Herbal Medicine Overview & Careers Guide
Learn About Herbal Medicine Careers and Find Herbal Therapy Schools
Learn About Herbal Medicine Careers and Find Herbal Therapy Schools
Herbal Therapy Schools | Natural Healers Career Resource Center
| | Herbal medicine is the use of plants and medicinal herbs to help prevent and treat disease. This practice promotes health and offers an alternative to prescription drugs. |
General Herbal Medicine Information
Definition of Herbal Medicine
Many different types of natural medicine use herbs as part of their practice. In the United States, herbal medicine generally refers to a system of medicine that uses European or North American plants. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) uses plants native to China or Asia, while Ayurvedic herbal medicine uses plants native to India.
Modern herbalists often use plants from many different regions of the world, and they do not restrict their practice to only those plants classified as an herb (a seed plant whose stem withers away annually). Instead, in medicine, an herb can be a root, a piece of tree bark, a mushroom, or anything else which grows naturally and falls into the plant kingdom.
Phytopharmaceutical literally means "plant medicine" and has become a popular term for some types of herbal medicine, especially those practices that treat the herb or the herbal extract as a drug.
The History of Herbal Therapy
There is literally no culture, ancient or modern, that did not use plants as part of their medical system. Many herbalists are working today to recover information that we've lost since the invention of synthetic drugs. Read Green Pharmacy by Barbara Griggs, published by Inner Traditions, for a more in-depth history of herbal medicine.
The Herbal Therapy Profession
In the United States, an herbalist is a self-defined professional. There is no national or state system of licensure or certification for herbalists. Professional groups may grant certification to members who have reached a certain level of training as an herbalist. Here are some herbalist career concentrations:
- Growing herbs
- "Wildcrafting" or picking herbs
- Manufacturing herbal products
- Teaching or counseling people about the use of herbs as medicine
One branch of anthropology, called ethnobotany, studies the use of plants in other cultures, particularly their use as medicine. Ethnobotanists, who receive their training through the standard university system, have classified a number of medicinal herbs. Their work helps preserve the traditional folk medicine of indigenous people around the world. The American Botanical Council provides current ethnobotanical expeditions.
Herbalists and The Practice of Medicine
Legally, in the United States, the practice of medicine is restricted to those professionals who have a license. Practice is generally defined as both diagnosis and prescription, with a focus on the treatment of disease. Practice laws tend to vary from state to state. There are no restrictions, however, on teaching people how to take better care of themselves. Most herbalists define themselves as teachers, healers or counselors rather than as medical practitioners.
Several natural medicine professions are licensed and do use herbal medicine as part of their practice. So herbalists who want to practice medicine generally choose to do so under the license of another profession such as acupuncturist or naturopathic doctor.
"Medical Herbalists" in Herbal Therapy
In the United Kingdom, there is a legal recognition of herbalists as members of the medical profession dating back to the reign of Henry VIII. A number of herbalists that have gone through British training or its equivalent will use this designation. There has even been some talk among the professional organizations about establishing a "medical herbalist" license in the United States, but it does not exist at this time.
Career Opportunities Available for Herbal Therapy School Graduates
At this point in time, most herbologists or herbalists are self-employed. Here are a few herbal therapy career options:
- Run small manufacturing companies making herbal products
- Grow herbs for sale to manufacturers
- Own retail stores
- Counsel others about herbal products
There are also a few teaching positions available through the alternative medicine colleges. Some herbalists do go to work for other herbalists at the type of businesses listed above. To find these jobs, the most effective way is to network by attending the conferences of the various professional groups or by getting to know herbalists in your area. Very few of these positions are advertised through the standard means, such as through the Classifieds or the Web.
Ethnobotanists, described in more detail above, study the use of plants in native cultures for both medicinal and religious use. Like any form of academic research, there are a wide variety of jobs in this field—teaching, field research and so on. Most of the work in this field comes through university and a few private foundations. They are generally looking for undergraduate or graduate students in this field.
Herbal Therapist Salaries
Herbal therapist salaries vary, since the profession offers many different career paths. Some choose to live very spartan lives, 'off the grid' and away from civilization. Others make comfortable wages as counselors, teachers, manufacturers or writers. Many herbalists have more than one job—it's not unusual to see someone running an herb farm and writing books and teaching classes. For this reason, it is difficult to pin-point an herbal therapy salary. According to PayScale.com, an herbalist can make between $30,000 to $45,000, depending on education and type of practice, but herbal therapists have the opportunity to make more and less than that, depending on their career path and expertise.
Learn more about herbal medicine and Chinese herbal medicine careers and schools.
Source:
Educational & Career Opportunities in Alternative Medicine, 2006
Where can I get training?
- Arizona
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts - Tempe
- Canada - Ontario
- Toronto School of TCM - Toronto
- District of Columbia
- Washington Institute of Natural Medicine - Washington
- Maryland
- Washington Institute of Natural Medicine - Gaithersburg
- Tai Sophia Institute - Master of Science in Herbal Medicine - Laurel
- Virginia
- Washington Institute of Natural Medicine - Chesapeake
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