from Cork, so definitely, the closer the better!
I was searching the forum to try and find similar posts, and it seemed like you can't be a practitioner unless you do a degree, is that correct?
That worries me because it seems like that is going to cost a lot of money 😮
My situation is that I'm just starting a kinesiology course and want to keep learning new skills that compliment kinesiology. Herbalism would definitely be an area of major interest, but the thought of starting a degree is a little scary right now, and I just don't think I can afford it!
Has anyone here done something similar, or have any kind of advice? anything at all? please? 😀
Thanks in advance 🙂
I'm pretty sure that you do need a degree. From what I've been told by the medical herbalists I know, Edinburgh is one of the best universities to study this course. Apparently, one or two of the universities miss a few things out that can cause problems with insurance etc later on. Not sure what the missing bits are as I had these conversations a few years ago now.
If I remember correctly, the reason it's a degree course is because you have to learn how to diagnose the problem. Most complementary therapies don't include diagnosis, those that do obviously require a level of medical knowledge as well as knowledge of the therapy itself.
I don't think you need a degree to practice herbalism.
Why not try a home study course to start with to get the theory you need, then you can go further later on:
I know this school have a Herbalism course and an advanced Herbalism course that you might be interested in.
Hope this helps,
Love, Catherine x
I forgot to say that these are practitioner courses...
The BSY Group also have a Herbalism and Advanced Herbalism course through homestudy:
Thanks for the links Angelic Light! I'm just about to check them out...and I'm excited already 🙂 I really want to learn herbalism in the easiest way possible (as long as it's to a high standard!)
I'll let you know if I find out anything of interest!
Thanks again 😀
Hi Savid, I have done a degree in Medical Herbalism and would say that if you wanted to be a herbalist you really should consider studying at degree level. Statutory regulation is currently being explored for herbal medicine which means that it will soon be a necessary legal requirement to hold a degree or equivalent in order to practice. Also I would be very wary of distance learning. I have done a couple of courses with BSY myself and was less than impressed, so much so that I have since redone the courses at a local college. The Herbal degree is a 3 -4 year course which includes a lot of practical work both with herbs and with client assessment examination etc, a home study course is no substitute for this depth of study. Hope this helps you make a decision. 🙂
Thanks for the input StarAnise!
I find it such a nightmare trying to work this kind of stuff out :s
I really hate studying something and being left unsure about the subject, or feeling insecure about my abilities, but at the same time I know I can't commit to 3 / 4 years full time education. BSY were actually the most expensive of the 2 links I was looking at, but it was still ridiculously cheap I thought, as it only costs £370 for the introduction course, and then £370 for the practitioner course. Maybe the low cost is saying something about the quality?
Where did you study StarAnise?
Hi Savid
I trained at Middlesex University and I'm a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. You can find out more about training on the NIMH's website
[DLMURL] http://www.nimh.org.uk/about-the-nimh/training-and-accreditation/becoming-a-medical-herbalist [/DLMURL]
Staranise, I was looking at the NIMH website, and I see that they do a part-time / distance course which looks promising. I've never done a degree before so it seems very daunting, but I think I might actually go for it. It definitely won't be this September though as I'm only starting my kinesiology training this month 🙂 That is a pretty intensive course as I'm doing it over 12 months, but that does line up nicely with the Herbalism course starting next September!
I need to do a little more research, but I think I've already made up my mind that the other herbalism courses just won't be comprehensive enough. The BSc has 500 hours of clinical training...that's a pretty major benefit of the degree in my mind.
Thanks again for the information, I really appreciate it 🙂
Thats ok, glad to help. I know it can seem daunting, taking on a degree, it's is a huge commitment and whilst I won't pretend that it wasn't hard going at times (because it was) it was also very rewarding. Good luck with your future studies. 🙂
You're welcome for the links Savid.
Hope you enjoy the course that you decide to do, whether that be homestudy or a degree at Uni...
Catherine x
Thanks Catherine 🙂