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70 | Knowing when to be done with an herbal formula
When a client's taking an herbal formula that seems to be resonating with them, they'll often want to know how long they should plan on continuing with the formula.
When I first started practicing, I'd often give them a semi-standard answer centering around herbs taking time to work, guesstimates based on previous clients, etc. Since then, I've found an approach that feels more aligned with the way I want to practice, which I've described in this episode.
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Transcript
Camille (00:00)
Well, hi there. Welcome to In the Clinic with Camille. My name is Camille Freeman. I'm a licensed nutritionist and registered herbalist. In this podcast, I share little tips and tidbits that might be interesting or helpful for other practitioners.
Camille (00:21)
Well, hi there. Today, I wanted to share a framework for a conversation that I often have with clients in case it's helpful to you in your own work. Before I get into the conversation, I want to preface it by saying that my understanding of the work that I'm doing with people or one of the main things that I think I'm doing with my clients is helping people to better understand what their body is noticing and asking for. You could think of this as a type of mindfulness. You could also think of this as a tuning in to the importance of what your body is experiencing, how it's experiencing that in relation to the world around you, include your physical environment, indoors and outdoors, the changing seasons, community, family, that thing. One of the things that we're doing is really listening very carefully. I'm listening to them, and I'm asking them to listen very carefully to their bodies about what's coming up.
Camille (01:20)
How do we get feedback about what's working and what's not working, and how do we notice what's being called for in any particular moment? Again, that's one of the big things that I think people take away from our work together. I hope that they take away from our work together. It's one of those things that sounds pretty straightforward. Why would you need to pay somebody to do that? When you start doing it, it turns out it's more complicated than that. Anywho, back to the main point of this conversation, which is a lot of times a client will ask me, especially in the first visit or as we are starting our work together, they'll say, Well, how long do you think I need to take these herbs for? At first, when I was newer into practice, I would say, Oh, herbs typically take several, depending on how long things have been going on, we might find that we need several months. If you notice something right away, that's usually a good sign that we're moving in the right direction. I'd give them a little bit of a framework like that based on my experience, my limited client experience at that time, and then what I had learned from my teachers and so forth.
Camille (02:26)
Over time, my response has evolved a little bit. Now what I say to people, especially if they've already tried some herbs and they're saying like, Oh, I'm feeling pretty good. I think these are helping at least a little bit. How long do you think I need to keep taking them for? Now what I say is your body will tell you when you're done taking them. I think for some people, that's a foreign concept, and it works really, really well. The way that I explain this to my clients, and what I've noticed in my clinical practice, is that when your body is done with a formula, especially a formula that you've been taking for months at a time, what will happen is either you just won't feel like making the formula or taking the formula some days. You'll wake up and you'll be like, Oh, I normally love making my herbal tea, and today I just want something a little different. Or you will forget about it. You normally take it every day religiously, and then somehow it turns out it's been a week or two and you haven't. You taking herbs. I tell people, if that's something that happens and you haven't noticed any decline in your health and the way that you're feeling, that probably means that your body was done with that formula for right now.
Camille (03:43)
Sometimes, perfect, carry on, go about your normal life. Sometimes that's a sign that we may want to switch things up a little bit, and the person still wants to be working with herbs, but maybe they're done with that particular formula, so we do something that's got a substantially different flavor profile. Maybe we move from something that is more leaf and flower-based to something that's more root-based as the seasons change, or maybe we do a different preparation type, like they're sick of making a tea, so maybe we try a tincture or powder, something like that. But really asking people to notice when your body feels like it's done, I have found, is one of the most effective ways to not only have people get an answer to their question, but also to, again, help them, encourage them to really be listening. So your body is done with it. It's just done. And I think we've all gotten to places like that where we love something for a long time. I think this happens with music as well. You're really into a certain album or a certain artist and you just can't get enough. And then over time, it's just that phase has passed and you're on to something else that supports you in a different way in a different time.
Camille (04:55)
So circumstances have changed. So maybe this is something that's helpful for you and your work with clients that you can think about, how do you know when somebody's done with their formula? How do you know when it's time to switch it up? Obviously, we use our clinical judgment. If we're not seeing the types of results that we might expect, we can change things up well before the client might notice. But if you've got a formula, you feel like it's a good fit for the person, you're noticing the types of changes you want to see, then my default is just keep going until your body tells you you're done with it. The caveat here, of course, is that this is when you are working with herbs that are safe for long-term use. These are things that you feel really comfortable with people using for the long-term. Obviously, there are some exceptions where we wouldn't want somebody to take it indefinitely, no matter what their body was thinking. But for the most part, once I have somebody on a long-term formula and it's resonating with them, it's feeling good, I just have them write it out. I have noticed that there are some clients where, yes, maybe around a season, two or three months is when they start to feel like, Okay, yeah, I think I've ridden this one to the end of the line, and I'm ready to either get off the train or change lines a little bit and do something different.
Camille (06:08)
Or there's some people, especially people who are dealing with something that's more long term, more chronic, maybe more depleted, whatever it is, I found that some clients are good on a formula for years. Even if you think it's not going to, eventually it does happen where they're like, Oh, yeah. Okay, now I think I'm done with this. Sometimes you can start second guessing and being like, Oh, maybe we should change it up. But if they really feel like, Yeah, my body is still wanting this one, I have them just keep going. Again, sometimes it's been a year or more that people have been on basically the same formula until they decide or they notice that it's time to switch things up. Anyway, that's a little tweak that I have made in the way that I work with clients. Maybe it'll be helpful for you. If you have any thoughts on this, I'd love to them, pro or con. Otherwise, have a great rest of your week, and I will be back soon with another episode. All right, take care. Thanks for listening to In the Clinic with Camille. Hey, did you know that I write a weekly practitioner note for herbalists and nutritionists?
Camille (07:23)
If you would like to get that in your inbox, you can sign up at www.camillefreeman.com/newsletter. Love to have you join us there.
Well, hi there. Welcome to In the Clinic with Camille. My name is Camille Freeman. I'm a licensed nutritionist and registered herbalist. In this podcast, I share little tips and tidbits that might be interesting or helpful for other practitioners.
Camille (00:21)
Well, hi there. Today, I wanted to share a framework for a conversation that I often have with clients in case it's helpful to you in your own work. Before I get into the conversation, I want to preface it by saying that my understanding of the work that I'm doing with people or one of the main things that I think I'm doing with my clients is helping people to better understand what their body is noticing and asking for. You could think of this as a type of mindfulness. You could also think of this as a tuning in to the importance of what your body is experiencing, how it's experiencing that in relation to the world around you, include your physical environment, indoors and outdoors, the changing seasons, community, family, that thing. One of the things that we're doing is really listening very carefully. I'm listening to them, and I'm asking them to listen very carefully to their bodies about what's coming up.
Camille (01:20)
How do we get feedback about what's working and what's not working, and how do we notice what's being called for in any particular moment? Again, that's one of the big things that I think people take away from our work together. I hope that they take away from our work together. It's one of those things that sounds pretty straightforward. Why would you need to pay somebody to do that? When you start doing it, it turns out it's more complicated than that. Anywho, back to the main point of this conversation, which is a lot of times a client will ask me, especially in the first visit or as we are starting our work together, they'll say, Well, how long do you think I need to take these herbs for? At first, when I was newer into practice, I would say, Oh, herbs typically take several, depending on how long things have been going on, we might find that we need several months. If you notice something right away, that's usually a good sign that we're moving in the right direction. I'd give them a little bit of a framework like that based on my experience, my limited client experience at that time, and then what I had learned from my teachers and so forth.
Camille (02:26)
Over time, my response has evolved a little bit. Now what I say to people, especially if they've already tried some herbs and they're saying like, Oh, I'm feeling pretty good. I think these are helping at least a little bit. How long do you think I need to keep taking them for? Now what I say is your body will tell you when you're done taking them. I think for some people, that's a foreign concept, and it works really, really well. The way that I explain this to my clients, and what I've noticed in my clinical practice, is that when your body is done with a formula, especially a formula that you've been taking for months at a time, what will happen is either you just won't feel like making the formula or taking the formula some days. You'll wake up and you'll be like, Oh, I normally love making my herbal tea, and today I just want something a little different. Or you will forget about it. You normally take it every day religiously, and then somehow it turns out it's been a week or two and you haven't. You taking herbs. I tell people, if that's something that happens and you haven't noticed any decline in your health and the way that you're feeling, that probably means that your body was done with that formula for right now.
Camille (03:43)
Sometimes, perfect, carry on, go about your normal life. Sometimes that's a sign that we may want to switch things up a little bit, and the person still wants to be working with herbs, but maybe they're done with that particular formula, so we do something that's got a substantially different flavor profile. Maybe we move from something that is more leaf and flower-based to something that's more root-based as the seasons change, or maybe we do a different preparation type, like they're sick of making a tea, so maybe we try a tincture or powder, something like that. But really asking people to notice when your body feels like it's done, I have found, is one of the most effective ways to not only have people get an answer to their question, but also to, again, help them, encourage them to really be listening. So your body is done with it. It's just done. And I think we've all gotten to places like that where we love something for a long time. I think this happens with music as well. You're really into a certain album or a certain artist and you just can't get enough. And then over time, it's just that phase has passed and you're on to something else that supports you in a different way in a different time.
Camille (04:55)
So circumstances have changed. So maybe this is something that's helpful for you and your work with clients that you can think about, how do you know when somebody's done with their formula? How do you know when it's time to switch it up? Obviously, we use our clinical judgment. If we're not seeing the types of results that we might expect, we can change things up well before the client might notice. But if you've got a formula, you feel like it's a good fit for the person, you're noticing the types of changes you want to see, then my default is just keep going until your body tells you you're done with it. The caveat here, of course, is that this is when you are working with herbs that are safe for long-term use. These are things that you feel really comfortable with people using for the long-term. Obviously, there are some exceptions where we wouldn't want somebody to take it indefinitely, no matter what their body was thinking. But for the most part, once I have somebody on a long-term formula and it's resonating with them, it's feeling good, I just have them write it out. I have noticed that there are some clients where, yes, maybe around a season, two or three months is when they start to feel like, Okay, yeah, I think I've ridden this one to the end of the line, and I'm ready to either get off the train or change lines a little bit and do something different.
Camille (06:08)
Or there's some people, especially people who are dealing with something that's more long term, more chronic, maybe more depleted, whatever it is, I found that some clients are good on a formula for years. Even if you think it's not going to, eventually it does happen where they're like, Oh, yeah. Okay, now I think I'm done with this. Sometimes you can start second guessing and being like, Oh, maybe we should change it up. But if they really feel like, Yeah, my body is still wanting this one, I have them just keep going. Again, sometimes it's been a year or more that people have been on basically the same formula until they decide or they notice that it's time to switch things up. Anyway, that's a little tweak that I have made in the way that I work with clients. Maybe it'll be helpful for you. If you have any thoughts on this, I'd love to them, pro or con. Otherwise, have a great rest of your week, and I will be back soon with another episode. All right, take care. Thanks for listening to In the Clinic with Camille. Hey, did you know that I write a weekly practitioner note for herbalists and nutritionists?
Camille (07:23)
If you would like to get that in your inbox, you can sign up at www.camillefreeman.com/newsletter. Love to have you join us there.
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