2021 Level II: Preparing For Clinical Practice Sat/Sun 9-5 w/ 45 minute lunch Approximately 116 Class Hours. Program Cost: $2104. Includes 4% processing fee. Class #1 - May 15/16 History of Herbalism. A look back at the practice of herbal medicine through the ages, from 58,000 BC to present day and the ways those traditions have been brought forward and blended into what we now know and practice as Traditional Western Herbalism. Understanding Tissue States helps the herbalist recognize potential conditions in their clients and choose the best plants to restore balance in the organism. Lecture includes humours/Elements/Seasons and how they associate with qualities of cold/dry, hot/moist, cold/moist and hot/dry. This the foundation of understanding tissue states. What have we learned from Galen, Hippocrates, Paracelsus, Thompson, Culpepper? How many times has herbal medicine been forced underground only to resurface again and again, as it is today? While the herbal practitioner doesn’t have access to scientific Western medical diagnostic testing, we do have excellent tools handed down from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and the eclectic healers of many centuries. This weekend’s class explores the diagnostic tools of reading and evaluating facial, hand, nail, hair, tongue and pulse markers. The class includes lecture, demonstration, and hands-on learning in teams. Class #2 - June 5/6 Learning Actions & Energetics of plants, animals, dis-ease and pharmaceutical drugs are of great importance to the herbalist. The community or clinical herbalist must be able to advocate for their clients with physicians, and in order to do so, must be privy to the language and ways of Western medicine. To this end, this weekend includes lectures on Drug Classifications, Deciphering Lab Reports and Western Medical Diagnosis to Facilitate Wholistic Healing. Exploration of the 8 tastes will include lecture and time with both wild and cultivated plants to determine their tastes and how your body responds to them. Class #3 - June 26/27 Introduction To Ayurveda with guest teacher Laurie Sowers This class will give the student a basic understanding of one of the oldest forms of medicine on planet earth. Laurie is a certified Ayurvedic practitioner, Thai Yoga practitioner/teacher, and Reiki Master Teacher. Class #4 - July 17/18 This weekend will expose the student to some of the more shamanic type tools available to the herbalist including assessing chakras, healing with color and sound, breath work, laying on of plants. In clinical practice, what a client doesn’t say can sometimes reveal more than their words. Students will learn to recognize body language and understand how a person’s stance, eye movements and motions reflects their feelings. Many times plants are just one part of the clinical herbalist’s ways of helping to facilitate a person’s healing. The herbalist is the client’s guide, confidant and teacher, offering tools and the teaching of how to utilize those tools in the most appropriate ways. Working with affirmations can be extremely helpful. Today students will learn how to create truly positive affirmations for themselves and their clients. Advanced techniques for medicine making include creating complex compounds to accomplish multiple goals. Students will spend day 2 of this weekend learning the art of formulation and choosing best delivery methods for each unique client in order to win compliance and accomplish the client’s healing goals. Discussion will include formulating multipurpose teas & decoctions, compounding extracts, creating tonic formulas, unique creams, salves, balms, ointments, etc. Class #5 - August 28/29 A special treat! Guest teacher Chris Marano of Clear Path Herbals joins us this weekend to take students on a magical ride into Traditional Chinese Medicine’s four essences, 5 spirits, organs and emotions and awareness portals; 5 elements; 8 principles. Chris’s tool kit is vast! Other areas he may include, depending on time: A peek at the psychological / spiritual side of things, tying in aspects from his different lenses of Chinese/Taoist/Buddhist, Native American (Cherokee/Aniishnaabe), Neopagan/Earth-based, and modern science/quantum reality/current neurological understanding (Chinese/disturbed shen/psychological architecture; Native American/ghost sickness/7Grandfather teachings; Modern/sympathetic-parasympathetic-vagus nerve understanding/trauma release theory and techniques). Wherever the conversation goes, this is guaranteed to be a highlight of the program! Class #6 - Sept. 11/12 This weekend we dive into developing clinical skills. Holding Healing Space Teacher Intake Demo o Discussion of the intake and considerations for formulation o Breakout Group Intakes o Discussion & Formulation Guidance Students Formulate for “client” o Class Discussion Self-Care for the Clinical Herbalist Building Healthy Client Relationships Challenges of the Clinical Herbalist Connection to Spirit The Value of Prayer/Meditation Class #7 - Sept. 25/26 Live clinical practice Saturday Sunday Review Intake Process Review Intake Process Meet with Client #1: Meet with Client #2 Discussion, Formulation Discussion, Formulation Present recommendations Present Recommendations Class #8 - October 16/17 (Includes Presentation of Certificates) Saturday Sunday Class Reviews Notes – Client #1 Class Reviews Notes – Client #2 Follow-up with Client #1: Follow-up with Client #2 Class Reviews Final Notes Class Reviews Final Notes Final recommendations are Final recommendations are offered to client offered to client .