Is Herbal Medicine Training Racist?
Growing up as a South Asian in England in the eighties, sometimes I marvel at the change I see around me in the world over 40 years later. Having recently qualified as a Medical Herbalist, my experiences through my training not only took me into herbal medicine, but it found me journeying deep into the realm of connecting to my Indian heritage and my relationship to my homeland England in ways that are more meaningful.
I was born and raised in West London, in a part of the city where, without realising it, I felt I fit in. My family’s community were predominantly South Asian, and my secondary school was very multi-cultural, but we were only one of the few families of different ethnicity in the area that we lived. I was in the wonderful world of colour.
Yet the last few years as I moved through all my assignments, textbooks, and seminars, I began to realise quite quickly that the wonderful world of colour is not reflected in the medical world or herbal world in many ways. Whilst there are a lot of passionate and courageous people tackling these issues there is also a silent price that I have paid and am still paying, and I feel comfortable in saying I am sure many others are too. That price is our mental health.
When you go through training that does not provide teaching on clinical skills that are applicable to your skin colour, or have case studies that do not include people from different heritage backgrounds, or does not discuss pathologies that are more prevalent in people of particular heritages, or point out that much of the clinical data we use as reference is only based on those from European heritage, or do not discuss the unconscious biases or cultural issues that come up when dealing with patients, there is a subtle message on a continuous feedback loop that I am being exposed to.
That message is: I am not relevant.
Not relevant in the world of medicine or herbalism. And the cherry on the proverbial cake is that after years of hard work and thousands of pounds, I have graduating with skills that mean I cannot effectively or properly serve my own community. According to the 2021 census, approximately 18% of the population in England and Wales are non-white:
9.3% (5.5million) are Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh,
4% (2.4million) are Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African,
2.9% (1.7million) are Dual or Multiple ethnicities,
2.1% (1.3million) are from other ethnic groups.
To put that in perspective, 18% of the body’s surface area would be the front of the torso. The lack of bad intention does not make coping with being treated differently any easier. For the person who has experienced it, it still happened, and the emotional response is individual for each person. According to the Mind website, consequences of being treated differently affect a person’s mental health by making them feel:
Unwelcome, lonely, or isolated
Anxious, fearful, and unsafe
Angry or frustrated
Stressed
Unusual and strange as being made to feel ‘othered’
Confused or unsure about what they have experienced
Forced to suppress how they feel, as they cannot show or even fully feel their natural responses, or to avoid the risk of more abuse
Overwhelmed or worn down
Contribute to the pressure felt to change or downplay parts of themselves
It can feel constant, exhausting and disempowering
Make them feel cut off from parts of their identity and culture
Lead to low self-esteem and further mental health problems
I can safely say I have been through all of that list. Even writing this article takes a toll on my mental health. I worry about the reception of it. I feel exposed in sharing such a vulnerable side of myself and markedly pointing out how different I really am. I know it will change how people treat me, whether overly nice or anxiously keeping their distance. But I share these thoughts not to accuse, blame or hurt.
I share them as a loving call.
A call because I know I cannot create change on my own. A call for us all to have a deeper understanding of each other, further our education, and ultimately being able to serve our local community more effectively. A call for both the individual responsibility and collective responsibility for change and growth, a call for releasing the past traumas perpetrated or the pain carried by our ancestors, a call for clearing belief systems that we no longer want to hold, so that we all may live peacefully and in harmony with each other, and ultimately in right relationship with our Earth Mother.
I do not have answers or know what the next step is. But what I feel strongly about is that if after reading this whatever little step you might take about this subject to bring balance in your own self, your herbal practice, or professional circles we are a little bit further along the journey. No change is too small.
May we all be blessed with beauty. Waheguru.
Read in more detail about how racism can affect someone’s mental health here.
Census information can be found here.