License to practice?

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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.

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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