Aromatherapy training

[MissusLeata]

Has anyone taken any classes through "Heart of Herbs"? I'd really like to get some training in herbal medicine and aromatherapy. I'm considering Vintage Remedies (which I really want to do) and Heart of Herbs (because they offer certification.)

[Punkie]

I graduated from Heart of Herbs. I am currently an Advanced student at East West School of Herbology, and the program is very comprehensive. I would recommend East-West wholeheartedly.

[Hopetobe]

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[passthemanna]

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[The Tickle Momster]

. I've been taking classes through Vintage Remedies. And, while I really like their content, I'm struggling with the presentation.

[MissusLeata]

Michelle, Can you elaborate?

[The Tickle Momster]

Originally Posted by MissusLeata

Michelle, Can you elaborate?

I've taken 3 of their Foundations classes. Last year I received a book and workbook, so I had all the information. This year, they switched things to be all online. You cannot access information in later units unless you pass the test. You have 6 months to complete the course, with an option to pay a small fee to continue past that. I don't like that I have to print out all the information. I would much prefer to have received a book.

Also, their policy is that it can take up to a week to 10 days to reply to emails or grade tests. I've lost a lot of time to this policy.

The content and projects are really good. It is a christian company, Jessie was on GCM for a while, years ago. The material is evidence based, not folk wisdom. Which is why I stick with them. I am planning to write an evaluation email at the end of the class and give some feedback. One other nit-picky thing is that they need to proofread/edit their materials.

[MissusLeata]

Punkie, can you give details of what you liked about Heart of Herbs?

[Punkie]

The program that I took at HoH gave a good, basic understanding of the types of things that can be treated with herbs. I enjoyed the materia medica work, and gained some good, hands-on skills. I found the lessons to be easy to understand, and I enjoyed the audio that they offered.

I knew after finishing HoH that I wanted to learn a lot more about the energetics of herbs and individualized formulation. It gave me a great start and confidence in medicine-making. I enjoyed what I'd learned about Western herbalism, but felt like I had a lot to learn from the thousands of years of herbal wisdom of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

I'd heard from other herbalists that if you had 5 clients with the same Western diagnosis (say, chronic headaches), they would each need completely different mixes of herbs, based on their personal imbalances. I knew which herbs could help with headaches, but didn't know how to identify a headache that stemmed from Blood Deficiency versus a headache that stemmed from Liver Stagnation. I couldn't identify those patterns of disharmony and didn't really know what to do to treat those underlying issues. I had some basic recipes that I'd learned that I could apply, and they worked well, but I felt like I wasn't necessarily getting to the root issues... I was mostly addressing symptoms. I could make a headache tea that would help your head feel better today, but that didn't stop the headache from coming back next week/month.

What I have been so happy to learn at East-West is how to identify patterns of disharmony and match up the energetics of herbs to bring a person back into balance. I've been able to really hone my skills so I can give full recommendations (diet, herbs, lifestyle) to my clients in an individualized manner and have thousands of years of research and wisdom to guide me.

I'm really happy with the path that I've taken. I think the biggest thing is to think about what you want to learn and then find a school that focuses on that. When I started at HoH, I was working as a doula and was a student midwife. I really wanted a teacher who understood women's health issues, and I found that. When I graduated, I knew that I really wanted to continue learning and find a program that integrated ancient wisdom and energetics, and explained how to use Western herbs in that framework. I found that at East-West. As with any kind of health care profession, we will always be learning and growing, and the path is often winding.

[MissusLeata]

That's helpful!

Michelle, do you feel like Vintage Remedies leaves you with similar limitations to what Punkie felt when she studied with Heart of Herbs?

[The Tickle Momster]

I haven't finished the herbalism class yet, but I could see where that might apply.

[MamaSam]

I'm doing an herb course through vintage remedies. I am doing a correspondence course with actual materials. I'm finding it hard to make it through it though,maybe it's just me though I haven't worked on it in over a month.

[Punkie]

I think it can be hard for many students if the school is correspondence-only. There are a number of schools that offer annual in-person seminars in addition to the correspondence work, and I think that is super helpful if you can make it work.

East-West has an annual seminar in California, and it is honestly amazing. You don't have to attend the seminars to graduate from the correspondence course, but it would be impossible to overstate just how helpful it is to get to spend that week studying and living with your teachers. The East-West seminar is set up with a different track for each year of the course. By the time you get to the Advanced (third) track, you are spending your time working in the clinic with the Tierras. If you choose to go to all 3 tracks/years, you can get an extra credential that isn't available to people who just do the correspondence course. They also have weekly online chats led by their teachers for all students. There is one for materia medica study, one is a case study practice, and there is a foundation level chat for new students just learning about TCM and Ayurveda.

I think that it is worth asking potential schools if they have active communities, both online and in-person, because that really helps. Many schools will publish lists with their graduates and where they live. Talking to students/graduates can give you a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of any program. It can also help you to figure out about possible mentors if you are thinking of going on to become a Registered Herbalist through the American Herbalists Guild. Some schools will lead you through that process (East-West does... I'm not sure about HoH or VR), and others have you do it on your own.

I'd also highly recommend joining the American Herbalists Guild and trying to attend their annual symposiums. They have great rates for students, and there is nothing like learning in-person and being around other people with the same passions. This past symposium was in Georgia, and the next one is in Colorado.

[MissusLeata]

Punkie, do you feel that the family herbalist course from East-West would be better than the certified herbalist program from Heart of Herbs? Would that help with being able to identify a problem rather than just treat the symptoms?

[Punkie]

I chose the Professional course, so that's what I know the best. My understanding is that the Family Herbalist course at East-West does cover the basics of energetics and how to identify patterns of disease. I double-checked and it does introduce you to Ayurveda, TCM Five Element Theory and Yin/Yang Theory, which are important ones to know. It also covers differential diagnosis (which is what I was talking about in my previous posts.) The Family course covers the first 12 lessons of the Professional course (the Professional course is 36 lessons long.) So, it won't be as in-depth or give you credentials, but it will get you started on the basics.

East-West JUST ended a special where the professional course was $600 off. They run deals from time to time, so it might be worth joining their email list and keeping an eye on it. I'm not sure if they run discounts on the Family Herbalist Course.

I think it really depends on what you want to do next. It looks like the program that I did with HoH is no longer being offered, so I can't speak for certain about what they offer in the certified herbalist program. I glanced at the lesson descriptions to see if they've added anything, and I don't see any mention of TCM theory, Ayurveda or differential diagnosis.