Biography
Course Coordinator for BSc (Hons) Clinical Herbalism and Clinic Supervisor.
Donald Purves has been a practicing Clinical Herbalist for more than 30 years, with his own private practice in Yorkshire. He has also been a Herbal educator for 22 years, holding a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
He is currently the year tutor for Level 5 of the BSc (Hons) Clinical Herbalism, delivering the Herbal Therapeutics module to Level 5 students and he is the longest serving herbal clinic supervisor on the Lincoln herbal degree. At Lincoln College, Donald also contributes to the Introduction to Herbal Medicine course and the MSc Herbal Therapeutics.
After his first degree in Biology (York 1980), Donald embarked on healthcare related activities including laboratory work in Clinical Chemistry concurrently with his training in Herbal Medicine (School of Herbal medicine/Phytotherapy 1988) and early years of practice.
Partly through further study with the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine (MSc Herbal Medicine 2003) Donald was an early adopter of “energetic” ideas in herbal practice, and his main interest is in traditional western herbal practice in a contemporary context, integrating modern scientific knowledge about medicinal plants with traditional holistic principles. He is keen to support the development of new practitioners who are not afraid of Science but are not afraid to practice Herbal Medicine in a truly holistic fashion either.
Donald serves as Education Officer for the Unified Register of Herbal Practitioners (URHP), overseeing applications for membership to this most eclectic of profession registers in Herbal Medicine.
He also serves on the Accreditation Board of the European Herbal and Traditional Practitioners Association (EHTPA) as a nominee from URHP.