How Folkwise Herbal Clinic Works

Hi, I’m Sean Dugan, licensed and board-certified herbalist. 

This article is about how my herbal clinic works. I’ll start with the nuts and bolts of the clinical process - everything you need to know to use the system as a patient. Further down, I will dive into why I do things the way I do. 

Here’s how it works in a nutshell.

Getting Started

1. Schedule a consultation and complete online intake forms. 

2. At your consultation I will recommend a treatment plan

3. Pay for your first formula, and start taking your herbs within a few days. 

Continuing treatment

1. Evaluation. I will evaluate your treatment every 2 to 12 weeks depending on your 

treatment plan. Complete the online intake form and pay for evaluation here. 

2. Refill herbs. You can order refills of your current herbs as needed here.

3. Continue taking herbs as recommended. 

4. Schedule follow-up consultations as needed. 

And now let’s get into it in more detail. 

Getting Started

If you would like to begin herbal medicine treatment with me, start by scheduling an appointment for herbal consultation. 

You’ll receive my online intake forms via email. Please complete these forms ahead of time, and with as much detail as you can provide. 

Your consultation can be done in-person, over the phone, or through video chat. During this visit, we will go over important details about your treatment plan. 

You can then purchase your first herbal formula, and get started! Read more about formulas types here.

Continuing Treatment

Evaluation. I will evaluate the progress of your treatment at different intervals depending on your treatment plan, ranging from every 2 weeks to every 12 weeks. At the highest level of care, I evaluate your treatment every 2 weeks. Read more about tiers of clinic care here.

When it’s time for your evaluation, you can complete the intake form and pay for evaluation here. I do evaluations once per week, on Saturdays, for all my patients. You will need to have your intake form completed and evaluation paid for by 10 am Saturday in order to receive an evaluation that week. If you miss the deadline, I will evaluate your intake the following Saturday and continue the process.

When I evaluate your progress per what you report on your intake form, I may decide to adjust the formula composition, formula type, or have you continue on the current treatment depending on what is needed to support your health. I will communicate with you about the next steps, if there are changes to dosage or formula type. You can then order your next round of herbs to continue, and they will ship out the following Monday.

Refills. If you are in-between evaluations and doing well on your current formula, you can refill your current herbs here. Classical Pearls formulas ship out within 1-2 business days, Monday through Saturday. I make granule extract and raw herb formulas Friday through Monday and they ship out within 1-2 business days of your order. 

That concludes the practical ins and outs of working with me. 

If you are curious about why I do things the way I do, or would like more details about the treatment process (and what makes it so effective), keep reading!

All your questions will be answered.

The way I practice Chinese herbal medicine is different from how medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, and functional medicine doctors do business, so it might feel a little odd to you at first. My techniques are probably also different from what you have experienced with other herbalists or acupuncturists you’ve seen in the past.

Rest assured; there is a method to the madness.

​

Let’s start with how my process works!

I have been treating patients with intensive Chinese herbal medicine for more than 12 years. In Chinese medicine, we address problems by:​

1. gathering information

2. analyzing that information to understand the root of the problem

3. writing an herbal prescription to treat the root cause of the problem

The information that I need might be different from what you think.

I don’t necessarily need Western medical disease diagnosis, lab tests, or imaging for Chinese Medicine diagnosis and treatment. 

Let me explain why.

Chinese Medicine is an independent medical system, developed long before western medicine. meaning that it’s unrelated to Western medicine, and the diagnostic methods we use are unique.

We examine the clinical history (when the problem started, etc), the metrics of your body’s global function (like your appetite, digestion, bowel movement), the nature of your problem (what makes it better or worse etc), and objective measures like examining your tongue–which actually tells us a lot about your body’s inner workings. These examinations tell us everything we need to know about your health, and what we need to do to unwind the presenting pathology and direct your body towards greater wellbeing. 

I gather this information through an adaptive online intake form I designed to collect every piece of data I need in order to analyze and treat a case. 

As an aside, if you are interested in a deeper dive into how Chinese Medicine works–theory, diagnosis, and all of that fun stuff, please check my article About Chinese Medicine

Now for your role in the process! 

If you are wondering if I can help you, the first step is to schedule an appointment using our online scheduling tool, and fill out my online intake forms. 

When filling out my intake form, it is important that you include as much detail as possible, including a photo of your tongue in good lighting.  You can include any diagnoses you may have, but also take time to describe how you are feeling. (For example, rather than just saying “Migraines”, you might say something like: I have weekly migraines with pain behind both eyes, vomiting, and intolerance of light and loud sounds and the migraines are triggered by eating cheese” —or whatever the case may be.)

Consultations can be done in-person, over the phone or through video chat. During this visit, we will go over important details about your treatment plan, including the duration of your treatment, what to expect when taking herbal medicine, and any lifestyle or dietary change that may be important in your healing process.

You can then move forward with your treatment plan by paying for your initial herbal formula. Your herbs will be delivered to you within a few days.

Now you’ll notice that I said “initial formula”. That’s important! This first formula will last for two weeks. Depending on your treatment plan, I will need to evaluate how the treatment is working every 2 to 12 weeks. We will determine how often you need evaluation at your initial consultation. At the decided upon interval,  you’ll complete a follow-up online intake and pay for evaluation. On the intake form you’ll note any changes to how you are feeling and provide an updated tongue photo.

This provides me with information about how the treatment is working, and tells me if anything needs to be adjusted. I will write an updated formula if needed and you can then order your next round of herbs. We continue like that for the duration of your treatment. If your treatment plan doesn’t require evaluation every two weeks, you can order refills in between evaluations. 

There are a few reasons why your treatment needs to be evaluated and altered over time for greatest efficacy.

One is because you change over time – that’s the whole point!

Two, my herbal treatments are strong.

The dosage of my formulas are typically 10-50 times higher than what you get from herbal medicine that’s self-prescribed, recommended by a naturopath, functional medicine doctor, or many acupuncturists. 

Their higher potency means they work better, faster.

It also means that you can’t always take the same formula for 6 months. It might need to be re-evaluated and adjusted regularly.

Thirdly, treatment of complex problems often happens in stages; for example we may need to first correct underlying digestive problems, so that your body can absorb and metabolize the herbs needed to address your chief complaint. 

Throughout the treatment process, I recommend scheduling a follow-up consultation (a 30 minute one-on-one appointment with me by phone, video, or in person) every 3 months in cases of longer term treatment plans or if a new concern arises. Beyond that, scheduling regular consultations is not necessary for most clients. All you have to do is follow your treatment plan, refill herbs and complete the evaluation process as needed. However, if you have a very difficult case, or if you simply want additional support and have lots of questions - you can schedule follow-up consultations whenever you want.

Okay, so at this point you may be wondering: What exactly is an herbal formula? I have been throwing the term around a lot.

An herbal formula is a combination of medicinal herbs that are taken together and work in tandem to create a desired effect in the body. 

This is one of the things that makes Chinese herbal medicine stand head and shoulders above other herbal medicine systems.

By combining the natures and actions of different powerful herbs, we can create a balanced, focused, and effective treatment that is infinitely adaptable.

I create the formula by selecting from hundreds of single herbs in the Chinese herbal pharmacopeia, and then combining these within each other, each with its own specific dosage within the formula.

This is not a protocol of products and supplements that you can find on Amazon or Fullscript. I operate my own Chinese herbal pharmacy for two reasons - because there are not many in the United States, and because I want to make sure the herbs I carry are the highest quality. Your custom granule extract and raw herb formulas are made in-house, by me. Capsule formulas are sourced from Classical Pearls, the best line of encapsulated granule extracts. 

So how much does Chinese herbal medicine treatment cost?

I’ll be honest with you: my herbal medicine programs are not cheap. 

Our initial 60 min consultation is $200. 

The cost of your herbal medicine ranges from $60 to $400 per month based on dosage. Read more about costs of treatment and tiers of clinical care here. Treatment plans will vary in length based on the condition, but the average treatment plan is 3 to 6 months.

Evaluation of your herbal treatment is $50, every 2 to 12 weeks depending on your treatment plan. 

30 minute follow-up consultations are $100, typically scheduled every 3 months.

This can all sound like a lot, but in my clinic I frequently help patients who have previously spent much more on treatments that did not work. You might save a lot of money by starting here. 

A great deal of time, attention, care, and clinical experience goes into analyzing your case and selecting the appropriate herbs for you. On top of that, I use the highest quality herbs that money can buy, rigorously tested for potency and screened for contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides.

It’s also important to remember that we are not treating you indefinitely, so the monthly cost is not a long-term recurring cost. Chinese herbal medicine treatment is focused on reversing the root cause of your condition, not suppressing symptoms indefinitely.

I hope this article helped you understand the ins and outs of starting herbal treatment with me a little better!

If you want to learn more, or still have questions, please check out my About Chinese Medicine article.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Sean Dugan L.Ac.