Learning about herbs, Part 1: Educational Goals

Herb Schools – Certification, Licensing, Registration, Degree – what’s the difference?

The practice of herbal medicine is not regulated as a profession, per se, with one exception I will address shortly. What are the differences in the types of education and documentation of that education, and how might that affect you?

Certification:

Any and every herb school should offer some form of certification(s). This is an absolute minimum you should be looking for from any school. If they do not offer some form of certification that reflects actual classroom (lecture, demo, discussion, homework, etc.) then you might reconsider what you are paying for.

Certification is worth whatever the reputation is of the school that is issuing it, and is the minimum level of due diligence you can acquire to show that you have attended training of some sort for the work you are doing as an herbalist, teacher, apothecarist, herb store owner, etc.

Registration:

Registration (i.e., “Registered Herbalist” or “RH”) is a peer-reviewing system that has been created by the American Herbalists Guild (AHG). This system is what most folks who are involved with herbs consider to be the next step up from certification in showing due diligence in regards to their training and experience. You can see the details of how to apply to become a registered herbalist at the link to their site above. I became a registered herbalist about 9 years ago and in retrospect I am happy that I did it. I support the mission and concept of the American Herbalists Guild because I think it is important to have some set of standards.

There are a few (very few) schools that base any of their educational programs around the requirements to become a registered herbalist. This is because the requirements are generally more extensive than the majority of herb schools in the USA are teaching.

Our clinical program exceeds the requirements of becoming a registered herbalist, and we have many students involved in the didactic, internship and mentoring portions of our program with the end goal of applying for RH status. Only students who have been through our clinical program can mentor with us and intern in our clinic. This is because we have a much different way of running our clinics that is focused on treating a high volume of diverse patients in any given day or hour, with an emphasis on quick turnaround in the clinic (from intake through herbal formulas or other treatments) and follow-up visits. It is necessary for students to train through our methods to be able to function well in a fast-paced environment like this.

Licensing

There is no such thing as a licensed herbalist in the USA. If it ever does come into existence in the future, it would be a system that would be ultimately adopted and managed at a state level. The chances of that happening anytime in the immediate years to come are probably almost zero.

However, the closest thing to directly being a licensed herbalist in the USA is a license to practice Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which primarily includes acupuncture and herbology in one of the 47 states that requires licensure. From state to state there are differences in what is required in order to be a licensed TCM herbalist.

The road to licensing in acupuncture and herbology is a long one and includes a lot of both clinical and classroom hours in the most common pathway to get there (Master of Science in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine). After fulfilling the prerequisites, it is required to pass four different NCCAOM board exams and (depending on the state) possibly a clinical exam at the state level. California has its own version of the board exams (CALE) as well.

While the exams and training are focused on Chinese herbs, there is an immense overlap into western herbs and approaches, and there is nothing to preclude a licensed TCM practitioner from using them. Depending on your state, getting a board certification in functional medicine can also give access to being able to work with nutritional, dietary changes and supplements (i.e., vitamins, etc.) as a part of your practice.

In addition to acupuncture, chiropractor licensing (depending on the state) can allow for working with herbs, however there is no specific herbal training or herbology board exams in the same way that exists for TCM licensure to practice with herbs.

Degrees

There are a few colleges that offer degrees in herbalism. These are usually accredited institutions, and there are both undergraduate and graduate level degrees out there.

While a degree that has the words “Herbal Medicine” or “Natural Medicine” or something similar on it, seems like a great thing to have, it is arguably one of the least truly preparatory approaches to being able to work with herbs, and is usually looked on with about as much credibility as the title “Certified Master Herbalist” (i.e., almost zero) is by most experienced clinical herbalists that I know at least.

In general, the actual degree curriculum at an accredited college is often highly watered down, maybe because of the liability and need to go overboard on safety concerns, and is at best the same material you would get in an introductory course at some schools.

But more importantly, there is no hands-on experience available through internships or mentoring at a clinic or apothecary from a college or university program.

Clinical and apothecary hands-on experience is arguably the most important reason to study herbal medicine at any school rather than just learning the material on your own, and this option is not available to any appreciable amount in all univerisity degree programs I know of.

If you want a practical university degree related to being able to work in the field of herbalism, I would recommend something either related to plant sciences such as botany, sustainable farming, etc., or something related to health sciences and even body work such as anatomy, physiology, etc.