The synergy of two skills , Herbalism and Naturopathy , one more specific and one let’s say “holistic”, allows you to decline science on the person, to bring it closer to the individual and his needs by refining  the herbalist advice and selecting the remedies as if they were a tailor’s suit .

The herbalist

The figure of the herbalist has always been enveloped by an aura of mysticism, magic, but, fortunately, it is now known that there are evident links with science.

If we think of the monks and their herbaria from which they distilled miraculous remedies to cure the wounds of knights struck in combat or magical potions to poison bitter enemies commissioned to self-styled magicians, the step to get to modern times in which one thinks of figures with the smock white and the goggles at the tip of the nose that study manuals and experiment with mixtures in ampoules and flasks is long.

The herbal tradition still uses manuals which, due to their style, layout, images , Latin botanical nomenclatures , maintain an ancient and fascinating flavor.

Herbs for herbal tea, hydroalcoholic extracts, glycerine macerates, dry extracts in capsules, essential oils are mixed with over-the-counter preparations, phytocomplexes that can also be found on supermarket shelves, and this sort of commercial globalization risks debasing the rigorous and prepared by the herbalist but,  fortunately, without too much success.

The consultancy is an added value that transforms the profession of the herbalist technician from an expert in remedies to an expert in wellness and naturopathy, with its course of study, provides an opening key to a world of reading and interpretation of the human being who integrates perfectly with the technical-scientific skills of herbal medicine.

Not all herbalists are naturopaths and not all naturopaths are herbalists , but when these two worlds meet, herbal remedies and naturopathic treatments can be combined by drawing on different “tools” with which to support the well-being of the person.

The Naturopath

The figure of the naturopath moves in the field of prevention and deals with well-being. The disease, the pathology, are of medical relevance and this must be clear both to those who decide to rely on this type of professional, and to those who decide to take up this profession.

Unfortunately, some news events, to be defined as criminal, have cast a shadow on this professional figure and on naturopathy , because some naturopaths have assumed the right to recommend therapies for even very serious and degenerative diseases and perhaps the user was not very clear what was the competence of the subjects to whom he entrusted his state of health.

This premise is necessary to try to frame the naturopath and his work. First of all, the curriculum studiorum provides a path in which topics of anatomy, physiology, psychology, but also philosophy of medicine, herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine are deepened .

At the end of the studies there are specialization courses that, in reality, never end , because a naturopath always takes care of looking for new tools to provide adequate advice, here are some:

> Herbal medicine and phytotherapy;
> flower therapy;
> Ayurvedic massage;
> shiatsu treatments;
> applied kinesiology;
> iridology;
> tuina;
> qi gong;
> foot reflexology.

The greater the knowledge, in a holistic sense, the greater the ability to create relationship bridges between different areas in which the discomfort occurs, whether of a physical, chemical or psychological nature.

The aim is to restore balance where it is lacking, in search of the cause to trigger a path of conscious self-healing.

When the figure of the herbalist merges with that of the naturopath , the tools to identify the remedy or remedies that best suit the client multiply and can represent a valid help to restore the condition of well-being.

The figure of the naturopath is also increasingly considered by the world of traditional medicine and often integrated to support and help those people suffering from chronic diseases who must undergo lifelong pharmacological treatments and who can greatly benefit from rebalancing their condition with the integration of natural disciplines in support of care.