Herbal Facilitator
Phil’s route to herbal practice has encompassed work as a doctor in hospitals, primary care and unscheduled care settings. Although he now identifies as a herbalist, his experiences in conventional healthcare have equipped him to reference a number of perspectives when supporting people with their health and wellbeing as a herbal practitioner. Phil regards himself as a facilitator for sharing knowledge rather than a teacher. Helping others to shape confidence in their clinical skills has been part of his work in herbal education with a focus on effective history taking and physical examination methods. Among other things he has also presented guidance and created resources for herbalists and herbal students on understanding laboratory blood tests and procedures, recognising serious illness in children, exploring the mechanisms underlying sleep disturbance, and approaching men's health issues - both in terms of physiological wellbeing and also through the lens of perceived masculinities and their impacts on men's mental health and help-seeking behaviours Recently his own career development has focussed on work around equality, diversity, and inclusion with an emphasis on LGBTQIA+ issues.