Family Herbal Medicine Since 2003
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Marcia Dixon graduated from the four-year Bachelor of Science in Herbal Medicine program of study and clinical training offered by the College of Phytotherapy (now University of East London) in 2003. She then completed a two and half year Masters of Science in Herbal Medicine from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine, graduating in 2008. Marcia is an approved clinical supervisor for students of herbal medicine attending Dominion Herbal College. She also teaches people in her community how to use commonly found herbs. Marcia is a member the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) and the Ontario Herbalists Association (OHA). Marcia’s journey into the practice of Herbal Medicine Childhood atopic eczema gave Marcia a first-hand experience with herbal medicine. Her parents chose to use herbs, whole foods and nutritional supplements to treat the eczema, thus eliminating the need for a long-term commitment to steroid creams. Marcia’s interest in understanding herbal medicine budded in adolescence, and by the time she completed high school she thought she had read nearly every book available on the topic. Herbs were her passion. While living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Marcia took a correspondence course through the Wild Rose College in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which further fueled her desire for knowledge in herbal medicine. She then discovered Gaia Garden Herbal Dispensary. Marcia was awestruck by the herbal dispensary, complete with hundreds of dried herbs and tinctures. Her apprenticeship began. During the year she was there, she learned more than she could have imagined, so much information about herbs that far exceeded what she had found in the books that she had read. Best of all, Marcia discovered that there were formal education programs available to people who want an in-depth and intensive herbal medicine education. The College of Phytotherapy offered a rigorous four-year B.Sc degree in Herbal Medicine, including clinical training. Marcia completed the B.Sc. with a thesis on the use of herbs in the treatment of type-two diabetes. The Scottish School of Herbal Medicine program explores Goethean science and pursues an integrative approach to herbal medicine by combining Western herbal medicine (Humoral medicine) and the eastern philosophies of traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. For her M.Sc. thesis Marcia deepened her research into the herbalist’s approach to glucose control in type-two diabetes. Marcia formally began her herbal practice in 2003 and has an office in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Informal Studies Marcia’s international travel and study has introduced her to plants and practitioners from many different parts of the world. In addition to her formal study years, she has also traveled to Central and South America where she had an opportunity to learn about how other cultures use herbs. One such excursion took Marcia to Wilson’s Botanical Gardens in Costa Rica, where she studied medicinal plants and participated in the maintenance of the medicinal herb garden for 2.5 months. Another trip took her to Peru where the American Botanical Association hosted a credit course in the Amazon called ‘Pharmacy in the Rainforest’. Marcia Dixon is a member of two professional associations: the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) and the Ontario Herbalist Association (OHA). |