Family Herbalist & Clinical Herbalist – Year 1 – 345 hours

Wednesdays, 9-5, February – December

This program is geared for intermediate students who are interested in moving beyond self-care in order to serve their friends, families and community members with their knowledge. Participation in the Herbal Roots apprenticeship or a similar foundational program is a prerequisite for joining this program. Building on the foundation of the Herbal Roots apprenticeship, the Family Herbalist delves more deeply into the sciences and arts of herbal medicine to better understand world energetic systems, botany, plant chemistry and human physiology. Students also spend time outdoors, visiting diverse Vermont ecosystems, working in the gardens, and preparing herbal products to be used in VCIH’s clinic. By the end of the year, students will have a solid foundation in traditional herbalism, both theoretical and practical, while being prepared to confidently address common conditions of friends and family responsibly and safely.

Students completing this program receive a certificate of completion as a Family Herbalist and can choose to apply to continue with the second and third years of the Clinical Herbalist program if they desire.

Core faculty: Betzy Bancroft, Kristen Henningsen; adjunct faculty: Larken Bunce, Linden de Voil,  Cedar Landsman, Ayo Ngozi, Netta Mae Walsh

For details about who teaches each course (many are collaboratively delivered), visit our Faculty page.

Advanced Herbal Actions and Basic Phytochemistry
20 Hours
Progressing beyond basic actions such as expectorant and vulnerary, we will cover more complex actions that describe more detailed physiologic effects of plants. Many of these include cell-level actions that have become evident as our understanding of phytochemistry has evolved and we will also focus on the plant constituent classes that are involved. Learn about sympathomimetics, how immunomodulants that affect innate immunity differ from those that modulate helper T cell function, and many other subtleties of herbal activity. Confidently identify plants that fit each action. Discover the chemistry that is involved, and how it works.
Energetic Systems Exploring the Medicinal Landscape/Field Trip Food as Medicine Herbal Skills Practicum Herbal Therapeutics I Holistic Physiology Justice in Herbalism Practical Botany for the Herbalist Relational Culture

Year 1 Reading List (pdf) 

“Three dedicated teachers, who are wells of wisdom and dedication, are the sources of a terrific program. You can take your training as deeply as you are willing to go, both for family/community herbalism and clinical herbalism. I am grateful to them for this wonderful experience!”
– Barb Alpert, Clinical Herbalist student