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Wildness Within’s Practitioner Pathway is a deep dive into the applications of herbalism; assessment of disease, differential diagnosis, materia medica, and formulation. This program is designed to build upon the fundamentals of plant medicine taught in Wildness Within’s foundational herbal apprenticeship and the Materia Medica Pathway, as well as other herbal programs that participants have taken. The Practitioner Pathway provides tools for participants to practice herbalism in a community setting and beyond.

This is an opportunity to learn about the history of herbalism, theories of diagnosis, a deeper understanding of plant energetics, and connecting plants to people (and vice versa). Participants will gain knowledge and skills to assess individuals through Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostics, including tongue and pulse assessments. We will practice the correlation of herbs to the manifestations of disease and how to appropriately combine and administer plant medicine.

This course is designed to grow one’s confidence in applying herbalism into a practice based on professionalism and ancient medical history.

Curriculum topics include:

·      TCM theory: Yin/Yang; Five Elements; Eight Principles

·      The Nature of Energetics

·      Constitutions: Ayurvedic Doshas, Six Tissue States, Elemental

·      TCM Assessment, Causes and Treatment of Disease

·      TCM Assessment Strategies & Patterns

Who is the Practitioner Pathway for?

The Practitioner Pathway is for people who have completed at least two years of herbal study; online or in-person (ideally those who have completed the Foundational Herbal Apprenticeship and who are dedicated to enhancing their knowledge of materica medica as well as anatomy and physiology). This is a program for an intermediate - advanced herbalist looking to expand their herbal knowledge by diving deeper into assessment of disease, diagnostic principles, and materia medica. This is an ideal program for someone interested in learning herbal applications and therapies that can be used in a private practice, a holistic health clinic, or for advanced uses at home and within a community. This program requests participants to study and complete assignments outside of class.  Since there will be more self-studying accompanied with this program, it is best fit for those willing to commit time and energy into their herbal learning journey.

This is an in-depth course in herbalism– it will provide you with the skills to develop an herbal practice to obtain hands-on clinical hours under the guidance of a clinical herbalist mentor. 1-on-1 mentorships and additional course training is advised before starting your own practice and necessary to apply to the become a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild (AHG).

What is the learning structure?

The Practitioner Pathway will be conducted LIVE online. There will be invitations for students to meet in person, if regionally possible. The structure of this class is as follows:

• One 3 hour class online per month

• Didactic presentation and virtual activities

• Monthly review quizzes

• Monthly HW assignments

• Case Study practices and round table reviews

Rachael will be reviewing HW assignments monthly. After the initial diagnostic skills are taught, monthly case studies will be sent out by instructor or students to review.

This is an application based course. The application process is designed to answer your questions and support you in discerning if this is the right fit for you at this time.

The intentions of this program are for participants to engage in:

·      The understanding of constitutions, the nature of disease, and herbal assessments.

·      Identifying appropriate uses of herbs for different case studies through learning herbal actions and TCM herbal categories.

·      The understanding and practice of differential diagnosis, tongue and pulse diagnosis.

·      Formulations; combining herbs, herb-herb and herb-drug interactions, and the art of simplifying.

·      Creating, practicing and reviewing case studies.

·      Developing confidence in an herbal practice that is unique and custom to their offerings.

 This is an ONLINE class. If combined with the Materia Medica Pathway, students will have an opportunity to meet in person as well.

Dates and Time:  The second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, 4PM - 7PM

2025 Dates TBA

This is a 10-month commitment.

Practitioner Pathway Cost: $2,075

• Obtain the monthly classes and powerpoints

• Access to online class hub-site with resources

• Monthly homework assignments, reviewed by Rachael

• Case Study discussion/review for AHG

  Cost does not include books, medicine making supplies or private mentoring.

Payments: To ensure your spot in the program, a non-refundable deposit of $100 is due upon acceptance. Full payment is due upon the first day of class in February. If participants need to set-up a payment plan, please correspond with Rachael about what this looks like.

Cancellation Policy:

All cancellation requests must be made prior to February 1st, 2025; any payments beyond the deposit will be refunded in full. Any cancellations beyond this date is not subject to refund.