Herbal medicine with Roses

As a medical herbalist I can help with acute and chronic health challenges, and with your overall health and resilience.

I also offer community herb walks, workshops and courses – see our workshops page.

I’m trained to support 1:1 with the kinds of health challenges seen by a GP, with some differences.

I get much more time with my clients. You can expect to feel deeply listened to, with attention to your journey to this point, how you’re feeling here and now, and where you want to be.

Together we’ll get curious about root causes and try to address underlying imbalances, not just symptoms. This is deep, personalised medicine. Any herbs, foods, practices and lifestyle changes I recommend are uniquely for you.

You may or may not have received a diagnosis or be on medication. You may be unsure what’s happening in your body. I’m trained to work safely alongside conventional healthcare and medication. Read more about my training here.

Location

I offer home visits in Machynlleth and Pennal, and online appointments to people anywhere in the UK.

For home visits you’ll need a private space for the consultation, where we will not be disturbed and where you feel comfortable to speak aloud and in depth about your health, feelings, life and habits.

Come as you are

I support and affirm all bodies, including queer, trans, black/brown, fat, disabled, young, old and survivor bodies. 

All parts of you are welcome in my clinic: the parts that may feel resilient, powerful and capable, and those that may feel confused, vulnerable or afraid. 

You may have experience of systemic oppression, trauma or neurodivergence that makes you less able to access the benefits of mainstream healthcare. I am flexible to your needs as well as to my own – feel free to contact me to discuss them.

Our journey together

Find out more about me here

1. Free 15-minute chat

A free, no-pressure chat, to find out more about how I work and get a sense of whether I’m the right practitioner for you. If either of us feel I may not be, I may be able to suggest somebody different.

2. Book your appointment

If it seems like we may be a good fit, you book a full-length consultation. (See pricing here). I send you a client agreement, a short questionnaire about your health, and an invoice. If forms are tricky for you, we can chat on the phone before the appointment instead.

3. Your appointment

We meet for up to 90 minutes at your home or online. I ask about what has brought you to the appointment, your current and past health, and your goals. If appropriate and you consent, I can carry out physical exams to aid diagnosis. Your body, your choices: you stay in control at all times.

4. Treatment plan

I email you my assessment and recommendations, including any herbal medicines and supplements I think would help you and what these would cost. You let me know what you’d like, and I invoice, dispense and post the herbs.

5. Treatment

You apply the recommendations, noticing what shifts in your body and life.

6. Follow-up

We meet again 2-4 weeks later for up to 60 minutes to review how things are going, and adapt treatment as needed. In general, symptoms that have only been around for a few weeks or months tend to resolve within months. Symptoms you’ve lived with for years may take longer, but you should still start to notice some improvements within the first 1-3 months.

“I feel supported by Roses and the herbs so I am really grateful to be working with them. I appreciate the way Roses communicates with me, particularly in non gendered ways regarding reproductive/ovarian health. They are thoughtful and responsive to specific things I share with them. I appreciate their suggestion and willingness to work on ovarian health ahead of potential egg freezing and HRT, which I feel comfortable doing because of the trust we’ve built as well as their understanding and acceptance of individual trans experiences. I couldn’t imagine working on this with anyone else, which is a credit to Roses’ skills and practice. It is a true blessing to be supported by Roses.”

“Working with Roses has literally changed my life. I came to them with chronic stomach problems on top of a chronic illness. I’m happy to say that at this moment, both are under control thanks to the care provided by Roses and this has allowed me to reduce the number of drugs taken.”

Booking

To book a free, 15-minute chat with zero pressure to commit to working together, you can hello@rosesherbal.com or to use the app below. The purpose of this chat is not to give you health advice but for us both to get a feel for whether I may be the right practitioner for you. If I may not be, I will try to suggest an alternative.

If you’re ready to book a full-length consultation, please email hello@rosesherbal.com.

Herbal medicine…

  • is people’s medicine: it gives us the power to look after our health without making drugs companies richer
  • can help us to reconnect with cultural knowledge of the places we live and where our ancestors lived – we use and share this knowledge or lose it
  • can help us to re-connect with the ecosystem and re-find our place in it.

FAQs

How much does it cost?

All appointments are offered on a sliding scale depending on your financial circumstances. Herbs are sold at fixed prices. See our pricing page for details.

Where do the herbs come from? Are they organic?

The medicines I prepare for you have all been grown or wildcrafted sustainably, either by me or by a trusted, reputable supplier, with a high level of care for the environment and for people in their supply chain. They are of excellent quality and are the medicines I take myself and give to loved ones.

I forage, grow organically and make as much medicine as I can myself. When sourcing cultivated herbs elsewhere, I tend to prefer herbs that are grown organically, but not always certified organic: certification costs farmers a huge amount of money and admin, which small-scale growers can’t afford. So, for example, if the choice is between certified organic herbs grown in industrial-scale monocultures a long way away, or (uncertified) organically-grown herbs cultivated close to home using sustainable methods, I choose the latter.

Is herbal medicine safe?

Medical herbalists are trained to recognise red flags and refer on where appropriate, and to prescribe safely alongside conventional medication (taking into account any known herb-drug interactions). Typically the risks of taking herbs under professional supervision are lower than those of working with mainstream medicine. Allergic responses are possible, and before any herbs are prescribed we will discuss any known sensitivities.

What's Roses' training?

See my ‘about me’ page, here.

What is a medical herbalist?

A medical herbalist is someone who combines cultural, clinical, scientific and in some cases somatic knowledge of plants and the human body to support people’s health and healing. It’s a craft with a complex lineage that, like any lineage, is problematic in some ways and life-affirming in others – more on this coming soon in the blog.

Medical herbalists are trained in traditional herbal knowledge and craft, and to degree-level in anatomy, physiology, differential diagnosis and clinical examination. We follow the journals to stay up to date as medical knowledge changes.

We apply our knowledge in a way that tries to honour the interconnectedness of all parts of our existence, including our cells and tissues, body systems, life experiences, social and physical environment, and connection with land/spirit.

A few of us also work with the impact on health of global systems of oppression, which otherwise harm all our bodies at a cellular, tissue, psychoemotional and relational level, whether we are privileged and/or multiply oppressed.

To get an idea of how I work in practice, scroll to “Our journey together”.

How are medical herbalists similar or different to GPs?

Medical herbalists have:

  • The same traditional diagnostic skills as a GP

  • More time with their clients (60-90 minutes per appointment).

  • An integrative approach – meaning we work safely with and alongside your mainstream medical treatment

  • A systems approach – meaning we consider how all systems in your body interconnect and function, not just the surface-level trigger for your symptom, and we try to get to the root cause as well.
How are herbal medicines similar or different to conventional medication?

Herbal medicines can be taken as teas, tinctures, syrups, vinegars, balms, baths and foods, as well as in forms familiar in conventional medicine such as capsules, tablets, creams and pessaries.

Herbal medicines tend to be more easily recognised and assimilated by the body. They contain compounds that are very similar to the ones already in our bodies, so our bodies know how to handle them. This means they tend to be less dominating. In some specific circumstances a heavier-handed approach can be life-saving. In many circumstances though, it’s not necessary – a gentler approach that addresses the cause can be at least as effective or more so, and have fewer (if any) side effects.

Herbal medicines tend to have few, if any, side effects. When you choose a medication only with the offending symptom in mind, all the remaining effects of that drug are unwanted (the word for this is ‘side effects’). By contrast we choose herbs not just for their effect on one symptom, but for their effects on your whole body, to encourage the body’s functioning back into balance. When all the effects are desirable, you don’t have to make trade-offs. Drugs treat symptoms; herbs treat people.

Herbal medicines are much more environmentally friendly. We source the plants directly ourselves (foraging or growing them) or from trusted, ethical, sustainable suppliers. Herbal remedies involve one or very few ingredients and are usually made by hand (or otherwise on a very small scale), bypassing the industrial footprint of a pharmaceutical company.

Herbal medicines don’t make pharmaceutical companies richer, or their shareholders. You can forage and make the medicines yourself, or they can be directly foraged/grown and compounded by the herbalist. The supply chain is far shorter and more ethical.

It’s not a binary! Neither is always better, and it doesn’t have to be either/or. If you’re unsure whether or not herbal medicine may be able to help you, feel free to get in touch for a free, 15-minute chat about your needs, with no pressure for it to lead to a further appointment.

Get in touch

Please sign up for our occasional newsletter if you’d like to receive seasonal herb profiles, recipes, support with navigating change and systemic challenges, invitations to connect with the seasons, and info on our upcoming events.

Katherine (therapist):

kvcoxtherapy@gmail.com

I mostly work Tuesdays-Thursdays and some weekends

Roses (herbalist & embodiment facilitator):

hello@rosesherbal.com

I mostly work Mondays-Thursdays

Training enquiries:

hello@fireweedcollective.org.uk