Clinical Herbal Therapist

Specializing in Menopause, Diabetes and Arthritis

Clinical herbal solutions ranging from A-Z in herbal remedies are provided by the clinical herbal therapists from Oh Natural Herbal Therapy. Everyone is looking for optimum health. We wish to assist you with simple, safe and effective alternative methods of healing. Yes, the ancient and established ones that have stood the test of time.

Herbal medicine is the oldest form of healing known and is also a universal common bond between the peoples and cultures of the whole world. Herbalism is not just the knowledge about healing plants, it is the experience and wisdom from the relationship with people and plants.

Herbalism is becoming more relevant today in our modern society as more people are learning about the past. Everything is connected-mental, emotional and spiritual involvement.

Does the body affect the mind, or the other way around?

At Oh Natural Herbal Therapy we only have highly trained health practitioners who have studied and earned the recognised title Clinical Herbal Therapist. In Europe, they have a similar program, but they call themselves, medical herbalists.

In the United States, they have no national college, but they do have an association of herbalists that all have to be approved by, the American Herbalist Guild. Once approved, they can put the initials AHG after their name.

At our oldest college, Dominion Herbal College, the graduates have studied herbal materia medica, therapeutics, pharmacy, pharmacognosy, wildcrafting and cultivation. This includes herbs of Western Europe, (some) Chinese, (some) Ayurvedic herbs combined with some of our own North American ones.

Canadian Clinical Herbal Therapists are also highly trained in other areas such as nutrition, pathology, anatomy, differential diagnosis and biochemistry. Each one has spent 500 hours in a practicum and are capable of doing many physical exams.

We are your resource to better health!

Marina Pellerin CHT has been a certified Clinical Herbal Therapist for a number of years and since 2004 has been the Secretary Treasurer of the CHA of BC

In Canada, the Clinical Herbalist or Clinical Herbal Therapist title lets the consumer know that he or she is being assisted in the pursuit of good health by a practitioner who has passed an extensive program in materia medica, theraputics, pharmacy and pharmacognosy, wildcrafting, and cultivating of North America's and Europe's many medicinal plants as well as a good selection of Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs. Each herbalist with this title or the letters CHT after her name has also spent years in the study of pathology, anatomy and biochemistry, as well as nutrition. Each has spent at least 500 hours in a student clinic under the supervision of graduate herbalists and medical doctors gaining experience before starting private practice. This degree is modelled after the Medical Herbalist degree that can be obtained in England, where herbal medicine has been in uninterrupted popular use since the dark ages. Many of us believe this phenomenon can be attributed to the Henry VIII Charter (please see Columbines and Wizardry Herbs web site for a copy of this interesting charter) in which Henry stated that herbalists must be allowed to practice without fear of being burnt at the stake. It's interesting that the charter applied to the thirteen original states and has never been repealed.

In North America, we immigrants from Europe brought seeds for our favourite medicines with us on the boat and combined them with local plants being used by native Americans to make a unique style all our own. The herbalists at Oh Natural are trained at Dominion Herbal College (est. 1926) where the study of healing with herbs has produced many notables over the years. Please see the Dominion Herbal College web site for more information on courses being taught and information on graduates.

In British Columbia, Canada, clinical herbalists may also be registered with the Canadian Herbalists Association of British Columbia, our professional association. If so, the letters RHP (registered herbal practitioner) or RHC (registered herbal consultant) will also be seen after the herbalist's name , right after the CHT. This lets you know you are getting a practitioner with the highest training available in North America.

Herbal Therapist Consultations

A visit to the Clinical Herbal Therapist is much like visiting your orthodox practitioner. It includes the taking of a medical history, a physical examination, or the performance of simple on-site clinical tests. The Herbalist will usually advise toward holistic health changes and will often prescribe a personalized herbal medication. The first herbal consultation on health generally lasts at least an hour and one half to two hours and subsequent visits 30-60 minutes. The Herbalist will want to see you on a regular basis to adjust herbal medication after each visit to reflect changes in your condition.

What is involved in a consultation with a Clinical Herbal Therapist?

During your first visit, you will asked about any medication that you are taking, including vitamins and other health supplements. We will perform any and all physical examinations that are deemed useful in your case. These may include a heart/lung auscultation, reflexes and sore muscle/joint palpations.

What are the recommendations that will come out of a consultation with a Clinical Herbal Therapist?

These might include dietary or lifestyle changes and herbs that we believe will assist in improving your health. We are your resource to better health.

That old adage ”you are what you eat” is almost quite true. Nowadays it more like “ you are what you absorb”.

"Let your food be your medicine and let your medicine be your food”.

Hyppocrates

What do herbal medicines look like?

As a Clinical Herbal Therapist, we use tinctures as our main mode of delivering herbs. Tinctures are liquid extracts of herbs, traditionally in an alcohol base . The Latin word ‘TINCTURA’ is root of the word ‘tincture’. They are advantageous because they are strong yet easily taken on a daily basis.

Tinctures may also be made alcohol-free, and these are particularly good for children. Herbs may also be taken as teas, pills, powders and mixed in food.

Herbs do not have to be ingested to be affective, and there are many ways to apply them topically. They can be placed in creams, liniments, baths, poultices and steams.

Do you have to be ill to consult a Herbalist?

No, of course not. You may wish to practice preventative medicine, which is an excellent approach. We would help you revise any personal habits and help improve your well being. The sound principles of herbal medicine and your own lifestyle and preferences.

What are the fees?

Initial consultation: $90.00

Follow-up consultation: $45.00

Herbal formulas are priced separately.

Adjunctive Treatment

Lifestyle counselling

Nutrition & Supplements

Bach Flower Remedies

Special Services

Education lectures

House calls

Telephone consultations

Special Interests:Preventative medicine,aging health issues including,menopause and osteoporosis.