Saturday Opening Keynote – Dr Sue Evans, Dr Ses Salmond, Phil Rasmussen & Assoc Prof Joanna Harnett – Wisdom in Practice: Lessons from a Life in the Profession
Meet our Sages
Dr Sue Evans began her herbal studies in the UK fifty years ago. During her career, she has been involved in a number of ‘firsts’, including practicing in the first integrative medicine clinic in Melbourne, helping establish Melbourne’s longstanding herbal support group (now NHAA chapter) VicHerbs, and being appointed foundation lecturer in herbal medicine in Australian naturopathy’s first state-funded university course. She currently chairs The Jacka Foundation for Natural Therapies, a Melbourne- based charity which supports the advancement of natural therapies, and convenes the NHAA’s Special Interest Group on environment and sustainability.
Dr Ses Salmond PhD has devoted her working life as a naturopath in community-based women’s health centres for the past 33 years, runs a free outreach naturopathic clinic for Aboriginal women in Liverpool and is in private practice. She conducted a trial in three teaching hospitals using silymarin and antioxidants in the treatment of Hepatitis C, was a NHAA Board member for 14 years, established National Herbal Medicine Week and lectured in Herbal Medicine at two Sydney colleges for 10 years. Ses is a member of BMAC. She is Chief Executive Officer of Leichhardt Women’s Community Women’s Health Centre.
Phil Rasmussen is a medical herbalist, pharmacist and researcher with more than 30 years of clinical experience. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy at the University of Auckland, and served as President of the NZ Association of Medical Herbalists from 2018-2021. He is a founding board member of the local industry body Natural Health Products New Zealand, and previously founded and developed a GMP-certified company manufacturing more than 200 herbal extracts for practitioners in New Zealand and Australia.
Our panel facilitator, Associate Professor Joanna Harnett is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health – background naturopathy. She holds a PhD in Nutritional Pharmacology, BHSc, MHSc (Complementary Medicine), Grad Dip (Clinical Nutrition), and Grad Cert (Educational Studies). Her research includes the quality use of complementary medicines, and clinical studies in gastrointestinal health. Since 2019, she has published 100 refereed journal articles, 6 book chapters, and attracted 1,700 citations. She is a board member of the International Society for Complementary, Traditional, and Integrative Medicine Research and serves on the Australian TGA Advisory Committee for Complementary Medicines.
Presentation Overview
This reflective panel session, Wisdom in Practice: Lessons from a Life in the Profession, invites three highly respected practitioners to share what decades in the field have taught them. At a time when the profession is navigating rapid change, driven by digital health, evolving healthcare systems, and ongoing debates about identity and scope, there is real value in pausing to learn from those who have walked the long road.
Curated by Associate Professor Joanna Harnett, the panel brings together Dr Sue Evans, Dr Ses Salmond, and Phil Rasmussen, practitioners whose work has shaped modern naturopathy and herbal medicine, while retaining tradition at the core. Through practical stories, candid reflections, and grounded discussion, they will unpack the lessons that have stayed with them: what has worked, what hasn’t, and what continues to matter in day‑to‑day practice.
The conversation will explore the realities of professional identity in 2026 and whether practitioners see themselves within a profession, an industry, or somewhere in between and how that plays out in clinical, regulatory, and educational contexts. The panel will also tackle some of the profession’s enduring friction points: scope of practice, the role of diagnosis over time, and how core philosophies can be upheld while meeting contemporary expectations.
To encourage genuine exchange, a “wisdom bowl” will invite delegate questions, creating space for dialogue across generations and helping surface insights from the broader community.
Grounded, honest, and experience-rich, this session offers an opportunity to reconnect with what underpins good practice, showing that professional wisdom isn’t just something inherited, but something we continue to build and pass on together.
Sunday Morning Keynote – Chanchal Cabrera – The Biophilia Pharmacy
Chanchal is a medical herbalist and has been in clinical practice for 35 years with a specialty in holistic oncology. She is the author of Fibromyalgia: A Journey Towards Healing and her latest book Holistic Cancer Care: An Herbal Approach to Preventing Cancer, Helping Patients Thrive During Treatment and Minimising the risk of recurrence, was published in April 2023. She held the faculty chair in Botanical Medicine at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster 2004-2016, and she publishes widely in professional journals and lectures internationally on medical herbalism, nutrition and health.
Chanchal is also a certified Shirin Yoku (forest bathing) practitioner, a certified Master Gardener and a certified Horticulture Therapist. Chanchal lives in Vancouver Island, British Columbia where she and her husband manage Innisfree Farm and Botanic Garden, a seven acre internationally registered botanic garden specialising in food and medicine plants, and where they host apprenticeships in sustainable food production and herbal medicine. The farm also hosts Gardens without Borders, a federally registered not-for-profit society established to run the botanic garden and provide horticulture therapy.
Due to commitments at her farm during the Vancouver spring, Chanchal will be joining us live via Zoom.
Keynote Overview
Drawing from her studies of plant spirit medicine over the past 20 years, and more recently of Shinrin Yoku in Japan, as well as 40 years of clinical practice in western herbal medicine, this illustrated keynote will describe and explain through modern science the innate, inherent resonance and connection we feel with and in ‘Nature’. It will use science and clinical research to explain a universal spiritual / mystical experience and to describe how that can be harnessed for clinical benefit in a contemporary herbal practice.
Wide ranging, esoteric and inspiring this keynote is for anyone interested in plants and our relationships with plants, as well as being practical and applicable to practitioners to deepen their clinical practice
Learnings
Biophilia and the Nature Principle – science and spirituality, medicine and magic
The Golden Ratio – patterns in Nature
• DNA
• Human anatomy
• Leaf and petal arrangement
Shinrin Yoku (Japanese Forest Bathing Therapy) as a clinical practice
Nature deficit disorder
Phytoncides and Vitamin G
Endosymbiogenesis and holistic biology
Practical applications in medicine and clinical practice
Objectives
- To better appreciate the implicit and inherent healing power of Nature
- To understand the mathematical patterns of Nature in DNA, plants and people, and how to apply that in clinical practice
- To understand the science and the clinical evidence behind Forest Bathing therapy
- To develop tools and methods for practical application of Nature Healing principles in clinical practice
Sunday Closing Keynote – Kira Sutherland – The Sacred Cycles that Cultivate Community
Kira Sutherland is an Australian naturopath, herbalist, and sports nutritionist with over 30 years of clinical experience. She works across private clinical practice, undergraduate education, and practitioner mentoring, specialising in holistic sports nutrition. Known for her dynamic, straightforward teaching style, Kira aims to empower her clients and students to achieve their best selves, whether as athletes or healthcare professionals.
Her approach integrates evidence-based medicine with traditional naturopathic principles, combining her love of science with the ancient arts of mind-body medicine. She is a lifelong endurance athlete herself and the current performance nutritionist for the TCS Sydney Marathon. Kira’s journey exemplifies dedication to wellness and excellence, inspiring others to pursue their own paths to optimal health and performance.
Keynote Overview
As a practitioner of natural medicine, I am continually inspired by nature’s guidance in cultivating a community rooted in connection. The sacred cycles of the natural world remind us that growth unfolds in stages—emergence, fullness, and release—each contributing to the health of the whole. Just as plants move through these phases, so do we. Our bodies, our days, and our seasons of life all follow rhythms that invite us to grow, rest, and renew.
During this interactive keynote, I invite us all to explore how we honour these cycles throughout the seasons of our career, both individually and collectively, and how this can deepen our sense of belonging. Like trees connected beneath the soil, our community flourishes when we nurture relationships, support one another, and create space for both growth and regeneration.
Alison Maunder – Herbal Medicine in Menopause: an evidence-based review for international guidelines and clinical practice
Alison recently completed a PhD at NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, where she investigated the role of naturopathy in the management of women with diminished ovarian reserve. She was awarded a Jacka Foundation scholarship for her research. She also holds a Master of Philosophy, a Master of Medicine (Reproductive Health and Human Genetics) and a Master of Herbal Medicine, from the University of Sydney. As a qualified naturopath, she has a special interest in fertility and reproductive health. Alison has also lectured and supervised clinic sessions at the Endeavour College of Natural Health in Sydney.
Presentation Overview
Menopausal hormone therapy is recognised as the standard treatment for symptoms of menopause, yet many women seek complementary approaches – particularly herbal medicine – to support their health and wellbeing. To better understand the role of herbal medicine, we conducted a review and found 52 studies, including clinical trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, on herbal medicines used during and after menopause.
Overall, the methodological quality of studies was low, but several herbs showed promising outcomes. Black cohosh demonstrated benefits for hot flushes and overall menopausal symptom scores, while Chinese herbal medicine was associated with improvements in menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, and blood pressure. Other herbal medicines were generally supported by limited or low-quality evidence. Importantly most herbal medicines were reported as safe, with few serious adverse effects.
These findings highlight both the potential and the limitations of the current evidence base. For practitioners, this means aligning clinical care with both traditional knowledge and emerging scientific insights. For researchers, it highlights the need for more rigorous, high-quality studies to evaluate effectiveness and safety. And for women, it offers reassurance that many herbal medicines appear safe, while emphasising the value of informed choice in collaboration with healthcare providers. This work informs the International Menopause Society recommendations for a more integrated, evidence-informed approach to menopause care.
Ambre Whatley – Everything Begins with a Seed: Reconnecting People, Plants and Place
Ambre Whatley is a naturopath (BHSc) and herbal medicine practitioner who brings a unique perspective as both a clinician and agricultural seed steward. She is CEO of Eden Seeds, one of Australia’s oldest heirloom seed companies, and works daily at the intersection of biodiversity, agriculture, and personal, community and planetary health.
Based in Southeast Queensland, Ambre has decades of experience facilitating community workshops and educational programs that cultivate connection between people, plants, and place. She teaches practical herbalism and community health, focusing on reconnecting people with food and medicine from soil to apothecary. Her work spans clinical practice, leading seed saving initiatives, and delivering public education, giving her a rare perspective on how health and biodiversity are inseparably linked. She is passionate about safeguarding food and medicinal diversity, teaching the benefits of nature connection, and bridging the gap between naturopathic practice and the agricultural systems that sustain it.
Presentation Overview
Seeds are where both food and medicine begin. In this presentation I will explore how safeguarding the future of our food supply is inseparable from safeguarding both human health and the health of the earth. Food is medicine, medicine begins in the soil, and everything begins with a seed. Drawing on my dual perspective as both naturopath and CEO of one of Australia’s oldest heirloom seed companies, I will weave together agricultural realities, clinical insights, and traditional wisdom to highlight the urgency of protecting seed diversity.
The loss of 75% of agricultural biodiversity in the past century has profound implications not only for food security but also the resilience and quality of the plants we rely on in herbal practice. This session will consider both measurable and immeasurable forms of connection. We will look at the growing body of evidence on the benefits of gardening and soil exposure: improved microbiome diversity, reduced stress hormones, enhanced immune regulation, and improved mental health. As well, we will acknowledge the subtler threads – belonging, grounding, and interdependence that come from putting our hands in the soil and tending a plant from seed to harvest. These are not easily quantified, yet they are central to what sustains us. Participants will gain practical strategies for helping patients and communities reconnect: encouraging simple cultivation of food and herbal medicine, integrating seed saving into health education, and framing gardening not as a pastime but as therapeutic intervention. By uniting science, clinical practice, and earth connection, this presentation will argue that every seed saved is more than a genetic resource – it is a vessel of sovereignty, resilience, and hope. At a time of ecological and social fragmentation, seed saving and plant connection remind us that health is not only personal but collective – rooted in the earth beneath our feet, and cannot be found inside of four sterile walls.
Dr Caio Portella & Dr Hayleigh Ast – Botanicals in the Era of Antimicrobial Resistance: Mapping the Evidence for Sustainable Clinical Practice
Dr Caio Portella, ND – holds a Master’s and PhD from the University of São Paulo. He is President of the World Naturopathic Federation (2025–2027), where he chairs the Antimicrobial Resistance Committee, and founding President of the Brazilian Academic Consortium for Integrative Health (CABSIN). In partnership with WHO/PAHO/BIREME, he has produced over 30 evidence maps synthesizing more than 2,500 systematic reviews on traditional, complementary and integrative medicine
Dr. Hayleigh Ast, ND, is a clinician‑researcher at Oregon Health & Science University who earned a B.S. in neuroscience from Allegheny College, a naturopathic medical doctorate from the National University of Natural Medicine, and completed her naturopathic residency at the University of California, Irvine. She is passionate about pediatric health, focusing her research and clinical work on the gut‑brain‑immune axis influence of neurodevelopment in children. She co-directs the Antimicrobial Resistance working group within the World Naturopathic Federation with Caio Portella, ND which aligns with her values of integrative medicine and public health for all.
Presentation Overview
Charmaine Dennis, Carly Woods – Cultivating Collaboration: Building a Bold Visibility for Natural Medicine with MECCA – a fireside chat hosted by Rachel Arthur
Charmaine and Carly are naturopaths and co-directors of Fertile Ground Health Group and The Melbourne Apothecary in Melbourne. Alongside their skill in business, Charmaine is recognised for her work in collaborative fertility care and Carly is known for weaving breath work and life coaching with naturopathy into holistic wellbeing. Their shared vision is to expand the reach of natural medicine through evidence-informed, compassionate, and innovative models of care. Most recently, they have co-led The Melbourne Apothecary’s landmark collaboration with MECCA, creating a new space where herbal medicine, naturopathy, acupuncture and coaching connect with wider communities in a mainstream setting. Passionate about cultivating connection at every level — practitioner to practitioner, practitioner to patient, and clinic to community — they continue to explore how integrative care can evolve and inspire the future of herbal medicine in Australia
Fireside Chat Overview
In August 2025, directors and founders Carly Woods and Charmaine Dennis launched The Melbourne Apothecary (MA) into MECCA’s Bourke Street flagship store – an audacious first-mover collaboration that is redefining what is possible for natural medicine visibility, reach and impact in Australia.
This fireside chat, hosted by Rachel Arthur, will invite Carly and Charmaine to share the vision and strategy behind this bold step: how a seed of an idea was nurtured into reality, how trust and values alignment with MECCA were forged, and what it took – personally and professionally – to walk uncharted territory with courage and clarity.
Participants will come away with:
- Business inspiration– lessons from founders about designing user journeys that prioritise safety and trust, giving new clients a quick, tangible result that opens the door to deeper transformation.
- Insight into collaboration at scale– how to negotiate, align, and sustain partnerships with major brands while holding fast to integrity, inclusivity and shared innovation.
- Mindset shifts – the resilience and leadership required to move beyond the familiar clinic model into high-visibility, first-mover responsive and dynamic spaces.
- Practical pearls– communication, positioning, and strategy tips for practitioners exploring collaborations or business ventures outside traditional health settings.
The session will also explore MECCA’s visionary onsite educational auditorium, where MA collaborates to deliver at scale customer education, expanding the visibility of naturopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture, breath coaching, and life coaching to audiences who may never have otherwise engaged.
Stories from patients, staff, and the community reveal how cultivating trust, safety, and inclusivity transforms public perception, and how this collaboration has reshaped both The Melbourne Apothecary and Fertile Ground Health Group.
Attendees will leave inspired and equipped to imagine and plan new possibilities for their own practice, and for the profession as a whole – scaling impact, cultivating connection, and stepping boldly into the future of natural medicine together.
Dane Renshaw – From Seed to Script: How Supply Chains Shape Patient Outcomes
Dane Renshaw is a naturopath and product-development specialist who works at the intersection of herbal medicine, nutrient science and regulatory practice. Trained at Southern Cross University under leading herbal scholars, Dane went on to complete honours in phytochemistry and pharmacology before moving into senior roles in regulatory affairs and innovation. Over the past decade, he has guided the development of hundreds of products across Australia and internationally, with a particular focus on stability, excipients, sourcing integrity and clinically validated dosage.
Presentation Overview
Every prescription carries with it a chain of relationships. From cultivation, harvest and extraction through to formulation, dosage, regulation, prescribing, testing and patient use, each stage either strengthens or weakens the therapeutic potential that ultimately reaches the patient.
This presentation explores how practitioners can cultivate awareness of the entire supply chain – herbal and nutrient alike – to safeguard the quality, safety and efficacy of what they prescribe. We will examine how factors such as growing conditions, species integrity, extraction and processing methods, sustainability practices, excipient use, stability and clinically validated dosage all influence whether patients experience the outcomes we intend.
Drawing on decades of product development and regulatory experience, Dane Renshaw will ‘lift the curtain’ on the often-unseen stages of herbal and nutrient journeys, stages practitioners rarely encounter but which profoundly shape results in practice. Participants will leave with practical tools to interrogate supplier information, evaluate labels and claims, and understand the real-world trade-offs behind formulations.
Importantly, this talk highlights the practitioner’s role as the critical link in this chain. By recognising where vulnerabilities lie and making informed prescribing choices, practitioners help ensure that the integrity of the plant or nutrient is carried through to the clinical encounter.
Ultimately, the session invites practitioners to see prescribing not as an isolated act but as the culmination of many hands and decisions – spanning growers, scientists, manufacturers, marketers and regulators – before reaching the patient. By honouring this broader story, practitioners can prescribe with greater discernment and confidence, supporting the best possible patient outcomes.
Dawn Whitten – Herbs for Mums: Herbal Medicine Prescriptions During the Pregnancy and Postpartum Period
Dawn is a Western Herbalist, Naturopath and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. She has a broad-base of clinical experience with a focus on women’s health through pregnancy and beyond, and infant/toddler health. She has been in clinical practice for over 20 years and is part of Goulds Natural Medicine, a busy apothecary, clinic and associated herb farm. She is grateful to have a farm to patient connection with the medicines she uses.
Dawn taught Evidence-based Complementary Medicine at the University of Tasmania for over 10 years. She is published in the peer-review literature and has contributed to textbook chapters in the area of breastfeeding and infant health. She is co-founder of the Microbiome Restoration Centre, an organisation dedicated to non-biased continued professional education to clinicians relating to microbiome health. She is the Early Life Health Lead for the centre.
Presentation Overview
Herbal medicines can be a wonderful support during pregnancy and postpartum, yet in the modern context we can find it challenging to navigate the world of safety, risk, and perceived risk. We may find ourselves losing sleep over our prescriptions, or not prescribing at all. Dawn will share some of her favourite herbs for the pregnancy and postpartum period, as well as a framework to guide prescribing during this time. Focusing on the herbal remedies she has found reliably helpful during this period, she will also look to traditional and contemporary insights that underpin their use.
Dominique Livkamal – Herbal Winter Tea Making – A hands-on Workshop
Dominique LivKamal, ND is an award-winning naturopath, herbalist, and wellness advocate. She’s passionate about empowering you on your wellness journey. She holds a Masters degree in Public health (Health Promotion) Bachelor Health Science (Complementary Medicine) is a qualified Naturopath , herbalist and nutritionist. She has three published books and is a constant student in wellness and life Dom also has a diploma in Journalism, is a qualified Kundalini yoga teacher and Zen Thai Shiatsu Therapist and yoga teacher.
Joining Dom to facilitate this workshop will be Darina Bodnarova.
Dominique is founder and naturopath at Medicine Room. She has developed the herbal manufacturing processes here for herbal extractions and has been offering free community clinics to her clients since 2004.
Workshop Overview
In this unique personalised tea tasting and formulating experience, you’ll have the opportunity to sample 8 of Dominique’s favourite Winter herbs and gain an understanding on how they can be formulated in a tea.
You’ll taste each individual herb – following which you’ll create your own blends depending on which common winter conditions you’d like a tea remedy or support for such as:
- Cough, cold and flu relief
- Upper respiratory
- Anti viral
- Immunity
Each workshop participant will take dry herbs home for use throughout the winter months.
Gabrielle Covino, Dr Lesley Braun, Liza Twohill & Rachel Arthur – Mentoring for Every Stage: New Graduates, Seasoned Practitioners and Everyone In-between
Gabe Covino is a committed and passionate Naturopath with nearly 20 years’ experience in complementary medicine across practice, academia, and industry. Her career has equipped her with strong skills in education, science communication, project management, technical writing, and clinical supervision. In her most recent role at Blackmores Institute, she led content strategy, translational science communication and advocacy – bridging the gap between complex scientific concepts and diverse audiences, including consumers and healthcare professionals.
Click the arrow to find out more about our panelists
Dr Lesley Braun, PhD is a leading Australian researcher, academic and clinician in integrative and herbal medicine, with a background spanning pharmacy, naturopathy and evidence-based complementary healthcare. She is Chief Science Officer at Sparkle Wellness in the United States, where she leads scientific strategy, research translation and innovation. Dr Braun also holds multiple advisory roles across research, education, industry and policy, and volunteers with The Social Blueprint. Formerly Global Director of the Blackmores Institute and a senior academic at Monash University and Western Sydney University, she is author of Herbs and Natural Supplements and founding Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Integrative Medicine. A passionate advocate for women in healthcare, Dr Braun speaks openly on issues such as gender bias, leadership, and imposter syndrome, and is committed to supporting inclusive, meaningful careers in health and science. She is sought after as a speaker and panelist for her clarity, warmth, and capacity to translate complex evidence into practical insight – always grounded in collaboration, purpose, and the belief that impactful work should also be enjoyable.
Liza Twohill is a Naturopath, mentor, research clinician and successful business owner with more than 25 years in clinical practice. She is passionate about the inclusion of complementary medicine in primary healthcare particularly for those with chronic and complex health issues in regional and remote locations. Living and working in regional and remote Australia has provided Liza with unique opportunities to develop her skills as a clinical, particularly in utilising the foundations of Naturopathic care, including whole food education, food as medicine, herbal medicine and lifestyle medicine. She is an Adjunct Professional Fellow at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) at Southern Cross University and sits on the Course Advisory Committee for Naturopathic Medicine.
Rachel Arthur is a seasoned naturopath and registered nutritionist with a specialisation in integrative nutrition and diagnostics. With three decades of experience spanning clinical practice and educational settings, Rachel has established herself as a leading educator in the field of nutritional medicine. Her work is deeply rooted in evidence-based practices, contributing to renowned texts such as the award-winning Herbs & Natural Supplements – An Evidence-Based Guide across all four editions. With a passion for integrative health and an ongoing dedication to professional development, Rachel’s presentations are not only informative but also transformative, making a significant impact on the practitioners she mentors.
Presentation Overview
Self-doubt is a familiar companion in clinical practice. It lingers for experienced practitioners who quietly wonder if they are still getting it right and it shows up for new graduates who assume confidence will arrive “one day,”. In naturopathy and Western herbal medicine, imposter syndrome is not a personal failing – it is a shared, often unspoken part of learning, practising, and growing.
Facilitated by Gabrielle Covino, this one-hour panel conversation brings together leaders in our profession – Dr Lesley Braun, Rachel Arthur, and Liza Twohill – for an engaging discussion about how practitioners have traditionally learned their craft, and how that has changed.
Many of us trained in an era where you “did your time,” learned as you went, and hoped there were generous people around you willing to answer questions or offer reassurance. Mentoring, if it existed at all, was largely unstructured and dependent on chance.
Fast forward to today, and mentoring has emerged as a discipline in its own right, alongside unprecedented access to clinical education. While this depth of knowledge is invaluable, it does not always address the quieter, more complex realities of practice – learning how to think like a practitioner, hold uncertainty, navigate professional identity, manage responsibility early, and remain connected in what can be an isolating profession. This session explores why that shift matters, particularly in a field where practitioners are expected to carry confidence for others while still finding it themselves. These challenges exist for both entry level, and experienced, practitioners. The panel will reflect on the role of meaningful mentoring relationships in normalising uncertainty, shortening learning curves, and creating a genuine sense of professional belonging that extends beyond skills transfer alone.
Rather than offering polished answers, this discussion will make space for real stories, shared experience, and collective wisdom. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding that imposter syndrome is not something you outgrow, but something you learn to navigate – often with the help of others. The session sets the scene for a renewed conversation about support, connection, and why mentoring matters now more than ever in clinical practice.
Associate Professor Greg Connolly – Connecting to Community: Holistic Health and Positive Ageing
Dr Greg Connolly, PhD, Associate Professor Naturopathy, Torrens University is a naturopathic practitioner, educator, researcher and mentor. Greg was in full-time practice for 22 years and taught at the Southern School of Natural Therapies, now Torrens University, since 1992. Since 2016 Greg works full-time at Torrens University in research and teaching in naturopathy and western herbal medicine. Greg has been the inaugural chair of the Torrens University Health faculty research strategy committee. He is a member of two WNF committees for naturopathic philosophy and naturopathic research advocacy.
He is a Board director of the Jacka Foundation for Natural Therapies that provides funding for naturopathic research and PhD scholarships. Greg is a recipient of the Bioceutical Integrative Medicine “Living Legend” award for his four decades of national and international contributions to the naturopathic community. He has won several other awards for academic teaching and conference presentations, such as the NHAA 2019 award for Best Oral Presentation for Research.
Presentation Overview
Associate Professor Greg Connolly and Dr Pauline McCabe have conducted research with people over 55 regarding holistic wellness and natural therapies such as herbal medicine.
The research took place in a Lifestyle Village for over 55s. Connolly and McCabe conducted eight workshops in 2025 on the 12 dimensions of holistic health. These 12 dimensions are self-care, breathing, sensing, eating, moving, feeling, thinking, work and play, communication, intimacy, finding meaning, and transcendence. Surveys, focus groups and interviews gathered insights into older people’s beliefs, values and perspectives on natural health.
Approximately 30% of Australians are over 55. There are over 2, 700 retirement villages with more than 260,000 residents. 80% of Australians over 65 have a chronic health condition, and 28% have 3 or more concurrent chronic health conditions. The health system is fragmented with people experiencing uncoordinated or lacking services, leading to feelings of disempowerment, frustration and disengagement. Improving wellbeing with natural therapies is often self-treating with herbal medicine and supplements, seeking information from the internet, and not having professional advice from naturopaths and herbalists.
Naturopaths and herbalists are well placed to cultivate connections with these communities and provide much needed support for chronic health conditions.
Findings from this research show that holistic wellness programs enhance the ability for older people to connect more and support each other in improving health. This increases their social connections and decreases their sense of isolation and loneliness. It builds confidence and increases self-empowerment. They develop knowledge and confidence in applying natural health strategies to enhance personal wellbeing and a higher level of wellness.
There are great opportunities for naturopaths and herbalists to connect with these communities of older Australians. These communities are very keen to know more about natural therapies and the benefits of holistic health for positive ageing.
Dr Jason Hawrelak – All Bogged-Up: Herbal Medicines to Improve Gut Motility
Dr Jason Hawrelak is a researcher, educator, Western herbalist, and naturopath with over 25 years’ clinical experience. He did his PhD examining the capacity of probiotics, prebiotics, and herbal medicines to modify the gastrointestinal tract microbiota and teaches worldwide on the topics of microbiota modification and gut health. He has published extensively in these areas, including 20 textbook chapters. Dr Hawrelak is on the Medical Nutrition Council of the American Society for Nutrition, is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition and a Life Member of the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia. Dr Hawrelak maintains a busy telehealth clinical practice as lead clinician in the Hawrelak Gut and Microbiome Clinic.
Dr Hawrelak is Chief Research Officer at ProbioticAdvisor.com, which offers a searchable database that enables easy, evidence-based prescribing of probiotic products. He also founded, and is Lead Educator at the Microbiome Restoration Center, an online educational centre devoted to training health professionals to become microbiome savvy clinicians.
Presentation Overview
Constipation and slow bowel transit time are common presentations in clinical practice. Beyond the obvious consequences, like abdominal discomfort and distension, haemorrhoids and anal tears, are systemic symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and brain fog, as well as an increased risk of a range of chronic diseases. In the past, naturopaths referred to these systemic symptoms as being caused by bowel toxaemia, which can be described as the absorption of toxins from a slow-moving bowel that results in systemic symptoms and chronic disease.
This session will highlight the issues that evolve from a chronically slow-moving bowel and examine the growing list of conditions associated with endotoxemia. The key focus will be on herbal medicines that we can use to speed bowel transit time, with some additional discussion on specific probiotics, prebiotics, and nutritional agents that can also be used for this purpose. We’ll be reevaluating traditional laxative herbs under a contemporary lens to reconsider the mechanisms of action and potential safety concerns under a new light.
Julie Forrester & Karinda John – Returning to Our Natural Rhythm: Circadian Signaling for Whole Body Health
Julie Forrester, Naturopath (BHSc) is a self-confessed microbiome nerd who enthusiastically supports people of all ages, genders, and stages, often with complex health issues. She loves supporting women in the menopausal transition, with the added benefit of hindsight. Julie is also a technical writer, speaker and cohost of The Nuanced Naturopaths Podcast, who also creates bespoke therapeutic creams in her ‘spare time’.
Karinda John, Naturopath (BHSc) & Fertility Awareness Educator, is passionate about all things hormones & menstrual cycles. In clinic, she’s supported 100s of women resolve period problems & hormone imbalances through harnessing the healing power of nature & naturopathy. She also loves to spread the word on natural health & cyclical living through podcasts, as host of Oh My Menses and cohost of The Nuanced Naturopaths with Julie Forrester.
Presentation Overview
This talk will help natural health practitioners understand just how crucial our circadian rhythm is for entire physiology. It’s the reminder we all need that light, and being intentional with our exposure to both sunlight, moonlight and darkness, are some of our most under-utilised (but most impactful!) tools we have in clinic. Is this an under-utilised pillar of health?
We’ll cover:
– The basic anatomy of our ‘biological clocks’, and how our bodies use light as a signal (for more than just sleeping and waking)
– The importance of light for mitochondrial health, and how mitochondrial dysfunction underlies most symptoms & ailments our clients are seeking support for
– The concept of quantum biology & photobiomodulation — going beyond the chemical messengers we focus on for cellular health
– Melatonin – pineal versus intracellular and how to optimise it
– What an optimal circadian rhythm looks like, and how we can use timed light exposure (and avoidance) to prime our circadian signalling
– How different times of day (as informed by light or darkness exposure) inform the function of specific organs & hormones
– An ideal routine from sunrise to sunset, and practical tools/strategies, to implement with your patients AND in your own life
Justin Sinclair – Cannabis & Endometriosis: Connection, Tradition and Research with the Patient Community
Justin Sinclair is a naturopath, pharmacognosist and researcher currently completing his PhD investigating medicinal cannabis and its role in the management of endometriosis with NICM Health Research Institute at Western Sydney University. He is a Fellow of the NHAA, and has previously served on the board of the NHAA as an executive director and examiner, is a founding board member of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association, a Scientific Advisor to the Board of United in Compassion (Medicinal Cannabis patient advocacy group), and serves on the steering committee for Cannabis Clinicians Australia. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters since 2015, and delivered over 130 lectures on the topic of medicinal cannabis.
Presentation Overview
Endometriosis is a chronic, systemic, inflammatory condition affecting millions worldwide, yet conventional therapies, namely surgery, hormonal suppression, and analgesics, often provide insufficient relief. Since 2015, my research program has explored the role of medicinal cannabis as a complementary and alternative approach to symptom management, illuminating both the promise and the challenges of this evolving field.
This body of work connects traditional plant-based medicine with contemporary clinical inquiry. Through large international surveys, app-based cohort studies, and qualitative research, my colleagues and I have documented how individuals with endometriosis are turning to cannabis to manage pain, insomnia, gastrointestinal symptoms, and mood disturbances. Our findings show high rates of pharmaceutical substitution, including opioid and psychotropic deprescribing, alongside perceived improvements in quality of life. At the same time, we highlight risks associated with illicit access, non-disclosure to healthcare providers, and unsupervised substitution—revealing a complex clinical landscape where patients are often ahead of the medical system.
Connection is central to this research. It links patient experiences with scientific evidence, bridges cultural and historical uses of cannabis with modern pharmacology, and calls for stronger communication between patients, clinicians, and policy-makers alike. It also connects emerging science—such as the endocannabinoid system—with the wisdom of lived experience, underscoring the need to integrate both in our health landscape.
In this lecture, I will share the traditional, clinical, and social dimensions of medicinal cannabis use in endometriosis, the substitution effect, and the stigma that patients navigate. Ultimately, this work seeks to connect evidence with empathy, tradition with innovation, and patients’ needs with the evolving possibilities of integrative, patient-centred care.
Kerrie Oakes – Growing Together: Kickstart Your Community Herbal Clinic – a workshop
Kerrie Oakes is a practising herbalist, currently undertaking her PhD in Community Managed Herbal Medicine at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine at Southern Cross University. She has a background in community and youth development, government policy, community engagement, and disaster management. Kerrie has been involved in developing cooperative and “just in time” models of herbal healthcare and support. Her professional and academic interests are in equitable and affordable access to herbal medicine, the place of herbal medicine within Primary Health Care and the role of communities in healthcare service provision.
Workshop Overview
Establishing a community herbal clinic can be a rewarding and impactful way to support local health and wellbeing. Building on examples identified through extensive literature reviews and in-person visits to Community Clinics in Australia, the United States, India and Ireland, this workshop will provide an overview of planning, setting up, and sustaining a clinic, with opportunities for discussion and hands-on learning.
An essential part of launching a successful clinic is cultivating connections—both within the community and among practitioners to create networks of support, resources and wisdom. During this session, participants will form connections with others interested in this exciting form of herbal practice and explore opportunities for ongoing discussion and activity towards expanding the availability of Community Herbal Clinics across Australia.
This introductory session aims to empower attendees with foundational knowledge and practical strategies. The workshop will blend practical tips with real-life examples, allowing attendees to connect, learn, and collaborate in a supportive environment. Whether you are new to herbal medicine or already involved in community projects, this introduction aims to spark inspiration and provide actionable steps for your own clinic journey.
Workshop Aims:
- Guide participants through the key steps, considerations, and practicalities in establishing a community herbal clinic.
- Identify existing connections and communities of practice that can be provide support for practitioners to share experiences, exchange knowledge and collaborate on best practice Community Herbal Clinic development in Australia.
Workshop Follow-up:
Online connection – regular ongoing meetups to discuss challenges, share suggestions, maintain connections amongst participants, and explore the potential for ongoing activities including research, workshops, and peer support
Lee Carroll – Mushrooms and Medicine: Re-connecting Human Health with the Fungal World
Lee Carroll, BHSc (WHM), BSc, is a medical herbalist, innovator, speaker and educator with over 30 years of experience at the forefront of the herbal medicine industry. He is committed to delivering the highest quality patient care, drawing from the latest scientific insights while honouring traditional wisdom and has had the privilege of transforming thousands of lives through teaching and clinical practice. In 2021, Lee established Herba Meditari, an on-demand educational platform that empowers health professionals with tools to make a difference. Lee’s superpower lies in distilling complex medicinal mushroom and herbal knowledge into accessible, practical, and clinically relevant insights.
Presentation Overview
Human history and health are profoundly interwoven with the fungal kingdom. Archaeological evidence suggests mushrooms were integral to ancestral diets and rituals, shaping both survival and culture. Modern epidemiology strengthens this connection: even modest mushroom consumption is linked to healthier aging, lower cancer incidence, improved cognition, and enhanced longevity across populations. Notably, the associations with reduced cancer risk appear even stronger than those typically reported for plants.
Fungi are not plants; they provide unique nutrients and metabolites that remain only partly understood. Beta-glucans and diverse secondary metabolites clearly play a role, but another central thread is ergothioneine, a unique amino acid antioxidant found almost exclusively in fungi. Humans possess a dedicated and widely expressed transporter for ergothioneine, highlighting evolutionary importance. Levels decline with age, and low status is associated with chronic disease and neurodegeneration. Recent discoveries emphasize its adaptive redox switching, mitochondrial support via hydrogen sulfide signaling, and emerging roles in maternal health and early life development.
This presentation explores how reconnecting with fungi, dietarily, therapeutically, and conceptually, offers new ways to cultivate health. We will examine:
- Archaeological and cultural evidence for ancient human–fungal relationships and modern applications.
- Epidemiological links between mushroom intake, healthspan, and disease resilience.
- Ergothioneine’s role as a key connector between fungi and human health, including redox regulation, mitochondrial protection, and cognition.
- Emerging insights into ergothioneine in pregnancy, lactation, and early life.
By bridging traditional knowledge, biomedical science, and evolutionary perspectives, this session invites practitioners to see fungi not only as therapeutic allies but as vital connectors between human health, environment, and culture. This talk will highlight how honoring our fungal kinship enriches both clinical practice and collective wellbeing
Dr Michael Thomsen – Integrating Scientific Evidence and Supply Chain Transparency: A Novel Accreditation Paradigm
Michael Thomsen is herbalist and naturopath. He has a Master of Science, Graduate School of Integrative Medicine, Swinburne University, and a PhD from the Department of Medical Sciences, Sydney University Medical School.
Michael has extensive industry experience as past technical manager of leading herbal medicine companies in Australia
He is the author of the popular Phytotherapy Desk Reference, now in its fifth edition having sold 16,000 copies worldwide, and the companion web app featuring herb-drug interactions and clinical research of all herbal medicines used in Australia.
Presentation Overview
The traceability of raw materials across complex global supply chains is increasingly recognised as a critical factor in ensuring product integrity, consumer safety, and regulatory compliance.
Drawing on fieldwork with the United Nations International Trade Centre (ITC) in Bangladesh, this paper further examines structural barriers constraining the domestic herbal medicine sector. Through workshops and site visits, critical issues were identified, including subsistence farmers’ reluctance to engage in high-risk herbal cultivation over food crops, inadequate drying and storage, and limited market access.
Systematic frameworks that integrate empirical validation with end-to-end supply chain documentation remain limited. This paper presents the evidence-based accreditation model designed to certify products with complete traceability from cultivation to finished form.
The model emphasises three core components: (1) rigorous documentation of cultivation and harvesting practices, (2) verification of processing and manufacturing steps against quality and safety benchmarks, and (3) deployment of traceability to establish an auditable chain of custody. By aligning accreditation with peer-reviewed evidence and transparent reporting standards, the framework addresses persistent challenges in consumer trust and regulatory oversight.
Preliminary case analyses suggest that this approach enhances both product credibility and supply chain accountability, providing a replicable structure for herbal medicines. The findings support the argument that evidence-based accreditation not only strengthens market differentiation but also contributes to advancing scientific rigour in supply chain governance
Nathan Rose – Cultivating Recovery; Connecting Herbal Wisdom to the Expectation Effect
With over 20 years of industry experience in clinical practice and leading teams in education, innovation, and research and development, Nathan brings a broad skill set and passion to deliver cutting-edge, engaging and clinically relevant information. Combining his background in naturopathy with his innate curiosity, Nathan has a relentless drive to uncover and broadcast new solutions to common clinical presentations. As a recognised international speaker and industry-thought leader, Nathan’s presentations are novel and insightful, and at times question the status quo, all in attempt to continue to progress the power and efficacy of natural healthcare.
Presentation Overview
New science on the brain-body connection—known as predictive coding or the expectation effect—reveals how diagnostic labels shape patients’ mental models, influencing their physiology for better or worse. Despite good intentions, growing evidence suggests that medicalising normal variations in psychology and physiology, along with diagnostic labels, often hinders healing. From hypothyroidism and tumour screening to diabetes, long COVID, ADHD, and depression, studies reveal hidden costs: amplified symptoms, reduced resilience, and entrenched illness identities.
Naturopaths face this too. Concepts like leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, and mast cell activation syndrome—rooted in real physiological shifts—raise questions about their labelling effects, potentially deepening patient distress rather than fostering recovery.
In this interactive session, we will explore the art and science of diagnostic labelling, drawing on clinical stories to uncover unexpected pitfalls, even with accurate diagnoses. You’ll gain a practical framework to connect patients with a recovery identity over a disease identity, leveraging the brain-body link to inspire hope and agency. This bridges traditional healing wisdom—rooted in nature’s resilience—with contemporary research on expectation’s power.
We will contrast harmful framing with empowering alternatives that promote healing without over-relying on labels or invasive tests. Plus, we’ll review robust clinical data on herbs and nutrients that drive profound recovery, indicated by symptoms alone. These align with elder knowledge of nature’s restorative potential, offering prescriptions that connect patients to vitality narratives.
Join the session to cultivate a deeper connection in your practice—merging ancient herbal insights with modern science—turning potential unintentional barriers into transformative change.
Phil Rasmussen – Cultivating Connections: Medicinal Plant Field Trials in Aotearoa New Zealand
Phil is a medical herbalist, pharmacist and researcher with more than 30 years of clinical experience. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy at the University of Auckland, and served as President of the NZ Association of Medical Herbalists from 2018-2021. He is a founding board member of the local industry body Natural Health Products New Zealand, and previously founded and developed a GMP-certified company manufacturing more than 200 herbal extracts for practitioners in New Zealand and Australia.
Phil is a longstanding advocate for land use diversification and efforts to enhance local autonomy and resilience in the medicinal plant supply chain, while simultaneously incorporating ethical and sustainability principles. In recent years he has been actively involved with several programmes undertaking medicinal plant field trials, as part of efforts to establish a stronger commercial medicinal plant growing sector in his country.
Presentation Overview
Reliable access by practitioners and patients to medicinal plants is a vital need for future health care.
Most of the medicinal plants used by herbal practitioners in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are sourced from other countries and not our own. While this enables us to access a large and diverse range of species and at relatively low costs, risks are emerging, due to climate change, geopolitical events, and other supply chain pressures.
Cultivating more medicinal plants in our own countries, can improve medicine security and control over quality, shorten lead times, and build deep and healthy connections between numerous stakeholder groups. Medicinal plant cultivation trials foster partnerships between landowners and farmers and their communities, scientists and the natural health product industry, environmentalists and practitioners, and much more. These connections have the potential to not only enhance rural economies, local biodiversity and community engagement, but also better connect plants, practitioners and patients.
Phil has been actively involved with medicinal plant field trials at three separate locations in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past eight years, each including different species. These have produced many learnings and outcomes, and identified some of the challenges in establishing commercially viable operations.
In this presentation, Phil will summarise his experiences with these field trials, and discuss their ability to knit a closer connectivity between herbal practitioners and their plants, farmers and their land use decisions, people and their environment, and ultimately patients and health. By better understanding the challenges and opportunities that increased local medicinal plant production entails, herbal practitioners can help catalyse and act as a resource for similar trials within their local communities.
Recent research and phytochemistry considerations for some of the trial plants concerned, and evidence that demand for these is likely to continue to grow, will also be presented.
Sustainability Special Interest Group – Reconnecting with Herbs as Friends
This hands-on workshop is presented by the Sustainability Special Interest Group. Workshop facilitators will be announced soon.
Workshop Overview
Join us as we take some time to celebrate our sometimes forgotten or under-appreciated botanical friends. We will explore several herbs that are either common weeds or easily sourced regionally.
Our exploration will include drawing from traditional understandings and contemporary findings. Does this change our perspectives on their potential applications? We will pair this with sensory exploration, smelling and tasting different extract types, and the plants themselves.
There will be an opportunity for sharing stories and experiences with these botanical allies