“Everyone needs a Lucy in their life”
— Ama, East London
The road to herbalism began early
Playing as a child, I remember wanting to be a witch, not a princess!
Image courtesy of Simon McQueen
I fell in love with the magic of herbal medicine after discovering that there is medicine right outside our doors. In our gardens, in wasteland, hedgerows and even growing through pavement cracks. Once you know, you can barely move for tripping over a medicinal herb - and I frequently do! I love plants and how they make such wonderful changes for my patients. I qualified as a Herbalist in 2008, graduating with a BSc (Hons) from Middlesex University.
I began by working in a wholefood shop with full dispensary and responding to acute enquiries on the shop floor. After moving to Hertfordshire in 2013, I began to work at Middlesex University as dispenser in the herbal medicine training clinic and as lecturer. Alongside that, I started to build my Hertfordshire private practice. I work from home and offer a blend of in-person and online 1-2-1 appointments and groups.
I became mum to Rowan in 2017 and started my new teaching role at the University of Westminster in 2019 where I teach students to be herbal practitioners in the training clinic. It is wonderful to watch students grow, nurturing them (just like plants!), into the next generation of Medical Herbalists.
My training in Bach Flowers was in 2004 and included a wonderful introduction to the world of Doctrine of Signatures observing many of the plants growing in Regents Park in London. EFT came much later and took some considerable nudging from the Universe before I finally took notice - and my, I am so glad I finally did. I undertook formal training in 2020 and thoroughly love the changes it has brought me. It bowls me over on a weekly basis the powerful changes I am bringing to my internal world with this amazing set of techniques! It has also brought me a wonderful community and some literally quite magical transformations that I have witnessed in my clients.
Whilst being a herbalist is not magic - it took a lot of hard graft (!!!), I have a sneaking suspicion the herbs themselves may be, because the results we acheive together often seem ‘as if by magic’.
Dr Edward Bach
“It is not the disease that is of importance, it is the patient, the way in which they are affected, which is our true guide to healing.”
This quote is from a lecture from Dr Bach in 1936. I am struck again and again by how fundamental I believe it is and how peculiar it is that modern medicine totally ignores it. I believe that unless we integrate all aspects of us (body, mind, soul, spirit) we remain stuck in the same grooves and walk the same path over and over and nothing actually changes. When you desire change, you have to enact change. It is that simple. The tricky bit, is knowing which bots to change and that’s where I help. Working with me is all about gently changing your groove.
Think of yourself as an ocean liner. Shift your trajectory by just one degree and the destination is completely changed. My job is to help you find that one degree and support you whilst you find your internal maps and navigate your journey.
More about me
I grew up in a variety of places in the UK; London, Cambridgeshire and Ipswich and I began my adult life studying the violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. It became clear that music was not my defining passion and after graduating, I travelled and worked in a variety of 9-5 Education and Medical jobs in London. Herbs kept calling and I began part-time training in 2003.
I continue to have music in my life, singing tenor in a local choir and playing ad hoc chamber music - mostly strong quartets. I am married and my husband is Herts born and bred and we have a daughter who was born in 2017 and we all live together in Hemel Hempstead.
Charitable donations
I am proud to support 4 charities as part of my business. I donate monthly to the following charities as I believe their work is central to the ethos of the work I do.
Plantlife’s priorities
Plantlife’s work spans four strategic areas – protect and restore, connect people with nature, work in partnerships and collaborate and influence.
Mission
Our mission is to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi.
Wild plants and fungi underpin the health of our environment. They can help us to resolve the climate, ecological and societal challenges which we face.
Protecting them will lead to a world full of colour, beauty and life while allowing the plants and the animals which depend on them to thrive.
We believe that wildlife should have space to thrive alongside our everyday lives and that everyone benefits from having access to nature.
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is a local conservation charity working to protect wildlife and help people to connect with nature. With a team of volunteers, we care for wild places so that nature can thrive. We help people experience the wildlife on their doorsteps and to take action to protect it.
Our Vision
Our vision is for a world where wildlife has space to thrive and our precious habitats and species populations are recovering. People feel more connected to wildlife and are empowered to take action to give nature a positive future.
I also donate to Crisis each year at Christmas. I cannot imagine how hard it must be to be homeless, let alone at a time of year so focused on family and the home.
We are the UK's largest woodland conservation charity. Our vision is a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature.
We protect:- We fight to protect woods and trees, preventing the loss of irreplaceable habitat, nature and carbon stores for a healthier future for everyone.
We restore:- We bring damaged ancient woods back to life, restoring irreplaceable ecosystems to improve landscape resilience so that nature and people can thrive.
We create:- Expanding native woodland and creating tree-rich habitats to benefit nature, climate and people is at the heart of what we do.
We care:- Our people work every day to ensure the 1,000 woods in our care grow and thrive. We open up access to our woods free of charge and welcome thousands of visitors each year.