The Herbalists
Rhizome Community Herbal Clinic was established by Bristol Herbalist, Becs Griffiths, and has now been joined by Annwen Jones.
About Becs
Becs Griffiths
I completed four years of university training, gaining a BSc (Hons) First class degree in Herbal Medicine. I received two awards from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists: the Arthur Baker Award for best final clinical examination in the UK and the Dorothy Carroll Award for top final clinical examination at UEL in 2009.
In 2009/10 I went to work as a herbalist in Common Ground Health Clinic in New Orleans, an integrated free primary health care clinic. I worked with two other herbalists in a primary healthcare team providing herbal treatments within a clinic setting. I gained invaluable experience in treating chronic illnesses. Please read my article for more information about the clinic. Whilst working at the clinic I also had the fortune to study with Phyllis D. Light at her herbal school in north Alabama. She teaches Southern Appalachian Herbal Medicine which is a unique, insightful and successful strand of herbal medicine.
I continue to develop my herbal education and have attended many professional seminars over the last few years including “A Natural Approach to Breast & Prostate Cancer Care”, “Herbal Medicine and Insulin Resistance”, “Using herbs to support our mental health”. I am now on a year’s course studying Chinese Diagnostic skills with Dedj Liebrandt to complement my training of western herbal medicine.
About Annwen
Annwen Jones.
Introducing our new Herbalist Annwen Jones who graduated from The University of East London with a BSc (Hons) First class degree in Herbal Medicine. Annwen received the Arthur Barker Award from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists for the best graduate.
Prior to moving to Bristol I worked in London as part of the ‘Herbal Barge’ project. This involved working alongside other herbalists taking herbal medicine to different parts of the city via the waterways, giving health advice and learning more about medicine making and harvesting herbs. I have taught workshops in the Ecoworks Community Garden in Nottingham and Urban City Farm in Leeds on medicine making techniques and western herbal medicine, and have lead many herbal plant walks. I have also worked with a dedicated team of experienced herbalists and other health professionals bringing herbal first aid and acute treatment to people at festivals around Britain during the summer months.
I continue to develop my education by attending professional development seminars e.g. ”Herbal Medicine and Insulin Resistance” “Herbal Treatment for Children” ”Herbal Treatment in Breast Cancer” “The role of nutrition in chronic non-infectious illness”
Our Training
As part of our training as Medical Herbalists we studied clinical medicine, differential diagnostic skills, pharmacy, pharmacology, materia medica, botany, pharmacognosy, and nutrition and clinical examinations, in addition to a minimum of 500 hours supervised clinical experience. We have both completed additional clinical training hours at Whipps Cross Hospital dermatology department with medical herbalist Alex Laird.
We are trained in comparable diagnostic methods to a medical doctor but will use natural plant medicine to treat the person. We are able to interpret blood and urine test results and carry out routine physical examinations. Our training allows us to identify any conditions where it may be necessary to refer to a GP for further tests.
Read more about Herbal Medicine and our approach
