This is long, but please read it in full for your own protection and knowledge!

Today I was reading an auction, take an online course and in 13 weeks you are an herbalist. I know of others who profess to be an herbalist and when I ask where did they go to school, they say " I am self taught". I know of others in most of the alternative fields of medicine, be it Iridology, Aromatherapy, Chinese Medicine, you name it, any of the "alternative medicine" fields, and too too many folks are self taught.

One day, a while back,  I went to a well known person's place of business near me, and did not allow this person to know I had any idea of any knowledge. He willingly was going to charge me $265.00 to "test" me, and then treat me. No blood work, no sort of medical testing, he could tell it all by just a physical exam. When I asked him where he went to school he proudly told me he was a high school drop out and all his knowledge had been self taught. When I asked him if he had read this book or that, no he never heard of them, they must be newly published, (the one was over ten years old!)  

Well alot of my knowledge, and I suspect other herbalists also, is self taught. But somewhere there has to be some sort of guidelines put into place, so that the unknowing, innocent, vulnerable, naive layman knows that the herbalist knows what she/he truely knows what he/she is doing. All too often a person goes to an herbalist and follows their advice and is harmed by this advice. And then the "herbalist" will fall back on, well that herb was not the right one for you, or  you must have an allergy, or lets try another one instead. And the unsuspecting, unknowing person goes along with it, trusting that this person knows what they are doing.

I would not allow a surgeon to cut me open without being able to be shown proof that this person went through schooling and was tested, along with the other requirements of receiving his license to cut me open. And this surgeon on a regular basis needs to continue his education in some form or another, in order to continue being licensed. He needs to keep abreast of any new developments in his field and he has to show some governing authority that he has in fact done this requirement in order to continue being licensed.

And yet too often I see people being treated by "herbalists" who have ONLY been self taught. Too many in the field of herbology as well as other "alternative medicines" have only been self taught, but with what methods, which books, which teachers. Go to your local library, you can find books on herbs in many sections of the library. The cooking section. Did a self taught herbalist learn all of his/her knowledge by reading just cook books? The gardening section, the crafts section, the health section, the youth section. I think you get my drift.

Personally, I have gone to well known colleges for my education. I have traveled and gone to many "hands on  programs as part of my education. I have spent many an hour being tested both on paper and from observational testing to see if I know what I say I know. As a child growing up, my elders took me by the hand and led me to plants, showed me the plant, told me of all the medicinal uses of it, showed me the ways to use these plants,taught me how to prepare the plants and how to apply them. And that teaching continues today in some form or another, for as much as I know I know nothing, I learn each and every day, learn and relearn. I am recognized as a Shaman with my Native American Family, but I am also a Certified Master Herbalist and a Master Aromatherapist. What I am discussing here is the Herbalist part of this all, although this falls into the aromatherapy aspect as well.

Presently, in my state, as in many states, there are no tests to help determine your knowledge. No procedure to follow that, in black and white, says you know what you are talking about and doing when treating people with herbs. Fortunately for me, I do not live in my "home" state presently and my certification and license came from my "home" state. I personally have the proof that I know what I say I know, in black and white, just as the surgeon has his proof that says he more likely have a successful outcome with his profession. And my "home" state requires me to continue my education, to keep up to date on new research, new findings, etc.

And with other health professional fields, there are ethnic and moral standards that are learned about and accepted when you become a Certified Herbalist. We have one organization here in American, known as the American Herbal Guild that is an excellent organization. In order to become  registered with them as an herbalist you have to undergo quite an extensive amount of testing to prove to them that you do know what you say you know. They accept all forms of education, be it a college setting, or self taught. They are not so much interested in how you learned what you learned but that you did in fact learn it, and can in fact, positively, effectively treat others in their quest for the best health they can achieve. But presently, to become registered with them is only by choice, there is nothing that says you have to be registered with them or any other organization to in fact back up what you say you know. I am still registered with them as only a student, because that is what I choice to remain to be registered as, because I believe I am still a student, and in fact I am still attending school, real live college courses for my doctorate.

While many people feel that the government wanting to regulate herbs and what not is wrong, I tend to disagree with this feeling. OH dont get me wrong, I know the government is going to over do it, as they  so often do, and make a complete mess of things with this, and it will be some nightmare for us all. Boy, what a mess it is going to be, I see it happening as I read my journals and keep updated on this. It will be a nightmare, but ......... perhaps alot of the quacks that are professing to be herbalists will not continue to do more harm then good.

Some sort of controls need to be put into place, for consumer protection. Some how there has to be some form of testing, some sort of process that makes an herbalist prove that they know what they are doing before they do harm to someone. The person coming to an herbalist should be able to have more then just faith that the person who says they are an herbalist will not harm them. And even then there are no guarantees, just as there are no guarantees with a surgeon, but with the surgeon there is a level of security given to you with the licensing procedures the government has in place in order to get that license. No I do not want the government making the mess they will of this all, and yet what other alternative is there in order to protect ourselves from those who really do not know what they say they know?

Now, please do not misunderstand me, there are many folks that I know, and learn from who do not have any sort of "proof" they know what they are doing. There are quite a few who I know that value their knowledge and turn to them for guidance. Just because they did not go to a school such as I did does not mean they are not highly educated on this, and they should be given "grandfather" certifications when the time comes that the government gets their hands on this all. But I also suspect that if they were given a test, on paper, in black and white, they would master it without a blink of an eye. Unfortunately though, for all those that I know who do have my respect for their knowledge and wisdom, there is two others who I view as quacks and should be punished in some way for professing to be who they are.

For now, the only way you can really protect yourself is by asking the person who you are considering to treat you questions. Ask where they went to school, what their learning experiences have been, who their teachers have been, what philosophies they follow. Be cautious, for your own sake. Do not beat yourself up for not having full faith, follow your gut instincts and listen to yourself, if you are not comfortable with someone, do not allow yourself to be led by that person. There are "codes of ethnics" an herbalist follows, learn about these, familiarize yourself with them and see if the person who you are going to allow to treat you follows these.

And no I truely do not look forward to the government getting involved and making the mess that they surely will make in the process of this all, but again I ask, what other alternatives do we have in order to protect ourselves from those who really do not know what they say they know? Thanks for reading this, I hope I have given you some food for thought, blessings to you, listen to the plants for they will speak to you, Lisa