Clinical Herbalism

A detailed description of Clinical Herbalism by Monika Trabucchi MCMA Ass. Dip. Clinical Herbalist

I have studied with the College of Phytotherapy (Herbal Medicine) in Hailsham, E. Sussex for 4 years.
Subjects included Anatomy & Physiology, Clinical Diagnosis, Pathology, Materia Medica, Biochemistry, Nutrition, Medicine, and Differential diagnosis, Dermatology, Psychiatry, Medical Laboratory Science, Botany, Pharmacology and Gynaecology with examinations passed on each subject. Additionally I had 150 hours of clinical training at the Clinic of Phytotherapy in London.

Herbal Medicine is the oldest and most natural form of medicine and has been practised by man for 2500 years in every country in the world and includes famous practitioners like Hippocrates and Dioscorides.
Everybody was in tune with nature and used the best part of a plant to treat
a great many dis-eases themselves, as knowledge was handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter to treat their own families. The right herbs are growing all around us. But people also had a more basic diet, fresh air and exercise. All these things are very important in maintaining all round health.
In this day and age a lot of knowledge of how to look after our body in a holistic way has been lost or just forgotten.
Adding preservatives, additives, colour and artificial sweeteners puts a great strain on the body as it is unable to utilise these chemicals and ultimately it is unable to excrete all these poisons, overloading the body with these toxins and creating a state of imbalance leading to disease states.
This takes the person to the doctor, who prescribes some more chemicals, further upsetting the balance within the body.
The only way in which to address this chronic condition is by looking at the person as a whole and finding the root cause of the problem and using herbs to finely re-tune the body back to best possible health.

Herbal remedies consist of the leaf, the flower, fruit, seeds, roots or bark of a plant. Herbs are naturally balanced in their contents of a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and phyto-chemicals.
Herbal remedies may be antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal or anti-microbial.
The taste may be bitter, thus stimulating the digestion, sweet as in Liquorice, acting on the adrenal glands, mucilaginous to soothe an irritated mucus membrane or contain tannins to astringe and heal, they may have hormonal action, useful during the time of the menopause or if suffering from PMT or delayed menstruation if this is not due to pregnancy.
The remedies may be taken in either tea- or tincture form, applied as a cream or poultice.

What happens in a consultation

a first consultation will last 1 hour and the follow-up consultation 1/2 hour.
The Herbalist will take your name, address, date of birth, marital status and profession.
Enquiries about the current problem the patient is seeking help with.
He / She will explore the extent of the problem by asking various questions related e.g. first onset of symptoms, what makes it better / worse, how long does it last, amount of pain etc.
The next step will be to trace the health of the patient from childhood onwards, childhood diseases, inoculations, accidents, broken bones, operations, foreign travel, stress at work or at home, allergies to certain things e.g. smoke, dairy, gluten, pollen, house dust mites, chemicals.

The diet will be carefully noted.
Then various questions will be asked about prescription drugs being taken and natural supplements.
Quality of sleep is enquired about.
Questions about the health of the rest of the body with heart and circulation, lungs, digestive tract, urinary tract, reproductive organs and menstrual cycle are asked. Blood pressure and pulse are taken and if necessary the chest listened to.
We will then work out a treatment plan together as this is a two-way interaction.
A change in diet, lifestyle, or exercise may be recommended or other helpful hints given as appropriate.
Everybody is unique and must therefore be treated as such.
For people with serious medical conditions, herbal treatment can support the treatment by the doctor, but must be in conjunction with a qualified Herbal practitioner and should not be self-medicating.
Most herbal remedies are quite safe, but there are some that are very potent and could potentially be harmful.
A prescription usually consists of a tincture made of a variety of herbs and a standard dose is 5 ml taken three times daily in water. Where appropriate the alcoholic tincture is substituted by a herbal tea taken 1 cup three times daily.

Conditions we can help with

High blood pressure, angina, water retention, varicose veins, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, anaemia, headaches and migraine, irritable bowel disease, Crohn's disease, constipation, diverticulosis, diverticulosis, indigestion, heart burn, liver and gall bladder problems, painful periods, heavy periods, PMT, menopausal symptoms, cystitis, thrush, enlarged prostate gland, bed-wetting, ME, Rheumatoid- and Osteo-arthritis, gout, sprains, strains, colds and flu.
Allergies, asthma, hay fever, eczema, psoriasis, urticaria, athlete's foot,
Candida.
Nervous disorders: stress, anxiety, insomnia, depression. There are also herbs to increase / decrease mothers milk production.
Herbal remedies are gentle enough to be given to babies and very ill and debilitated people.

Contact Monika