This episode shares more about Nicole and the Solidarity Apothecary, what the Herbalism, PTSD and Traumatic Stress course is and isn't and the commonly asked questions about the course!

Links & resources from this episode

• Herbalism, PTSD and Traumatic Stress Course – https://solidarityapothecary.org/herbalismandptsdcourse/
• Join the course waiting list – https://mailtrain.solidarityapothecary.org/subscription/fmbLcOZlJ

Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/

Support the show

Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.

Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism Podcast with your host, Nicole Rose from the

Solidarity Apothecary.

This is your place for all things plants and

liberation.

Let's get started.

Hello.

Welcome back to the Frontline Herbalism

podcast.

So this is next in the little series which is

taking a deep dive into what the herbalism, PTSD and traumatic stress course is all about.

So so far I've already talked about like the modules and the content and the sort of

transformation you'll get if you join the course.

And then I've shared an episode all about like how this sliding scale works and yeah, next

I'm going to talk a little bit about myself and what the course kind of is and isn't and

then I'm going to,

yeah, go through some commonly asked questions and, yeah, talk about what others have said

about the course.

I'll see how long this gets.

I might need to chop it up into another part, but I will, yeah, I'll do my best.

So this I'm kind of reading from the course information page on my website and I'll just,

you know, add in all extras as well.

So in case you haven't come across my work

before, or me or the Solitary Apothecary,

I'll share a little bit about who I am.

So, yeah, I'm a clinical herbalist and I'm an

anarchist organiser based in the west country of England.

My lineages are English, Welsh and Irish and I've been studying herbal medicine informally

for over 15 years and completed a four year clinical training with the Plant Medicine

School in Ireland to deepen my practice.

So as a herbalist I focus on supporting people experiencing state violence,

most of whom live with debilitating PTSD or are surviving ongoing traumatic stress.

So for better or worse, prison has shaped my adult life.

I've spent over 20 years now supporting partners, friends and comrades inside.

I also served a three and a half year prison sentence myself, following like a major wave

of state repression against a campaign I was involved in to close down Europe's largest

animal testing company.

And throughout my sentence, like plants sustain me.

And years later I wrote the Prisoner's Herbal, which is a book now distributed for free to

prisoners worldwide.

I'm also the author of Overcoming Burnout,

which explores burnout recovery in the context of like, systemic forces such as classism,

sexism, poverty, chronic illness,

ableism and power dynamics in groups, amongst a bunch of other themes.

And the book centres like collective care and mutual aid as essential parts of healing.

And finally, I also wrote or kind of edited a Book called Herbalism and State Violence, a

book examining how herbal medicine can be used as a tool of resistance and survival for those

impacted by policing, incarceration and repression.

It explores the ways state violence affects the body and how plant medicines can support

people navigating its physical and emotional toll.

So you can find all of that jazz on the Solidarity Apothecary website.

So why do I do this work? So, in 2016, I got sick, really sick.

My life became a blur of NHS appointments, fear and confusion.

Accessing alternative healthcare, including herbalists, was a constant financial struggle

that delayed my recovery.

And when I did manage to see practitioners,

the experience often felt so alienating.

As a working class person raised by a single

mum, it seemed like they couldn't comprehend what I'd been through.

State repression, abuse, sexual violence, poverty and incarceration.

It felt like we were on different planets.

And it took me years to fully understand how traumatic stress shapes the body and to find

my own way through, like, a complex PTSD diagnosis.

And as I developed my practice, I just kept wishing there was, like, an accessible online

resource that I could share, something to help people make sense of their distress and see

that change as possible.

I believe people deserve direct access to this knowledge about their own bodies, about plant

medicines, about how to make medicines themselves.

So I created this course.

Plants have kept me alive.

I know they can support you too.

So, yeah, what this course is and isn't,

you know, I know this sales page is pretty, pretty, like, beefy in terms of text, but,

like, I just didn't want to, like, exploit or lie to people, you know, about what it is and

isn't.

So, yeah, what I've written here is, as someone who has lived with ptsd, I know what

it's like to be in an app, to be in absolute despair, so desperate for relief that I'd

spend everything I had to feel even slightly different.

I've gone in, into debt, investing in online programs, rapid therapies or whatever was on

offer, just hoping something would work.

I never want anyone to pay for this course under false premises, so I want to be

completely transparent about what it can and cannot offer.

Too many online courses and coaches promise the world for a hefty price tag.

It's one of the worst capitalist marketing tactics and I refuse to exploit, deceive or

manipulate anyone.

Okay, so what this course is not like, this program is not like, quote, unquote, the

solution.

Like, you're not going to watch a few videos

and suddenly be free from ptsd, right?

So, as we explore in the Course like trauma recovery is complex.

Like our bodies are unique, we experience distress in different ways, and healing, which

is like, you know, minefield, imperfect term often requires like an entire ecosystem of

support that might include, for example, therapy or dietary changes, herbal medicine,

embodied practices, friendships,

as well as, you know, political organizing and more.

So this course is like not a replacement for therapy or any other trauma recovery approach,

nor does it like, provide a qualification to work as a herbalist or trauma professional.

But it can for sure, like complement any studies or work you're already doing in these

fields.

So yeah, about my scope of practice.

So I share this knowledge as a clinical

herbalist.

I'm not a therapist.

I haven't had the financial resources to complete lengthy trauma recovery

qualifications.

But I have spent thousands of hours in self education trying to understand how trauma

shapes the body.

Throughout this course, I provide detailed references and resources from trauma

professionals with many letters after their names.

But my knowledge is also lived and embodied.

Learn, quote unquote, in the trenches.

So in prison, I worked as a listener with the Samaritans, sometimes spending over 30 hours a

week with suicidal and deeply distressed women, hearing stories of unimaginable pain.

For over 20 years, I've supported people in prison who are pushed to the limits of what

humans can endure.

I've worked with thousands of refugees in a

mobile herbal clinic, supporting those fleeing war, including many escaping the invasion of

Ukraine.

I've supported people experiencing repression, gifting medicine to families devastated by

grief.

I've worked with people healing from prison,

addiction and childhood trauma, helping them reclaim their sleep, rediscover rest, and

slowly learn to inhabit what feels like a new body.

I have seen plants work their magic over and over again, and it's with this deep confidence

I offer this course.

So what this course does offer.

So this course is an opportunity to expand and

deepen your knowledge of plant medicines.

It's an invitation to transform the way you

understand trauma.

I truly believe plants can and do radically change lives, bringing people into a world of

pleasure, purpose, connection, and healing.

Herbs have tangible, direct effects on our bodies and have been used across every

continent for thousands of years.

In the words of Potawatomi author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, in some native languages,

the term for plants translates to those who take care of us.

Plants take care of each other, their ecosystems, and they take care of us too.

In prison courtyards and refugee camps, when fleeing war zones, and when working towards a

world free of domination, exploitation and oppression, I hope they can take care of you

too.

Okay, so I've Already talked about the bonuses on another episode.

But just gentle recap.

Anyone that joins the waiting list a week

before the course opens can win this amazing curated kit of herbal medicines with herbs

from the course.

And anyone who joins the course on the first day it opens.

And I mean that at like any sliding scale, you can win a potential free spot on the Practical

Medicine Making Intensive.

Okay,

so now I'm just going to run through some of the commonly asked questions.

So how much does the course cost? I answered this in the last episode.

It is a sliding scale from 0 up to 375 for people that are very financially resourced or

living off inheritance things like this.

How long will I have access to the course? So you have lifetime access to the course

materials, including any future updates.

And obviously that's lifetime access based on

how long the Solidarity Apothecary exists.

But I have no desire to stop doing it so far.

So yeah, it's still there for you.

And yeah, you can complete the course like at your own pace and revisit the content whenever

you need.

When does it start and finish? So it kind of opens for enrollment at

different times through the year, which means I'm available for questions and admin support

when new people are joining.

But other times it's, you know, it's not available to access.

But if you've enrolled, then you have instant access basically to the course straight away.

What is the structure of the course? So it consists of eight comprehensive modules

that explore how trauma shapes the body and how we can reclaim it and reshape it.

So this includes 60 video lessons and 32 in depth plant profiles covering all the things,

you know, things like nervous system physiology,

herbalism and trauma recovery.

And yet you can hear about that in the first

episode talking about the herbalism PTSD course.

So what types of learning materials are included?

So you have your video lessons which you can't download unfortunately, but you can watch them

on the website.

You can download the slides, you can download

audio files, you can download transcripts, and then you have this whole like resource drive

of lists and recommended reading and journal papers,

things like that.

So yeah, there's something for all the

different learning styles and also the.

Oh, there's a question here about captions.

Okay, can I get a refund if I'm unhappy?

So yeah, I really encourage you to read the course page, really think about it, make an

informed decision before you enroll.

Because yeah, I am a kind of like under capitalized femme.

So I, you know, I've got limited financial resources and someone paying Full price and

then wanting a refund is like, it does have, like, quite a huge effect on me.

But if you are, like, unsatisfied with your purchase, then if you can contact me within,

like, the first 14 days of enrolling.

Like, if you enroll and then you log in and

you're like, no, this isn't for me, I will 100% give you a refund.

Okay, when does the course start and finish?

Oh, I've repeated that one.

I have to edit the course page.

Okay.

Do the videos have captions?

Yep.

So every video has closed captions.

Is there a community or group component to the course?

So no, there is not.

I've talked about this before, but basically I

spent a long time talking to folks when kind of designing the course.

And it was clear that people were like, not keen on, like, group interactions or

information overwhelming, you know, like forums and messages and discord servers and

stuff.

So, yeah, the self paced learning model

creates spaciousness and slowness, which are important for folks with an overwhelmed

nervous system.

I want this course to feel like a nice cup of herbal tea in bed in the morning, in quiet.

I mean, it's not quiet if you have kids in the morning.

But yeah, I want you to, you know, have no pressure, no stress, no obligation, no

achievement pressure, and just kind of be able to interact with it as a kind of nourishing

experience.

I don't have ptsd.

Can I still do this course?

Yes.

The herbs are covered.

Herbs covered in the course are valuable for managing everyday stress, like, which is all

of us, not just ptsd.

So one of the goals is to help you build a herbal medicine cabinet that supports you

through your nervous system, through your entire life's challenges.

And there's also additional, like, herbalism topics, right?

Like medicine making and herbal safety and constitutions and herbal energetics and tissue

states.

And yeah, so it's kind of beneficial for

everyone, like, interested in plant medicine.

I'm new to herbalism.

Is this course for me?

Absolutely.

It is perfect for you.

You know, the course is structured to build knowledge in layers, revisiting key concepts

over time.

And a comprehensive glossary is included to ensure accessibility.

And I've designed it to the content to be as clear and approachable as possible.

If you're just starting your herbalism journey, this course will provide a strong

foundation and accelerate your learning.

And when I read through some of the

testimonials, you'll see that's like, the main thing that people keep saying is, like, how

accessible the content is.

You know, like, I love organizing Information, you know, I'm ****** Aquarius or Gemini

Ascendant.

Like, I'm all about organizing the

information.

So I like it to look pretty with nice plant pictures and I like diagrams and I like memes

and I like, you know, making vast, complicated information, like, more simple and accessible.

I'm definitely not a waffler.

You'll probably laugh at that if you're

listening to this podcast, being like Nicole, you are.

But yeah, I'm trying to make it as clear and structured and accessible as possible.

Okay. I'm an experienced herbalist.

Will I still benefit from this course 100%.

So, you know, many herbalists, unfortunately, like, do discuss trauma in very limited ways,

if at all, if I'm honest.

Like, I didn't have much kind of,

yeah, luck of having kind of clinical training where there was like an in depth analysis

around trauma,

which, you know, actually there was a module in the plant medicine school training which

was like, really fantastic from this tutor called Jane, all about the nervous system and

herbs and endocrinology and stuff, which actually was really superb.

But I mean, in terms of this, like, political context of trauma.

But I think it is essential if anyone is supporting clients or organizing any kind of

community support.

Right.

The thing that this course does differently is it brings together herbalism and trauma

studies in a real kind of unique, in depth way, particularly focusing on the nervous

system.

So this kind of like nervine deep dive

modules, like, they offer like, advanced insights into plant actions,

indications and considerations that even like experienced herbalists may not have

encountered in this specific context.

Like, because like I've said, you know, I've

worked at a clinic in Poland, seeing thousands of people coming from Ukraine, and I've seen

like the difference that herbs make for them.

I've worked in a clinic in Calais serving like thousands of patients in, you know, in more of

a, like, acute herbal medicine, like, first aid context.

But you're still constantly interacting with people who have experienced, like, significant

trauma and seeing how, you know, a bottle of lavender can support someone to sleep for the

first time properly in months,

for example.

So kind of littered in the course is like lots

of my own examples from my own practice and my own organizing and solidarity work.

And, you know, oh, this prisoner had this experience with this plan or, you know, like,

this person who was like, recovering from methadone withdrawals in prison,

found that this was effective, blah, blah, blah.

Like, I think every teacher, right, will integrate their own anecdotes into their

learning, into their teaching.

And I think I try and also do that.

So you are getting this kind of like,

kind of bigger picture of herbalism and trauma in like a super, super tangible, practical

way.

Okay, next question.

What support is available during the course?

So I'm available to answer questions via email.

I talk about this in the introduction lesson and unfortunately I have like a two week

guideline of like it can take me that long to get to people.

And that unfortunately is even harder now with the baby.

But yeah, I'm doing my best to always reply to folks.

Okay, can I just learn this information from a. So you are very welcome to try.

Over the past 15 plus years I have literally explored every resource I could find on this

topic,

piecing together knowledge from herbalism, trauma studies and structural anti oppression

frameworks.

And you know, there are so many excellent

books on herbalism and trauma separately.

Very few kind of integrate them,

especially in a way that acknowledges the larger systemic forces that contribute to

trauma rather than just focusing on like individual physiology or experience.

So the thing, the reason I love online courses is like I love that someone's already done

like mountains of work and education and they're kind of giving you the things that are

like the synopsis of their journey.

Does that make sense? So I think it's like a nice structured way

that you can dive into this material rather than just like constantly kind of foraging and

building those scraps on your own.

Does that make sense?

Okay, when will the course be available again? If I don't enroll now?

So like I said, enrollment for this session is open from Saturday, March 22nd until Sunday,

April 12th and the next enrollment period will likely be October, November 2025.

So yeah, to receive updates on that, please join my newsletter.

How can I enroll in the course? So when it goes live on Saturday, March 22,

all the pink buttons that say Join the waiting list will link to the the page in the

Solidarity Path query store and you can basically access the course, purchasing it or

using the Solidarity price code.

And then you'll get like an automated flow of emails welcoming you to the course and then

you're just in and it's just done like that.

So yeah, so that will come Live on Saturday, March 22.

How does the sliding scale work? So I've just put a link on the page to the

PTSD Solidarity Places like info page and you can listen to the last episode which is all

about the sliding scale and then help.

My card payment is not working.

So please, if you have any problem, trouble.

Problem, wow, that's like a great new word, trouble or problem with your cards, then

please Email us.

And me or the wonderful Chantal, who helps manage my emails, who manages the support

inbox, will get back to you.

It's a long story, but basically, my website is just, like, so frustrating of sometimes the

store just works really consistently, and, you know, people buy ebooks or make a donation and

it's fine, and then other times, it just doesn't work.

And then I ask people, okay, what card are you using?

And they give me this information, and then it's like someone else with the exact same

card from the exact same country has tried, and it's not worked.

So I am praying I have launched.

I am launching this in Mercury retrograde.

So wish me luck.

So I'm hoping everything will be smooth, but if it's not, then contact us.

Like, we're not gonna not let you access the course.

Does that make sense?

Okay, I'm gonna see how long this is now.

Wow. This is like 20 minutes.

Okay, so I'm gonna stop here, and then I'm

gonna record another episode about what others have said about the course, and I'm gonna read

some of their testimonials.

So thank you so much for listening.

Yeah. Please sign up if you're interested.

It is, yeah, a wonderful offering.

And all the income I receive goes to paying myself and allowing me to do this work.

And it all goes on covering the project costs of the solid apothecary, whether that's making

medicine for people in Calais,

or whether that's making herbal care packages going for people experiencing state

repression, or that's getting books to prisoners like.

Or, you know, it's paying for the cost of hosting this podcast.

And hopefully, as I have more childcare, I'll be interviewing and amplifying different

herbalists projects from around the world.

So thank you for your support.

Yeah. Please check out the next episode, too.

All right, thanks.

Take care.

Thanks so much for listening to the Frontline Herbalism podcast.

You can find the transcript, the links, all the resources from the

show@solidarityapothecary.org podcast.