“The other side of any problem, no matter how big or small, is the opportunity to ally with it as a vehicle for your own evolution.”

— Robin Rose Bennet, Herbalist

An initial herbal medicine consultation is $165, which serves as a springboard for getting to know each other and elucidating what your primary concerns are that you’d like to address with herbs. This price includes a write-up of our discussion and my recommendations. With the initial consult, you’ll also receive a custom 4 oz herbal tincture formula, which is now included in the price. Tinctured for my clients run at wholesale rate of $10/oz, so $40 of that initial consult price if for the formula. Shipping costs will be added for those farther afield and we can add more tincture if we decide that’s ideal.

From there we build a lasting relationship as we continue to work on your health and find the right herbs, checking in regularly about how things are going. A first follow-up is encouraged 6 weeks after receiving your herbal formula and I usually try to schedule this at our initial meeting. Herbs can take time to work and we don’t always get the formula right straight away. It’s important to aim to commit to this as an on-going exploration and to take the herbs I give you regularly to really see results.

If cost feels prohibitive I offer 4 “pay what you can” consultation slots each month for the same 90 minute duration. There is a suggested sliding scale of $25-125 (this does not include herbs), but less or nothing is also an option if you are truly unable to afford it. No questions asked. Please see the section below on sliding scale before selecting this option. The price of the herbal formula is not included here and goes at the same $10/oz rate, but if this cost also means forgoing the formula, this too can be adjusted or waived based on need.

Follow-ups (for returning clients) run at a lower rate of $65 (typically 30-60 minutes). Re-fills are also offered at a wholesale rate of $10/oz and you are welcome to purchase them at any time without a follow-up. Pay what you can slots can also be used for follow-ups.

Read more about me & clinical herb work below!

More about this offering & working with me:

• These consultations are collaborative! We live in a culture where healthcare is both expensive and objectifying, where most often people don't feel heard and are rarely empowered to be an active participant in their health choices and their experience of healing. The goal with my practice is to educate and enable you to regain your personal health autonomy, to find out what YOU think and how YOU are feeling. It is not a replacement for doctors and hospitals and western medicine, which have an important place in health and serve many people very well. But it offers an alternative through the lens of preventative and supportive care, to help you maintain and enhance your own sense of wellness. The goal is to restore connection and balance in the body and herbs are a safe, affordable, and DIY way to work with your health. We’ll work to isolate your primary health concerns, establish goals, discuss shifts in your life that can be made, and address the challenges that keep you from full wellness and healing. Questions and opinions and long-winded explanations are encouraged. I want to meet the whole you and help you get to the bottom of what’s going on.

• Consultations can be one-off experiences or lead to a long-term relationship for continuous support and herbal care along your health journey with me as your ally and advocate. Follow-ups are offered at a lower rate and re-fills at my wholesale tincture price.

• As a holistic practitioner, I offer support for both acute ailments and long-term chronic concerns, working with herbal medicine and other holistic health-focused suggestions to create a framework that feels empowering and puts your health back into your own hands. Herbal medicine shines in all manner of supportive realms—digestion, hormonal regulation, mental health support, building immunity, and more. Again, I am not a doctor nor am I a replacement for your Primary Care Physician and my scope of practice has limits. I will refer out for issues and concerns beyond my capacity where I see it necessary!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Why book a consultation? Having the opportunity to talk with you about your health scenario, ask questions, and connect the dots together helps paint a much clearer picture for me about your situation and needs. It’s easy and fine to find herbs for diagnoses and ailments, but much better to find herbs that fit you best, as a whole, unique person with an individual health journey.

• Why is a custom formula better than just purchasing one from the shelf at an herb shop? There are so many herbs and so many ailments and so many generalized herbal products to purchase for those ailments, but every person’s health situation and body is and acts differently. With a custom formula we can address multiple issues you are having, folding together a blend that focuses on your greatest health concerns while working with your desires, needs, personality and constitution, so you don’t have to go buying a bunch of tiny bottles for all the different things you are working on. And p.s. it’s ultimately a lot less expensive!

• How does it work? We meet in person or virtually for about 60-90 minutes. I ask you lots of questions, you tell me what your experiences are, what’s worked, what hasn’t and together we cultivate a plan for how to move forward and what to address first. Then I tinker in my apothecary and formulate a 4 oz formula just for you! After you take the formula for a while, we re-connect and see how it’s sitting with you, talk again or I simply pour you a re-fill.

• Why herbs? Herbal medicine is powerful and nuanced and is, to this day, the most practiced healing modalities in the world. Unlike many of the modern medical approaches to healing, herbal medicine takes into account the whole picture, works on a restorative and preventative level, and has very few side-effects compared to many pharmaceuticals and medical interventions.

• Do herbs really work? Herbs do work, often more slowly and cumulatively compared to drugs, and that requires your commitment to a longer healing journey and deeper relationship with the medicines we choose for you. Sometimes herbs are not the only answer, but work well in conjunction with other therapies and measures to promote quality of life, which we will also discuss.

• Can you explain the cost? The cost reflects both the price of the 4 oz custom tincture formula and the value of my time and knowledge. A typical 1 oz tincture blend purchased off an apothecary shelf costs $18-20 and this is always a more generalized formula, not something designed to address true specific health concerns. In these consultations I work with you more specifically—we discuss your history, needs, and preferences, and then I take some time in my apothecary to craft something custom to you from my wide array of plant medicines.

• How to I get a re-fill? Just email me! Once we have had our initial consultation, we will be in contact regularly, checking in to see how everything is going and how the formula feels for you. When you are close to running out, just reach out and I can whip up a fresh bottle. Re-fills are sold at our wholesale price of $10/oz.

Sliding Scale/Pay-What-You-Can

I want herbal medicine to be accessible to everyone, but I also find that most people believe they are able to afford less than they truly are. By providing sliding scale options, I often find myself undervalued and underpaid—it's a difficult line. I want to underscore that the full $125 is a very good price for the amount of energy and care you will receive in this session and I hope that you will first attempt to make space in your budget to pay at cost. That being said, I also know that healthcare bills add up and alternative care options can become out of reach for those with lower incomes and complicated health cases. The Pay-What-You-Can slots are for these people. My suggested scale is $25-125, this does not include the cost of herbs which I sell to all clients at my wholesale rate of $10/oz which you pay for additionally when we decide what direction we want to go during the consultation. Below is a nice visual aid for assessing where you fall on the sliding scale. We all have different degrees of understanding wealth and privilege and hopefully this visual helps. The slots are completely pay what you can, so if the sliding scale still feels out of reach and you need to pay less or nothing at all, you can. If you find yourself in the full bottle on the left, please pay the full price or more.

Legal Disclaimer: I am not a licensed healthcare practitioner, doctor or nurse, and I do not diagnose, treat, or prescribe. This practice does not take the place of your doctor and the western healthcare system and I do not claim to be a replacement for your primary care physician. I am more of a companion and collaborator on your journey to health and through the multifaceted world of plant medicine. What I will do is listen, support, and assist you in elucidating current health concerns and in achieving your health goals and finding the right herbs to meet your needs.

Please feel free to e-mail me foliagebotanics@gmail.com with any questions or issues.