Herbal Certificate vs Certified Herbalist Question

[VioletStudent]

Hello,  I have question.  This may be for Doc.  There is not a ‘certifying’ group/agency for herbalists that has popped up in the USA in recent years, correct?  I’ve been involved with herbs for many years and never had seen any.  Increasingly though, I am seeing promotional materials for herbalists online that call themselves ‘certified herbalists.’  And when I see this ‘certified herbalist’ title in association with someone, he or she is not claiming membership in American Herbalist Guild (which I am not advocating for or against). The American Herbalist Guild is not involved in ‘certifying’ herbalists.  Could this be a matter of marketing: receiving a certificate of completion from a program but then promoting this certificate as being ‘certified?’  The individuals with this title may very well be qualified, as no one knows until they interact.  It just strikes me odd at the rise in popularity of this title.  So again, there is not a certifying body for herbalists in the USA correct?

[HomeGrown Forum Robot :)Moderator]

Greetings, wellness seeker! Together, let’s write a herbal chapter in your story. Beep boop.

~Empowering herbal enthusiasts, one forum thread at a time!

Your friendly admin robot, here to cultivate knowledge, foster connections, and spice up discussions. Let's navigate the herb-infused world together.

Cheers, the HGH Student-Forum's diligent guardian.

[LarissaStudent]

Violet,

I had the exact same question and get the feeling it’s kind of the wild, wild West out there. I’m brand new to all of this and found my way to this course as an extension of my love for gardening. One day I ran out of bug spray, so I looked online for a  homemade recipe and, voila, I now want to be an herbalist!

Nice to meet you, Violet!

Larissa

[VioletStudentTopic Author]

Hi Larissa,  gardening is a great topic to extend into herbal study.  I hope you will be set for bug season.  Nice to meet you!  I too have a passion for gardening.

Violet

[Geneva BivensStudent]

Hi Violet,

Schools of herbal / botanical medicine are the “certifying” body, issuing certificates of completion for individuals like us taking this course.

Certificate of completion = certification / certified.

For instance, when each of us passes this course after completing all of the requirements to do so, and receive our certificate we’ll be considered ‘Certified Clinical Herbalist’.

The same goes for other courses in different areas of expertise like Quality in manufacturing. For ISO9000 or QS9000 certification, The head of the quality department and employees must complete the necessary quality training and receive a certificate of completion, to be certified in ISO or QS.

Years ago as a System Administrator I had to take classes to become certified in Network Administration, different types of software, hardware, etc…all of those certifications in addition to my college degree.

Hope the way that I said all of that makes sense, and helps answer your question(s).

 

[VioletStudentTopic Author]

Hi Geneva,

Thank you for your thoughts on the question of certificate vs certified.

Violet

[Greg BoggsStudent]

As far as I know there is no official certifying body in the USA for herbalists, however, I think the importance of the certificate comes from the validity of the school, and really I think that is the case with any “degree” as well. Personally, I don’t care at all if someone’s degree is from an accredited college or not, I care about the standards that that college has. There are a few places I know of that have certificates they hand out for completion of their herbalism classes. If I see someone who has a certificate that comes from a school where they teach herbal stuff as well as pagan/occult things, I don’t care that they have a certificate, I’m going to avoid them. Because I know the work that goes in to gaining a certificate from this school (HGH), that means much more to me than a certificate from a school I don’t know about. I guess this is a huge rabbit trail to your question haha, so to bring it back to the beginning, no there isn’t an official body for certification.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Greg Boggs.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Wanda Breighner

[VioletStudentTopic Author]

Hi Greg,

Thank you for you insight.  For sure, learning about a school and their objectives is important.  I agree with you about not needing to be accredited; it’s more about what the education entails.  And I think that it is a good thing there is not an ‘official’ body to certify herbalists in the USA.

Thank you again,

Violet

[Author]

Posts