Foundations In Phytotherapy
An online & local apprenticeship open to all people, this offering is designed to engage apprentices in the therapeutic application of plants. It was created as a response to the need for an expansive approach to the use of herbal medicine and plant spirits in North America. Herbalism and plant spirit medicine has a lengthy history that is obscure due to the gradual forgetting of the medicinal foundations of the modern health industry. This apprenticeship is intended to be used in a number of different ways to fulfill the needs of different “herbalists”. It aims to fulfill the needs of the professional health care practitioner, spiritual healer, and student of holistic medicine alike.
This apprenticeship is taught online & in-person. Online apprentices do not have to attend in-person sessions, and in-person apprentices are welcome to join our online live calls, lectures, and demos.
The apprenticeship is a deeply immersive set of modules, which will require you to become fully engaged with the material, studying and learning about the flora and medicine growing in your local vicinity - this apprenticeship offers guidance through that experience. Modules feature pre-recorded videos, plant profiles & monographs, and other learning material. Classes are taught lecture style and also with demonstrations via video by Elsie Lopez. Zoom calls are held every other Thursday some months and one Thursday a month some other months starting December 21st. During the calls, online apprentices commune virtually to share experiences and ask questions. On some Thursdays, the calls are lecture-style. Calls last approximately 2 hours. Assignments and projects are given to help keep you engaged with fully understanding the material. Graduation and certification of completion is held either virtually or in person at a middle ground.
By the end of the apprenticeship, you will be able to:
Articulate the differences between plants within the same plant families.
Understand the components and procedures for creating a healing concoction.
Understand phytochemical herbal energetics.
Create a personal healing plan incorporating the use of plant medicine and natural remedies.
Present, discuss, and explain different methods of making medicine with plants.
Work with plant spirits and herbal energetics to target maladies afflicting the psychoemotional and psychoimaginal realm.
Apply plant frequency to the energetic systems for clearing, aligning, and awakening these centers.
Make healthier choices regarding spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical wellness.
Identify, harvest, dry, and store plants in the bioregion.
Communicate with nature spirits and innerstand approaches in shamanic healing.
Synthesize various traditions of nutrition for healing the various systems of the body.
Consider sustainable living and ecological spirituality as a qualifiable way of existing.
Set solid intentions and plant fruitful seeds.
This apprenticeship is intended to be a profoundly transformative experience which not only aids in shifting or expanding our innerstanding of plants but also enables us to move more deeply into our own purpose. The plants work as our teachers and ancestors, opening portals and doors to levels of wisdom we perhaps had not encountered before. Though we are in deep communion with the earth through this journey, we are also tuning into the multi-dimensional aspect of our being. Through this work, we aim to unite the ancient with the modern, bridging the gaps and creating spaces for continual awakening and wholeness of being through nurturing and community. As apprentices and teachers, we are all family and it is with this spirit that we seek to operate. Through this apprenticeship, you will be introduced to a community of healers and integrated as part of the infinite web of weavers and medicine people.
All of our Zoom classes will be lecture, demonstration, or hands-on field work/medicine making and active meditation on your part. The sessions feature everything from mindfully and ethically harvesting the plants of our local vicinities to formulating medicinal preparations, weaving plant prayers and songs, and even learning tips on wild living survival. Interactions are maintained in between the lectures and you will be able to interact with other apprentices through discussions and providing feedback on projects. Our apprenticeship ends with a graduation. We celebrate, commune with our chosen plant teachers, receive certificates/gifts/acknowledgement, and dance.
CERTIFICATION WILL BE GIVEN UPON COMPLETION OF THE APPRENTICESHIP. THE CERTIFICATION VERIFIES THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED SOME TRAINING IN HERBALISM.
Online apprenticeship sessions are limited to 13-17 students per session. Some educational materials are provided, other optional resources may be purchased by you. The plant medicine may be ethically harvested (free, always leaving a token of gratitude/offering to our Mother Earth) and some will have to be purchased by you at your local herb shop or health food store.
I accept up to three local apprentices at this time. Local apprenticeship includes 18 in-person field & studio sessions, a camping trip at the end of the apprenticeship + a graduation (that online apprentices are welcome to travel to and participate in also), so local apprenticeships pay a $2,500 tuition fee. You are welcome to also apply for a payment plan.
For an additional $35, apprentices have the option of getting an Apprentice box including 3 herb seed varieties, 1 single-plant extract, and 1 herb-infused body oil. Each of the seeds, the extract, and oil feature some of the plants that we will be journeying with throughout the apprenticeship.
APPLICATION IS OPEN.
Dates and Cost:
THE COST FOR THE 2024 ONLINE APPRENTICESHIP IS $2,100*
Apprenticeship duration : 1/30/25 - 10/30/25
Please submit an application.
Payment plans are available for all who enroll*.
What people are saying about Foundations in Phytotherapy:
“This apprenticeship is great. I’ve always been use to encountering people who are seeking for help for their mental and emotional secrets or issues and less than often physical. I haven’t had much knowledge in physical healing besides taking bio classes when I studied Nursing. In the past I wasn’t aware as I am now of the alternative medicines that are out there. This has allowed me to become aware of the huge impact that altering your nutrition and lifestyle habits and using herbal medicine have in helping to prevent many ailments and diseases. To me this means I have grasped an understanding of physical healing, truly. Mental and emotional just comes naturally, its like intuition and being open to attaining knowledge everywhere and from anyone.
Plants are needed to heal and prevent our systems from being in an imbalanced and sick state. Other methods are useful for this but plants provide a natural and preventive remedy that applies to a specific system or organ in the human body. All while taking into consideration the whole person. Seeing someone as a person and taking into consideration other aspects of their life allows you to intuitively know what herb will assist in bringing them into a balanced state. I understand that extensive research should be done. When using plants we have to cater to what would work with the imbalanced person and know that not all plants are compatible with every person. Connecting the chakra energy systems to understand more about an imbalance person may assist in promoting success in healing.
I would recommend this apprenticeship to other people seeking to understand the healing process using herbal medicine and natural science. Elsie has done a great job at relaying information to us and having us reflect on what we are doing. Thank you for all your work. I would make people aware that you’ve done a great job and that what I’m learning is very heart warming and necessary in my journey of healing this world.” - Serah Beckley
“Foundations in Phytotherapy is a very enriching process. Through this, I have learned that true healing is integrative and involves bringing together all of the elements of self into assessment for proper treatment. With Elsie's guidance, I have been able to move closer to a truly holistic lifestyle and even help my family begin to heal some deep generational issues. This apprenticeship is not just about plant medicine, this apprenticeship teaches us about life medicine and being in harmony with the world in a way that we can bring our brightest self to darker spaces. I am really grateful for this opportunity and for being able to be more honest with myself about the work I have to do in myself and the world. I would recommend this apprenticeship to just about anybody. Every family should have an herbalist/person with knowledge of the Earth. The depth of the information we receive is worth every penny.” - Liliana Rojas
"This apprenticeship has allowed me to develop a green thumb. My relationship to the earth has changed in ways that allow me to communicate with what sustains me. Understanding that Nature provides everything for man is the first step in living a healthy balanced life .
My world had to open up in a way I was not use to. I learned that plant medicine can be reflected in many mediums. Through tinctures, teas, oils, ointments, etc the personality of those herbs can be prescribed with powerful healing effects. I've learned that it is way easier to learn the body and give it what nature provides, than to depend on western medicine which does not take care of a persons psyche and spiritual life. This apprenticeship has allowed me to see the role I play in sustaining the earth, and how I can speak its language.
I would recommend this class to anyone that wants to take healing into their own hands. Knowledge gives us so much more power over the direction of our lives."
- Freddie Harris