Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism

What Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism does

The Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism (CSCH) is a privately held for-profit educational institution founded in 2003 as the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism (NAIMH) and currently headquartered at 424 East Simpson Street, Lafayette, Colorado. The school operates a progressive three-tier certificate pathway in clinical herbalism — Fundamentals of Medical Herbalism (370 hours), Advanced Herbalism Certification (540 hours), and Clinical Herbalism Certification (475 hours) — plus standalone add-on certificates in Nutrition, Bach Flower Essences, Aromatherapy, and shorter Clinical Skills Intensives. Curriculum is delivered in the Vitalist tradition, integrating Western Herbalism, integrated nutrition, and clinical training, and is approved and regulated by the Colorado Department of Education Division of Private Occupational Schools (DPOS), enabling state-recognized credential issuance. Programs are taught by 19+ faculty practitioners led by co-directors John Whiteman and Lindy Reinhardt, with founder Paul Bergner continuing as a primary case reviewer and faculty member.

CSCH distributes its programs through in-person instruction at the Lafayette campus, a globally available Online Fundamentals program launched in 2020, and an on-site sliding-scale wellness clinic (CSCH Clinic) offering telehealth services. The technology stack supporting the online program is conventional: a learning management system with 100+ hours of pre-recorded video, 63 modules, 145+ lessons, small live Zoom mentorship cohorts of 25 students, and a bundled Herbal Experience Kit shipped to online enrollees. Clinic appointments are scheduled via Practice Better software.

Revenue is generated from four streams: (1) multi-month certificate tuition ranging from $5,165 to $6,350 per program with monthly payment plans; (2) shorter workshops and intensives priced $900-$1,500; (3) sliding-scale clinic consultations at $35/hour provided by student clinicians under faculty supervision; and (4) on-site apothecary retail of herbs, tinctures, books, and supplements with a 20% student discount. Go-to-market is community-led and direct-to-consumer, relying on the website, a Newsy Nettle email newsletter, organic social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), workshops, alumni referrals, and Member School affiliations with the American Herbalists Guild and American Botanical Council. The firm has no external funding, no parent company, and is owned and operated by its two co-directors.

Name

Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism

Legal name

Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, Inc.

Website

https://clinicalherbalism.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism is a privately held for-profit school in Lafayette, Colorado offering state-approved certificate programs in clinical herbalism, integrated nutrition, and flower essences via in-person and online formats, serving aspiring clinical herbalists, health-conscious individuals, and healthcare professionals seeking continuing education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Herbalism Education and Clinical Training

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Services (611), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAGANAJ

Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE)

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Professional Development & Training Materials

Keywords

• Herbalism education
• Clinical herbalism training
• Holistic nutrition certification
• Plant medicine courses
• Vitalist herbalism programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Certificate Program Tuition: Revenue from multi-month certificate programs including Fundamentals (9 months, $5,350-$5,715), Advanced (9 months, $5,165), and Clinical programs ($6,350). Programs offered both in-person and online.
2. Apothecary Sales: On-site apothecary selling herbs, tinctures, books, and supplements. Students receive 20% discounts on supplements, books, and bulk herbs.
3. Workshops and Intensives: Shorter programs including Aromatherapy Intensive ($975), Clinical Skills Intensives ($950-$1,100), and Rocky Mountain Field Botany ($1,500).
4. Clinic Services: Sliding-scale holistic wellness consultations at $35 per hour provided by student clinicians under faculty supervision.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism (CSCH) offers certificate programs in medical herbalism, integrated clinical nutrition, and flower essence practice, delivered both in-person at its Lafayette, Colorado campus and through a global online program. The curriculum follows a progressive three-year pathway (Fundamentals, Advanced, Clinical) in the Vitalist tradition, supplemented by shorter workshops, intensives, and a student-run sliding-scale clinic (CSCH Clinic) that serves the public.

Product overview

The Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism offers a comprehensive suite of certificate programs in clinical herbalism, nutrition, and wellness education. The core curriculum follows a progressive three-year pathway: Fundamentals of Medical Herbalism (370 hours, available in-person or online) provides foundational knowledge; Advanced Herbalism Certification (540 hours) builds intermediate clinical skills; and Clinical Herbalism Certification (475 hours) delivers hands-on clinical training. Standalone certificate programs include Nutrition, Bach Flower Essences, Aromatherapy, and Clinical Skills Intensives. The institution also operates the CSCH Clinic—a sliding-scale holistic wellness center—providing students with practical clinical experience while serving the community. All programs are taught in the Vitalist tradition integrating Western herbalism with modern science, and graduates receive certificates through the Colorado Division of Occupational Schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CSCH Clinic: A sliding-scale holistic center for Vitalist health education providing consultations to the general public in Boulder County, Colorado, with Telehealth services available worldwide.
• Newsy Nettle

Products and services

• Fundamentals of Medical Herbalism (In-Person) 9-month in-person introductory certificate program covering holistic nutrition, field botany, plant identification, herbal medicine-making, flower essences, formulation, physiology and pathology, herbal energetics, materia medica, vitalism, and horticulture. Includes 370 hours of instruction with classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and monthly Saturdays at the Lafayette, CO campus.
• Fundamentals of Medical Herbalism Online Certificate Online certificate program delivering 370+ hours of content over 9 months across 63 modules and 145+ lessons with 100+ hours of video, small mentorship cohorts of 25 students, 6 live Zoom meetings, 4 live special topics calls with Q&A, lifetime course access, and an Herbal Experience Kit with herbs and books.
• Advanced Herbalism Certification 9-month in-person intermediate certification program covering vitalist therapeutics, acute symptoms, medical herbalism, clinical nutrition, Bach flower essences, nature observation, field trips, professional practicum, interview skills, case analysis, and advanced herbal pharmacy. Includes 540 hours of instruction.
• Clinical Herbalism Certification Third-year clinical training program where students practice coaching clients, develop interview and assessment procedures, share case write-ups, practice safety and referral screenings, study scope of practice, create health materials, and develop practical apothecary skills. Includes 475 hours of clinic attendance, case review, thesis, teaching practicum, and practice management.
• Certificate in Nutrition Advanced nutrition program consisting of 160 classroom hours: 96 hours of advanced nutrition coursework (one weekend per month) plus a 64-hour thesis. Integrates vitalist nutrition with clinical herbalist training and can be taken as a co-requisite or stand-alone certificate.
• Bach Flower Essences Practitioner Certificate 206-hour certification program covering classical Bach Flower Essences and North American/Desert Southwest flower essences including materia medica, energetics, applications, clinical skills, and preparation through 3 weekend intensives and round table sessions. Open to advanced graduates or past clinical students.
• Aromatherapy Intensive Certificate 24-hour introductory course covering the basic arts and sciences of aromatherapy and essential oils, including history, chemistry, EO materia medica, blending, formulation, product creation, and clinical skills for practicing aromatherapists.
• Clinical Skills Intensives Intensive certification programs offering clinical skills training in interview skills, self-knowledge, case management, and herbal formulation. Available in four-day (24 hours) and five-day (30 hours) in-person formats for students with at least 100 classroom hours of prior herbalism studies.
• Rocky Mountain Field Botany Intensive 24-hour hands-on introduction to field botany, plant identification, wildcrafting ethics, and sustainable harvesting and preservation techniques. Classes meet primarily outdoors on private lands at various altitudes in Rocky Mountain ecosystems.
• CSCH Clinic Sliding-scale holistic wellness clinic providing consultations to the general public using herbs, nutrition, and lifestyle changes. Student clinicians with at least 910 classroom hours provide services reviewed by senior faculty at $35/hour, with telehealth appointments available alongside in-person visits.
• On-site Apothecary On-site apothecary selling herbs, tinctures, books, and supplements to the public, clinic patients, and students (who receive a 20% discount on supplements, books, and bulk herbs).

Quantifiable outcome

• 370-540+ classroom hours per certificate program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Herbalists GuildcoreOthersCSCH is a Member School of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG), a professional association for herbalists. This membership provides credibility, access to the professional herbalist community, and one-year student memberships are included with the online Fundamentals program.
• American Botanical CouncilminorOthersCSCH is a member of the American Botanical Council, an organization dedicated to promoting the beneficial use of medicinal plants through education.
• Southwest School of Botanical MedicineminorOthersReferenced as an herbal education resource on CSCH's resources page. Provides materia medica information and educational content for students.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bastyr University: Bastyr is a regionally accredited natural health university offering degrees in naturopathic medicine, herbal sciences, nutrition, and acupuncture. Larger and broader institution with an herbal sciences track that overlaps CSCH's clinical herbalism curriculum, but operates at degree rather than certificate level and at much larger scale.
• Pacific College of Health and Sciences: Pacific College offers accredited degrees and certificates in holistic health, including herbal medicine, with both online and in-person delivery. Comparable to CSCH on herbal/nutrition curriculum and dual-modality model, but serves a broader integrative medicine portfolio at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• East West School of Planetary Herbology: East West offers professional herbal training programs (Introductory through Clinical) with a similar multi-tier progression model. Both schools train clinical herbalists via distance learning, though East West leans more on traditional Chinese medicine energetics while CSCH emphasizes the Vitalist tradition.
• Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH): MUIH is a regionally accredited graduate university offering master's degrees and certificates in herbal medicine, nutrition, and integrative health. Competes with CSCH on the clinical herbalism track but at the degree level, attracting students seeking formal academic credentials rather than occupational certificates.
• Floracopeia (David Crow): Floracopeia offers advanced aromatherapy and herbal medicine courses and an online clinical aromatherapy program. Directly overlaps CSCH's Aromatherapy Intensive and herbal therapeutics content, targeting a similar practitioner-focused audience seeking in-depth botanical medicine training.
• Herbal Academy: Herbal Academy offers online introductory, intermediate, and entrepreneur herbalism courses. Directly competes with CSCH's Fundamentals program on student segment, curriculum focus, and online delivery, though it is more short-course oriented and does not offer a state-approved clinical certification.
• American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS): ACHS is an accredited online college offering certificates and degrees in holistic health, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, and nutrition. Closest direct competitor on academic rigor and state/federal accreditation, with overlapping programs in Clinical Herbalism, Aromatherapy, and Nutrition that mirror CSCH's certificate catalog.
• Sage Mountain (Rosemary Gladstar): Sage Mountain is a long-running herbal education center offering apprenticeships, intensives, and online programs in herbal medicine. Comparable in focus on clinical herbalism training and community-based learning, though it operates more through retreats and apprenticeships than multi-year certificate programs.
• Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine: Chestnut School provides online herbal medicine and foraging courses targeted at aspiring herbalists. Comparable target audience and online self-paced delivery, but more focused on wild foods and foraging rather than clinical herbalism certification.

Emerging players

• Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Southwest School provides materia medica and herbal medicine educational resources, referenced by CSCH as a partner resource. Operates more as an educational resource/archive for botanical medicine rather than a structured certificate program, making it adjacent rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ClinicalHerbalism
• Facebookfacebook.com/clinicalherbalism
• Instagraminstagram.com/cschcolorado
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colorado-school-of-clinical-herbalism-inc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism