Macclesfield resident Cath Couzens trained as a medical herbalist following a life-changing experience, and now helps others to feel better and spread the word of the power of plants
Photos: Karen Staniland Platt
Herbalism is the world’s oldest form of medicine and has healing power we have somehow overlooked in our rush to modernise everything we do. Cath Couzens, who qualified as a medical herbalist in 2022, is the first to admit this is a sad, but accurate, fact and admits that her own first response when herbal medicines were proposed to her was to utterly dismiss the idea.
'In 2017 I was suddenly taken ill. I was admitted to hospital in terrible pain, with suspected gallstones, and given the maximum dose of morphine and tramadol allowed. I was in terrible, terrible pain. They kept me in for week and numerous tests were undertaken, including MRIs and CT scans, each of them showing nothing, so it was a complete mystery. Eventually they had to discharge me, saying I had gastroenteritis. I went to my GP who instigated further tests and investigations, but nothing new came to light. I was in great pain, I couldn’t eat solid food; I lost over three stone and was living on miso soup and pureed foods.
'I was desperate to find a solution; the stress was overwhelming, work was falling apart, my life was falling apart, and a friend suggested I see a herbalist. My immediate reaction was to ask, “why on earth would I do that?”. I was desperate, however, so booked an appointment with a herbalist in Manchester.
'After our consultation he prescribed me a tincture, a powder and a tea. I stuck to it religiously – and it started to work. Within four weeks I was feeling a lot better – I wasn’t in so much pain, I was able to tolerate some solid foods, I felt brighter in myself, my mood had lifted. Within eight weeks I was fully on my way to feeling better, and fully intrigued – how did that work?'
Cath, who lives in and runs her practice from Macclesfield, started her first career in marketing and PR, working for high profile luxury hotels. In 2004 she decided to cross the divide from client to agency, and set up her own company. Her previous employer, The Grove, a luxury spa and golf hotel in Hertfordshire, was her first client, and very quickly more top brands followed.
'By 2017 I was working with a large client base of huge hotel brands and had a team of eight staff. I was on The Hotel Inspector, with Alex Polizzi, and I was travelling all over the world. It was non-stop, and hugely stressful. It got to the point where I would be arriving at my office every morning just feeling like bursting into tears, I felt so stressed and so overwhelmed with everything I was trying to manage and deal with.
'One day I went for lunch with a friend, and the most dreadful pains started in my stomach. I walked myself to Macclesfield Hospital A&E, and the whole journey to a complete career change started there and then.'
Cath’s curiosity started her along the path of research.
'I bought some books and started doing some workshops, I applied to do a course at The Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, and I just loved learning about plants. I was so intrigued about how I got better from taking a tea, a powder and a tincture; I was fascinated to learn more.
'It was like having a door opened into a whole new world I didn’t know existed.'
Herbalism can be described as the original medicine, used for millennia. Many of us will drink a peppermint or ginger tea following a meal, although we may not know why. Peppermint tea can help with indigestion or bloating, while ginger is known to encourage efficient digestion and to help with nausea relief. People drink chamomile tea to feel calm, or take turmeric to help with joint pain and inflammation, use calendula cream to soothe sensitive skin. We don’t necessarily equate this with herbal remedies, but we should, and perhaps open our minds, as Cath did, to the power of plants.
'Looking back, I can see that stress was a huge component of me ending up in hospital. And today stress and emotional wellbeing is one of the most common reasons people come to see me medical herbalist.'
Completely fascinated by the world opening up before her, in 2018 Cath decided to pursue the ultimate professional qualifications and train as a medical herbalist herself.
'People don’t realise the depth and rigour of the training we have to go through – medical training, differential diagnosis, clinical examinations (the same thing every medical doctor has to learn), nutrition, counselling, herbal therapeutics, how to make medicine, herb-drug interactions (what herbal medicines are contra-indicated when taken with medically prescribed medicines) – I didn’t either,' she laughs.
'I undertook my degree-level medical herbalist qualification with Heartwood, one of the leading providers in the UK for herbal medicine. I had wound my agency down, just keeping enough clients to keep me going, closing my Cheshire office and moving everything home. I was still working full-time, but studying in every available moment.
'The course required around 4,000 hours of study, and an additional 500 hours seeing patients, at first as an observer, and then undertaking the consultation and examination, while being observed. I loved that part – I got to shadow and train with herbalists, who all had their own practices and specialisms, all over the UK.
'I qualified in 2022, after very in-depth and intense examinations, including clinical examinations and finals which involved an observed consultation.'
Cath did so well she was awarded the Dorothy Carroll Award for the best clinical examination in that year’s graduating students, and is now, in addition her thriving practice, a personal mentor for the Heartwood medical herbalism course.
'In 2022 I founded my practice, Woodside Apothecary, and very quickly started to build up interest. I also do a lot of public speaking and talks about herbalism to groups all over Cheshire.
'One thing I always really stress in these talks is that if you are considering seeing a herbalist, do your homework first – make sure they’re properly qualified, a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, or similar association.
'We take a very holistic approach to diagnosis. Clients have at least an hour with me in our first consultation, where we will discuss not only the illness that has brought them to me, but their medical history as well as their emotional wellbeing. I also need to check any potential herb-drug interactions as many patients are already taking prescribed medicine.
Cath also offers a 15-minute free discovery call, so that people who are interested, but need more information, can ask the questions before committing to a private consultation.
'With a GP you get around eight minutes,' she says. 'With me, you have 15 minutes to understand what I do, and if I can help, then at least 60 minutes for a holistic consultation, when I will seek to ascertain the root cause of the issue. We don’t treat the symptoms, we treat the cause, which might be physical, or might be emotional – as mine was.
'I see a lot of stressed teenagers and undergraduate students. Most frequently I see people with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, long Covid, digestive issues, perimenopause – insomnia and brain fog in particular.
'We’re also fully trained to spot ‘red flags’. I will refer people to their GP, and will write to my clients’ GPs when I see something I believe needs further investigation. I have had people come to me about blood in their stools – they're frightened and maybe think I will reassure them it’s nothing to worry about. I can send people for blood tests and analyse the results, and will write to their GP to say I have seen them.
'Medical herbalists are not ‘instead of’, we’re ‘as well as’ - complementary to medical doctors, and sometimes, as was the case for my own illness, able to help with conditions caused by stress or anxiety, not by physiological issues.'
To add to her busy, but contentment-inducing, schedule, Cath has now also qualified as the only herbalist in Cheshire to run the official Junior Herbalist Club.
'The aim of JHC is to let children learn about the medicinal plants all around them in a safe and supervised environment, while covertly incorporating core subjects including English, maths, biology, chemistry, botany, Latin and cookery, as well as helping them to gain confidence, improve fine motor control and develop a new skill set. It started in Lancashire in 2014 and was so popular they made it into a two-year course.
'We start this September, at Prestbury Village Hall, and will meet once per month, with 10 sessions over the academic year from September to July, starting on Saturday September 28. I can’t wait. It’s a joy sharing knowledge with children who are eager to learn about plants.
'Herbalism has completely changed my life, in every way.'
