License to practice?
Group considers regulating herbalists, while others fear tradition will be lost
March/April 1999
By Sarah Kelch
PEOPLE WHO WANT to use medicinal herbs may turn
to an herbalist for advice. But what they can’t tell by the term
“herbalist” is how qualified the herbalist actually is.
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While some herbalists have years of education and experience
behind them, others may have taken only a two-day course via the
Internet. And the discrepancies in qualifications and experience
don’t end there.
As diverse as the tradition of herbalism itself are the people
who practice it. Anyone, from traditional healers to herb growers
to grandmothers, can call themselves herbalists—and they do.
“Herbalists fight bitterly among themselves about who an
herbalist is or isn’t because there are so many different kinds,”
says Amanda McQuade Crawford, president of the National College of
Phytotherapy in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She also is a founder of
the American Herbalists Guild (AHG), a national organization formed
in 1989.
Seeking continuity
AHG members want to set themselves apart from other herbalists
by specifying a title that would guarantee a certain level of
competency gained through both education and experience.
By regulating their profession and defining their scope of
practice, members say, they will be able to participate more freely
in the American health-care system.
In England, clinical herbalists have been registered since the
1860s with the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH), a
successful organization that has evolved over the decades to meet
changes in society. Herbalists like Crawford, who is a member of
the NIMH, wonder whether it isn’t time to establish a similar
organization in the United States, and some consumers agree.
“I wouldn’t go to an acupuncturist if I didn’t know they were
qualified,” says Andrea Johansen, a doctor of oriental medicine in
Fort Collins, Colorado, who uses medicinal herbs in her practice
and personally. “And herbs are dangerous as well as powerful.
[Herbalists] should be well-trained.”
In addition, AHG members and others say, consumers often buy
herbs without knowing much about them. So they turn to their
pharmacists and licensed physicians for advice, although these
medical professionals may not be trained in herbal medicine. The
most qualified individuals to steer consumers in the right
direction are well-trained clinical herbalists, says Mindy Green,
education director for the Herb Research Foundation in Boulder,
Colorado. Adds Crawford: “Our real interest is in protecting the
consumer so they can make an educated decision about who not to
seek.”
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