About Helen
Helen Rideout
Why I Became a Herbalist
My deep love of plants stems from my childhood. I grew up in the countryside, where I spent much of my time outdoors, taking joy in learning about different plants. I believe each plant has a distinct personality, and I loved researching their different traits and growing patterns.
My Nana lived in North Somerset where I would spend much of my holidays. At the age of 6 I won the local village competition for finding, naming and sketching wildflowers. This experience shaped my childhood as it inspired me to tune in to the local ecosystem and the plants growing in nature.
Connecting with plants holds a personal note for me, as much of my childhood was spent learning about plants and gardening from my parents. I spent quality time with my dad in the garden and helped my mum in her vegetable patch where I learnt much of what I know today. To this day it is something which brings me joy and although I now live in the city, I still find time to grow my own herbs and vegetables on my allotment.
At university I studied French and German but I knew this wasn’t where my passion lay. Whilst fundraising for Greenpeace, I met a herbalist couple who explained to me what being a medical herbalist entailed and I knew instantly this what was I wanted to do. I rushed to the library to google herbalism courses as this was before the age of home internet! After moving to Bristol and completing a couple of weekend courses I knew I wanted to go deeper and enrolled back into University to complete a BSc in Medical Herbalism.
After completing the four-year degree training I went on to work at an organic farm where I then set up my first practice in 2008 in Wells, Glastonbury. Follow on 5 years and I followed my heart further north to Leeds and Bradford where my practice really took off. I also began teaching other herbal medicine students and joined a co-op of holistic therapists. As a collective we provided free healthcare to asylum seekers and refugees, and we also received funding to take on referrals from local GPs. This experience ignited my passion for supporting people who wouldn’t normally have access to alternative therapies. Many of the patients we saw suffered from chronic pain and fatigue and felt let down by allopathic medicine, we offered an alternative which helped to drastically improve their conditions.
After a few years I returned to Bristol where I currently practice from. I now see a wide range of patients from different backgrounds, teach herbal medicine students and have continued my work with local charities to provide healthcare for asylum seekers and refugees. I have a beautiful treatment room in Central Bristol on the Harbourside with my own herbal dispensary. I offer all my patients a confidential and supportive space in relaxed environment surrounded by the herbs.
You can learn more about how a herbal consultation can help you here and discover my upcoming educational events.