Herbal Medicine in Bristol Last edited: 14 12 2011 17:12

Welcome to my Website

I have been involved with Herbal Medicine for many years both as a manufacturer and as a Medical Herbalist. I practice in Bristol at the Urban Fringe Dispensary, and manufacture many of my medicines from locally sourced herbs. Having graduated with a first class degree in Herbal Medicine, I am continually updating my practice with new research and ideas from many different medical traditions and disciplines, keeping an open eye and open mind for what seems most appropriate and most effective for my patients.

I trained at the University of Westminster, and am a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. My training covered general as well as plant medicine and included the same diagnostic skills as mainstream doctors.

I also teach herbal medicine courses in Bristol using an approach that draws on traditional herbal practice informed by current research.

Herbal Medicine can be used on its own or alongside other treatments for a wide range of common health problems. Western herbal medicine is characterised by a person-centred approach, where the patient rather than the disease is the focus of the practitioner’s attention.

In contrast to the majority of orthodox medical practicies, herbal medicine takes a holistic perspective on health, and assumes the existence of a vital, energetic principle that governs living organisms. In practice this means that we work with the body’s own propensity to heal, rather than trying to over-ride our own innate healing tendency with pharmaceutical control.

The emphasis is on preventing illness and maintaining wellness, helping, where possible, to effect a cure by addressing the causes of a disease rather than simply alleviating symptoms.

The practice is quite different from the NHS model of healthcare in that it is participative rather than prescriptive. A major part of herbalism is concerned with the cornerstones of good health maintenance: diet, rest and relaxation, exercise, and other lifestyle issues.