I'm a long-time user of herbs and homeopathic medicines, and I would like to get a formal education where I can actually help other people, possibly through an actual practice. In looking at various schools, I get very confused because there seems to be so many, and I know that some of them aren't legitimate, or at least aren't properly accredited. Does anyone know of a good, reliable school (preferably with at least some of the classes online) where I can become at the very least a certified herbalist, or better yet, a doctoral degree in naturopathic medicine?

AANP (http://www.naturopathic.org/)

naturopathy (http://www.anma.com/mon91.html)

There are only a few states that allow a naturopathic doctor to practice. Here is a list I got off the web site above but I I am not sure that all of them actually license them, A few years ago there were only about 4 states.

Alaska
Arizona
California
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Idaho
Kansas
Maine
Montana
New Hampshire
Oregon
Utah
Vermont
Washington
US Territories: Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands


These are the only official colleges whose degrees are accepted for actual practice and license within those states that allow practice.

BASTYR University (Kenmore, Washington)

National College of Natural Medicine (Portland, Oregon)

Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (Tempe, Arizona)

University of Bridgeport - College of Naturopathic Medicine (Bridgeport, Connecticut)

Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (Toronto, Ontario)

Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine (New Westminister, British Columbia)


None of them do online, there are a few good online schools, if you are not wanting to practice as a doctor. There are many people who do practice as a health consultant, and work out of herbal shops, they are careful not to practice medicine but to teach healthy living and sell products that will help. ( you are not prescribing, since of course homeopatic items are not medicines and are not prescribed but merely sold over the counter.

One of the larger online schools ( and really a good school) but has no accreditation at all any longer, they were accreded by a ageny prior to some time in the 90s but that was lost back then.
** so my issue for those that graduated when it was accredited, since they show up as not accredited now but was when many graduated.

But they show up sort of poor here
Clayton College of Natural Health - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_College_of_Natural_Health)

But remember the entire idea of herbs healing is not very accpeted by many to start with.

Thanks or all the info! I'm honestly still debating the idea of having a practice, but I would definitely like to become certified. And my husband and I are wanting to move to Alaska, so that's good to know they allow it up there. Do you know... was there any specific reason why Clayton lost their accreditation?

It was not as much as clayton lost it, what it was the accrediting agency that had them accredited lost their right to accreditate any more ( at least and be reconised by the US Dept of Education)

I am sure there are many versions and the truth is somewhere between.

Clayton does a good ( at the time it was correspondance program) but again not to the level of a full time brick and mortal school.

Well those invovled in the full time schools did not like them, and of course in general medical doctors don't like any of them. And the entire idea of other forms of medical treatment was being attacked very heavy by the medical lobby groups, And at the same time, the other brick and mortal schools came out with their own accreditation group which of course did not reconise any online type of schools.

If he had not changed, I believe in Alaska, the naturalpath will be able to deliver babies, and do some minor other things, stiches, an other mecical treatments ( at least they used to)
So that is also why of course you have to go to a full time school for that.


**** this is all from my memory, which is not always good at best, but it is the way I remember it.

With all that said, I learned more from them over the few years of my study, esp about herbs and homopathic methods. I would still recommend them for people wanting to learn a lot for general knowledge. And for those who own and operate herbal shops.

Hi, I was searching for someone by the name of Clayton at Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine, and this website popped out. Iam a practising naturopathic doctor in the province of BC, Canada. In order to practise, you'd need to have your ND from the CNME accredited list of schools. http://www.cnme.org

None of them are online, and all are full time rigorous 4 year naturopathic medical schools. Knowledge of health and healing requires both theory and experience. And you can only get them by going to a school physically. Without being at school shadowing senior students, contantly asking questions and hearing the answers - you would have to practise on patients with only theories in mind. That would be unfair to the patients (the harm they receive) and to you (lawsuits, etc). The duty of a doctor is to "first do no harm."