Hi! I’m Roses.

I’m a medical herbalist, mycotherapy practitioner (mushroom herbalist!) and Resilience Toolkit facilitator with a community organising background. 

I offer inclusive, affirming herbal medicine to people of all identities, and somatic skills-teaching for personal and collective resilience.

My favourite medicines are weeds. They don’t just survive hostile environments; they change them into places in which they and other beings can thrive. And they’re abundant and generous with their medicine.

I strive to bring curiosity, compassion & non-judgment; understanding of trauma in the body (and lived experience); an intimate relationship with the plants, and an analysis of systemic power and oppression; and to weave scientific, traditional and embodied ways of knowing to my practice. You can read about my training here.

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 feel resilient and powerful, and those that 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 both our needs – feel free to contact me to discuss.

I am trained to work safely alongside any mainstream healthcare and pharmaceutical medications you may be taking. 

If you decide to work with me, I hope you might feel

  • Deeply listened to and seen
  • Supported and held
  • Empowered to make life-affirming changes
  • Fewer and less-severe symptoms
  • More resilient, physically and emotionally
  • More deeply connected with yourself, loved ones and the more-than-human.
Training & background

I qualified as a medical herbalist in 2022 from a five-year, degree-level diploma in Ireland, with 97% in my final clinical exam. This core training included

  • anatomy & physiology
  • differential diagnosis & clinical skills
  • nutrition
  • materia medica (plants as medicines)
  • herbal pharmacy & dispensing
  • 500 directly-supervised clinical hours, including in an NHS hospital.

I hold these additional qualifications:

  • Mycotherapy Practitioner, certified by the UK & Ireland Mycotherapy Practitioners Register
  • Resilience Toolkit Facilitator, certified by Lumos Transforms
  • FREC3 Emergency First Responser, adhering to the skills framework set by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care
  • I’ve also completed further training in scar care, gender-affirming surgeries, endobiogenic medicine, the neurobiology of trauma and politicised somatics, among other topics.

Alongside clinical practice I’m involved in helping to set up a community herb project in the Dyfi valley in mid-Wales, having previously developed and facilitated courses in herbal craft with Hackney Herbal CIC. I also work in a mobile herbal clinic, practising emergency first response, acute medicine and herbal first aid.

Before becoming a herbalist I worked for ten years with survivors of state violence and interpersonal violence – particularly queer, gender-non-conforming and male survivors, people incarcerated under immigration powers, and activists experiencing repression.

Technical skills

My core training allows me to:

  • interpret blood and urine test results
  • carry out routine physical examinations, similar to an old-fashioned GP
  • recognise symptoms that need referring to a GP for further tests
  • prescribe herbs safely alongside any conventional medication you may be taking
  • work integratively with your mainstream healthcare provider
  • follow developments in medical and phytotherapeutic research
  • facilitate a trauma-informed skills framework for embodied self-regulation, 1:1 and in groups.

“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.”

“I appreciate the way Roses communicates with me, particularly in non gendered ways regarding reproductive/ovarian health. … 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.”

Get in touch

Please sign up for our occasional newsletter if you’d like to receive seasonal herb profiles and 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):

hello@rosesherbal.com

I mostly work Mondays-Thursdays

Training enquiries:

hello@fireweedcollective.org.uk