Herbal Education Programs Overview
Here is a break-down of the programs Ember offers to give you a sense of what might be the best choice for you:
(scroll down for more on how to become a herbalist)
Holistic Herbalism Beginner Program
~65 hours
Taught by Ember Peters
In person in Nictaux NS, 10 full days throughout the growing season May-October
This program offers a solid introduction to herbalism for someone who loves being outside, is curious and passionate about plant medicines, and wants practical skills for integrating medicinal herbs into their daily life. It includes a large hands-on portion so you learn directly through relationship with the plants. This is for people who want to get their hands dirty with herbs (literally and figuratively), share community with other plant enthusiasts, and explore their interest in herbs. Graduates from this program may choose to continue their studies through the MSHH intermediate program.
Maritime School of Holistic Herbalism Intermediate Program
~250 hours
Taught by Ember Peters and Oren Hercz
Hybrid self-paced online and live/in person, 11 months May-March
This is the most comprehensive academic program that Ember offers. While it is open to anyone, It is for people who really feel ready for a “deep dive” into herbal medicine theory & practice. Most people in this program will have some background in herbalism through self study or a beginner program. The monthly time commitment includes a weekend (2 full days) live online or in person, about 10-12 hours of pre-recorded videos and zoom review sessions, and regular assignments and quizzes. This is a true classroom experience that centres experiential learning. This program is designed for people who value learning in community, and for people who want to take their passion for herbalism to the next level of feeling confident offering herbal support in their community or preparing for an advanced clinical program. Graduates who want to continue their studies will likely choose an advanced or clinical program.
Advanced Clinical Herbal Skills
~100 hours
Taught by Ember Peters, Stascha Stahl and Vilde Chaya Fenster-Ehrlich
Live online, October-March
This is for people who are looking for a learning community with other clinical herbalists or advanced herbal students on a clinical path who share values of accessibility, trans-inclusivity, and client-centred practice. This program covers a wide variety of topics relevant to a budding clinician, from clinical skills to advanced materia medica, and can include a weekly round table for clinical supervision hours. The people who seem to get the most out of this program are people who already see clients or feel relatively ready to see clients - generally, people who have completed or mostly completed a comprehensive clinical program, or people who have been studying for many years and want to gain more clinical specific skills within the container of a program. The feedback we consistently get about this program is that it fills a gap in bridging classroom education with the realities of clinical practice.
How do I become a herbalist?
There are many ways to be a herbalist! To choose the right program for you, consider: what do you want to do with this education? Do you want to support yourself and perhaps your friends and family? Do you want to offer your skills to your wider community? Do you want to be a professional clinical herbalist? A herb farmer or medicine maker?
In Canada, provincial associations register clinical herbalist practitioners who have completed certain requirements. This designation ensures your clients, students and community that you are professionally qualified and are accountable to an organisation. In Nova Scotia and most of Canada, the minimum education requirement to qualify for registered designation is 1500 hours including 300 hours supervised clinical practicum.
See details of the breakdown of education requirements here: https://herbalns.org/join-hans/professional-membership/
You do NOT have to go to a registered college in order to become a registered herbalist. You can complete your education hours through a variety of schools, mentorship and/or apprenticeship. Many herbalists, myself included, recommend an education path that includes plenty of hands-on learning as well as learning from multiple teachers and approaches for the most well-rounded education.
The main “gap” in herbal education that Ember doesn’t currently offer as a comprehensive program is the bulk of advanced education to go from the intermediate level of herbal theory to being ready for clinical practice. This would be expected to be about 400-700 hours of advanced and clinical training and should include:
Advanced pathophysiology & therapeutics of chronic diseases (Ember offers a few stand-alone online advanced therapeutics classes)
Herbal safety and herb-drug interactions (Ember offers as a stand-alone online class)
Advanced materia medica (50-100 additional plants)
Advanced nutrition
Biochemistry
Advanced phytochemistry/pharmacology
Clinical skills, intakes, etc (some hours covered in Ember’s advanced program)
Clinical assessment skills (some hours covered in Ember’s advanced program)
Clinical observation with a mentor
Ethics and legalities of running a clinical practice (some hours covered in Ember’s advanced program)
The 300 supervised clinical practicum hours can be completed through a comprehensive program, through mentorship/apprenticeship with a registered herbalist, or through online clinical support programs.
Advanced programs that Ember recommends are:
Colleen Emery Advanced Clinical (~375-750 hrs) https://emeryherbals.com/?portfolio=holistic-herbalism-advanced-clinical-program
Terra Sylva Advanced Community Herbalism Program (~175 hours) https://www.terrasylvaschool.com/ach-details
VCIH clinical program Year 2 & 3 (~1038 hours) https://vtherbcenter.org/training-programs/