What to expect from the Herbalist
- The herbalist will gather information about you by asking questions about your health and lifestyle, past and present, and about family health history, if known.
- A physical examination is not usually necessary, although your blood pressure may be taken, and your tongue and nails examined, among other non-invasive diagnostic tools.
- The initial consultation may take anything from 1-2 hours, depending on the individual patient.
- Follow-up appointments will take an hour or 30 minutes, depending upon need or complexity, and will become progressively further apart as you regain your health.
- The whole course of your treatment may take many months, but you will not need to keep coming in to see the herbalist — some monitoring can be done by phone.
- The clinic room is pleasantly furnished and comfortable, but is up a flight of stairs. If this is a problem, please say so when booking your appointment, and alternative arrangements can be made.
- If you are unable to visit the clinic, then it may be possible to arrange a home visit.
Consultation Fees
Initial Consultation
This will last for about an hour and a half.£35 for adults, £25 for children.
Follow-up Consultation
£24 for an hour or £14 for 30 minutes.Prescription
Herbal tinctures — these work out at £5 per week, and less for infants and children.(Tinctures usually provided in a bottle for 3 weeks treatment, costing £15).
Creams and ointments — £5 per jar.
Nutritional Support
Most good herbalists who practice naturopathically are also enthusiastic about good nutrition, and keen to educate patients in how they can eat a better diet for them — there is no one standard diet that is right for everyone; we all have different constitutions and lifestyles. I have a special interest in how different diets may relate to different conditions, and have thus done additional research in this area.
During the course of the consultation it may become apparent that there is a food intolerance that is causing the body to malfunction. The herbalist can help the patient to understand which foods are to blame, and will give advice on how to manage a well balanced diet, whilst avoiding those foods.
As well as different people needing different combinations of food, it is also commonly seen that different disease conditions may be caused by, or at least, exacerbated by, certain items of food. The herbalist will have specific nutritional advice depending upon your particular condition.
Even people who are in relatively good health can benefit from looking with fresh eyes at their diet. This may be particularly helpful at times of stress or of great exertion, when it is more important than usual that you are able to function at the peak of your personal powers.
The herbalist is trained in special detox diets that can be useful after you have been unable to follow your usual healthy diet for some reason, such as a holiday, and want to clean out your system before going back to your normal routine. Advice can also be given on dietary supplements.