How it started
My passion for herbal medicine comes out of a deep appreciation of the natural world and all it has to offer us.
After seeing my partner cured from a severe case of diarrhoea and dysentery, through the use of a locally grown forest remedy when we were travelling in the Ecuadorian rainforest, I began studying herbal medicine.
It became clear to me that in the same way that nature nourishes us with food, nature can also heal us of sickness and disease. I then began a four year training in Western herbal medicine which I completed in 1994, and then set up a practice in Emsworth, Hampshire where I ran a herbal clinic and whole food shop for eighteen years.
I have since been working from a clinic at my home in Chichester.
Traditional Healing
When studying herbal medicine I was intrigued to discover that modern research now shows how the remedies that we have used for thousands of years work exactly as the ancients described.
This initiated in me an exploration of ancient traditional systems of healing and medicine.
I travelled frequently to Africa to learn directly from traditional tribal healers, eventually becoming initiated as a traditional healer myself. As part of this healing exploration I also worked with Romani elders, studied the Chinese five element system of medicine, and participated in ritual healing ceremonies with American first nation teachers.
Current work
Even though it had mainly fallen out of use, I recognised that in Europe the knowledge of a traditional healing system, called ‘Humoral’ medicine still exists.
This ancient system aims to balance the mind, body, and spirit enabling the natural healing forces in the body to arise and return us to health. It focuses on herbs, diet and lifestyle and is a truly holistic approach.
Through studying the writings of the seventeenth century herbal practitioners such as Nicholas Culpeper, I was able to apply their herbal approaches in my present day clinic, and began to re learn this ancient art of medicine for myself.
Eventually I was able to write a book: ‘The Humoral herbal’ which teaches how we can adapt this ancient healing approach for use in current times.
I currently continue to treat people at my clinic in Chichester, teach students, and write and lecture on herbal medicine and healing.
