Erika is currently accepting new clients. To make an appointment, please write to:
sapelloherbalist@gmail.com

About image


There are so many ways to tell a story. Here's one.

The liminal space where plants and people connect has been a constant thread through my life.

I started learning about herbs in the woods of Central Idaho, saying their names every time we met. Over and over. Learning out of necessity, most of us with no insurance, far from hospitals.

Since then, I've gone to school, worked in an herb store, as a street medic and setting up clinics at actions and demonstrations, in free clinics and outreach programs, doing end of life and elder care, and as farmer/community herbalist.

All of this and so much more has informed my practice of herbalism. Even the times when I have laid this work down have brought me so much insight into this practice, like the lessons of grief and finding the depths of nothing to give. The process of finding my way back.

My ancestral knowledge of plants is not direct. It has been broken by colonialism, famine, patriarchy, so many intentional and unintentional breaks. My lineage of herbalism is problematic. A history of colonizers stealing indigenous knowledge and using it for their benefit. Of farmers looking for home. The broken lines through time of queers finding our way. Of local herbalists and witches disguising their skills, sending messages to the future in song and recipe.

This is the present I find myself in, what I am navigating. I am, everyday, learning, and looking for my way. How can I as a settler-colonizer on occupied land have a right relationship with the plants? With the land? With myself? Other people? I don't have easy answers, and this is something I will be working with and through in so many ways for my whole life. Questioning, wondering, learning, changing.

Something I love about herbalism is that it is a way to see the world. A lens. There is never an end to learning, to growing. For me, it shapes a holistic view of what health means. That health is inheritently communal, about connection. That in order to work with the health of one person, you must look at the bigger picture. Of society. Systems of oppression. Ways we treat each other and the web we all live in.

Some of my teachers and mentors:
The Plants
My clients and my body
Mo O'brien
Darla Torrez
Su Gregerson
Michael Moore (SW School of Botanical Medicine 2005)
Adam Sellers
Chuck Garcia
Lindsey Feldpausch, Mel Kasting and Thomas Easley (Eclectic School of Botanical Medicine, 2020)
And so so many more!
Thank you!



Disclaimer:  Erika Larsen is a complimentary and alternative health care practitioner and is not licensed by the state of New Mexico.  There is currently no license available for the services provided.  All services and treatments provided are complementary or alternative to health care services provided by health care practitioners currently licensed by the state of New Mexico.







Hotlines

Solace Crisis Treatment Center: 24 hour support for northern New Mexicans who have experienced sexual violence and other traumas.  Free.  505 986 5111

National RAINN Hotline: Reroutes you according to your phone number, or the zip code you enter, to a local sexual assault hotline.  800 656 4673

Articles, Apps, Charts, Videos, etc.

Gossypium spp. (Cotton Root Bark): A Symbol of Herbal Resistance,  Karen L. Culpepper https://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/sites/americanherbalistsguild.com/files/sample-articles-pdfs/jahg_autumn_2017_cotton_root_culpepper.pdf 

Queer Attachment: an anti-oppression toolkit for relational healing, Leah Jo Carnine and  Fizz Perkel https://liberationandmedicine.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/queer-attachment-toolkit.pdf 

Interacting Layers of Trauma and Healing (Chart) https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OpKVEVEbE2uou4XUWUHapusp5AVyR8O1ynyyujnlNQk/edit#slide=id.g25c6225f6c_0_0

How Pain Works in the Body https://www.painscience.com/articles/pain-is-weird.php 

Pain Education and Modulation App (some free and some paid content) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/curable-pain-relief/id1325784379

Iliana Hernandez's Living Document on How to Find a Therapist That Works for You https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Z_I_flXF6mL5FC4gQGQsyVBcTjhgsJuyMefp9Q2Xmc/edit?ts=5dae5179 

Going To Therapy As A QTPOC, Without Being Harmed, Erased Or Baffled, Carmen Leah Ascencio http://www.bgdblog.org/2014/12/going-therapy-qtpoc-without-harmed-erased-baffled-therapy-horror-stories-may-heard/

Competent Care for Transgender, GenderQueer and Non-Binary Folks: A Resource for Herbalists and other Practitioners , Vilde Chaya Fenster-Ehrlich and Larken Bunce – https://sites.google.com/vtherbcenter.org/transhealth/home

Hope in the Time of Stress, Linda Black Elk https://lastrealindians.com/news/2020/3/19/hope-in-the-time-of-stress-by-linda-black-elk

Plant Adventures with Pilar https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2zBNqz6AGJfwY_j3bIZDVil9-0zXOCFV&fbclid=IwAR3q_qrQxvQb35mc_8LywWOSrbFEU4Gc0IDNGfEJ7DZXYkJVibl7rEiw0pk


Other Self Study Resources

Pubmed (a search engine for research studies) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Enter a DOI here: https://sci-hub.scihubtw.tw

How to Critically Read a Research Study, Chris Kresser https://kresserinstitute.com/critically-read-research-study/

Searchable website of some older western herbal books and other writing https://www.henriettes-herb.com

Herbs for Mental Health, Jon Keys https://herbsformentalhealth.com

Southwest School of Botanical Medicine Plant and Article Index https://www.swsbm.com/HOMEPAGE/HomePage.html

Free Access to Michael Moore's recorded lectures https://www.swsbm.com/school/

Occupy Medical Training Documents https://www.occupy-medical.org/documents

Reishi and Roses https://reishiandrosesbotanicals.com

United Plant Savers Journal: free PDF downloads https://unitedplantsavers.org/compendium-journal-of-medicinal-plant-conservation-free-pdfs-now-available/

Herb Rally Monographs https://www.herbrally.com/monographs

American Herbalists Guild free webinars https://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/professional-training-webinars


Practitioners and Clinics

Alanna Whitney  (Santa Fe, NM and long distance)  mettleandloam.com

Kelly McCarthy  (Philadelphia) www.atticapothecary.com

Caty Crabb (Athens, OH) http://catycrabb.com

Stascha Stall (Bay Area, CA and long distance) https://bayherbalist.com

Dee Pauline https://www.grassrootsapothecary.org/service-rates

Ami DeGroot (Providence, RI and long distance)   dogtoothbotanica.com

Carla Vargas-Frank (Tucson, AZ) http://yerbanomadica.com

Morgaine Witriol (Taos, NM) https://nativerootshealing.com/about

Renée Camila (Ashland, OR) https://www.layerbabuenaherbs.com/about

Sam Roberts (Ashland, OR) https://wolfstarherbs.com

Holly Poole-Kavana (Washington D.C.) http://www.littleredbirdbotanicals.com

BIPOC Herbalist List https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WwsDcxAurAbiUji4s1rLjdWhyDRw4SDL0IDxKH4mY-w/htmlview

Healing Clinic Collective Practitioners Currently Offering Remote Services (Bay Area) https://www.healingcliniccollective.net/9733-remote-healing-during-covid-19-9733.html

Susu Healing Collective (Brattleboro, Vermont) https://www.susuheals.com

Stone Fruit Community Herbalists (Pittsburgh) wildcherries.org/consultations/

Bay HRT Bay Area Herbal Response Team (Bay Area, CA) https://bayhrt.weebly.com

Cottonwood Medicine Collective (Albuquerque, NM and long distance) https://cottonwoodmedicine.dudaone.com

Herbalista Community Clinic (Atlanta, GA) https://herbalista.org/projects/herb-clinic/

Third Root Community Health Center (Brooklyn, NY) https://thirdroot.org/herbal-medicine/

Changing Woman Initiative (Santa Fe, NM) http://www.changingwomaninitiative.com

American Herbalist Guild Registered Herbalist Directory https://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/member-profiles

Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism Community Clinics (Montpelier, VT) https://vtherbcenter.org/community-herbal-clinics/

Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine Free Clinic (Lowgap, NC and long distance) www.eclecticschoolofherbalmedicine.com/clinic/

Evergreen Center Clinic (Lafayette, CO) clinicalherbalism.com/about/the-clinic-evergreen-center/

Acorn School of Herbal Medicine Community Free Clinic (Nevada City, CA and long distance) www.acornherbschool.com/clinic.html

Mni Wiconi Clinic and Farm https://www.mniwiconiclinicandfarm.org

Generative Somatics Practitioner Directory generativesomatics.org/resources/find-practitioner/

Ayana Therapy App https://www.ayanatherapy.com


Schools, Classes, Apprenticeships and Mentorships

Wild Seed School of Herbal Studies (Salt Spring Island, BC) https://www.wildseedschool.com

La Mala Yerba BIPOC Herbal Immersion, other classes, clinic and more (various locations) http://www.lamalayerba.com

Ancestral Apothecary School of Herbal, Folk and Indigenous Medicine (Oakland, CA) https://ancestralapothecaryschool.com

Wild Ginger Community Herbal Center (Maryland, Costa Rica, and online (http://www.wildgingerherbalcenter.com)

The Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies (Portland, OR) https://arctosschool.org

Well of Indigenous Wisdom School (Mayaguez, PR) https://www.wellofindigenouswisdom.com/classes

Seed Seva Seasonal Mentroship (online) http://sierraseeds.org/seed-seva/

Samara School of Community Herbalism (New Orleans) https://samaraherbschool.com

Terra Sylva (Marshall, NC) https://terrasylvaschool.com

Commonwealth Center for Holistic Herbalism (Boston, MA) https://commonwealthherbs.com

Seed Soil and Spirit School (currently online) http://www.skyworldapothecary.com/seed-soil-spirit  

Curanderismo (free online or in person course through the University of New Mexico) http://curanderismo.unm.edu

NCB School of Herbalism and Holistic Health (Online and TN) https://naturalchoicesbotanica.com

Sacred Journey School of Herbalism (Austin, TX) https://gingerwebb.com/sacred-journey-school-herbalism/

Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine (Austin, TX and online) https://wildflowerherbschool.com/about/

Tierona Lowdog (Pecos, NM) https://drlowdog.com/study-with-tieraona/

Native Roots School of Ancestral, Folk and Herbal Medicine (Taos, NM and online) https://nativerootshealing.com

The People's Medicine School (upstate NY and online) https://www.rootworkherbals.com/herbalism-school 

Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism https://vtherbcenter.org/training-programs/

American Herbalist Guild Mentor Directory https://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/mentors


Collectives, Organizations, Movements, Projects and Related Resources

K'É Infoshop http://keinfoshop.org/index.htm

The Red Nation http://therednation.org

The Movement For Black Lives https://m4bl.org

Tewa Women United http://tewawomenunited.org

Southerners on New Ground https://southernersonnewground.org

Solidarity Apothecary https://solidarityapothecary.org/about/

Overcoming Burnout https://solidarityapothecary.org/category/overcoming-burnout/

Black Permaculture Project http://www.blackpermaculturenetwork.org/about-us

LA Spoonie Collective https://www.spooniecollective.org 

 

Herbs, Preparations, Seeds, Plants

3 lists of regional herb farms https://www.suntrap.co/post/bulkherbsfromsmallfarms 

 https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/resources/local-herb-growers

https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/Herb-Farms-Wildcrafters.html 

PacificBotanicals (fresh herbs are grown on their farm, check dry herbs for source) https://www.pacificbotanicals.com

Texas Medicinals https://gingerwebb.com/texas-medicinals/

Medicinal and Edible Plant and Seed Locator Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/327813930606438/

Flack Family Farm http://www.flackfamilyfarm.com/medicinals.html

Somoma County Herb Exchange https://www.sonomaherbs.org/herb-exchange

Wolfberry Apothecary https://wolfberryapothecary.bigcartel.com

Edgewood Nursery https://edgewood-nursery.com/shop

Prairie Moon Nursery https://www.prairiemoon.com

Grand Prismatic Seed https://www.grandprismaticseed.com

Tooley's Trees https://tooleystrees.com




Contact image
Please get in touch with me to schedule a consult or with any questions at SapelloHerbalist@gmail.com
Located in Sapello, NM on Jicarilla Apache land