Personalised healthcare

Whole plant medicine

Health empowerment

Balance

Flower & Root’s core values and ethical principles underpin the philosophy of approach and practice. I am accredited as a herbal medicine practitioner with the Irish Register of Herbalists and also adhere to their professional code of conduct.

Personalised healthcare

Flower & Root takes an individualised approach in consultation and guidance. Our conversations help me to understand your health concerns and experiences, and a herbal medicine or nutritional prescription can be tailored for you based on these discussions. Your unique constitution is taken into account when preparing a medicine plan, for example personal characteristics, strengths, sensitivities and disposition in relation to your health. Standard protocols are not used and no one receives the same prescription. Plants cannot be well likened to pharmaceuticals where one medication may be given for one condition, and so typically several herbs are combined to work in synergy via several mechanism of action. This personalised and multidimensional approach often means improved outcomes, we can see chamomile is helpful for sleep, but may be more effective alongside other relaxants or supporting herbs.

Whole plant preparations

Using whole plant preparations means that the whole part of the plant is used in medicine (often flower, leaf, root, fruit or seed), with the aim of retaining as much of the full chemical spectrum and sensory aspects as possible. Whole plant preparations may sound obvious, but over-the-counter plant extracts may have undergone several industrial processes and had their chemical profiles recreated in a synthetic manner. Compounds may be standardised through processes of wet extraction, drying and spraying to make powder, then combined with other parts, fillers or binders. Flower and Root favours lengthier traditional extraction methods, where large-scale mechanical processing is avoided, to maintain the essence of the plant. Traditional extraction mediums such as water, alcohol, honey, vinegar and oil are used. Carefully grown, harvested and processed organic herbs are preferred for quality, and plant extracts being combined with a medium over a period of time to fully draw out constituents. Considering these elements can help maximise quality and medicinal benefits and the properties of taste and scent are retained, which our bodies respond to readily. Swedish bitters are a well-known example of this, the taste itself enhances our digestive secretions.

Health empowerment

Flower & Root supports health empowerment and believes in the potential for the individual to become more knowledgeable about their body and mind and what works best for them, helping people become more fully connected to their core self. The person’s experience and view is respected and their ability to choose how to be and act. Person centred principles are followed in practice meaning I actively and compassionately listen to your concerns and ask open questions to support a dialogue. There is a focus on understanding your individual likes, dislikes, needs and focus, and collaborating together on next steps, rather than dictating to you from supposed hierarchy. Your experience is important. It is hoped that improved learning and literacy around health can also support clients to advocate for themselves within the wider system.

Balance

Balance over magic bullets. The consultation aims to understand your health, your individual constitution, a timeline of issues, possible root causes or perpetuating factors, what is going on for you in your world. The approach also incorporates traditional energetics and principles of tissue states. These theories consider the physiological cells, tissues and organs of the body, and how to support and bring balance to these through diverse mechanisms of action. It also considers patterns, connections and interactions of the mind and body. Herbs are chosen to encourage and restore equilibrium within the body, rather than medicating or suppressing symptoms in a singular way. Hot burning stomach acidity may be countered opposingly using a combination of calming and soothing herbs to modulate the response but could also incorporate those with properties to tone or coat tissues to promote healing or aid digestion. Diagnoses are considered in terms of what this means to you, and how an imbalance might be best addressed. The symptom patterns which affect you are explored, rather than the label itself. I embrace a creative, integrative and self-empowered approach to health and it can be enlightening to work together to find the options which work for you.

Date: May 2025
Review date: April 2026