Also known as recruiters or search consultants, headhunters have a lot to offer certain groups of professionals. For the most part, they work with employers to find the perfect match for high paying and hard-to-fill corporate jobs. They specialize in certain industries or career fields and are very familiar with the employers' needs, company and culture, and they get plenty of insider information. The main thing they have to offer job hunters is access to job openings that will never be advertised.

If you are considering using a headhunter, you should understand that in most cases, headhunters are paid by the employers. In fact, they may collect as much as 25 to 33 percent of your first year's pay and possibly a percentage of your expected bonus or commission. That being said, their goal is help their clients, not you.

'If you are really clear about what you want and have researched and tailored your resume, you may find opportunities with headhunters," said Dr. Barbara Reinhold, independent executive and career coach.

Headhunters aren't going to help write your resume or help you figure out what type of job you want to land. So, if resume writing and career counseling is what you need, connect with the career center at your alma mater or the local Department of Labor office for free job search help.

Headhunters are also not likely to interview you for specific jobs. Instead, they may conduct an interview to learn as much as possible about your background, skills, etc., so that they can present you as a candidate to an employer when they receive a request or when they uncover a vacancy through interacting with their many contacts.

Headhunters network extensively to build and nurture relationships with employers who hire professionals in specialized careers or industries and to find great candidates that those employers may want to hire. And, they network in some of the same places in which job seekers should be networking, like events hosted by professional and alumni associations. They also network with their fellow headhunters, sometimes lending a helping hand and sometimes receiving one. Finally, many headhunters scour LinkedIn profiles and reach out to professionals online to add to their pool of contacts for future openings.

It is relatively easy for job searchers to find headhunters too.

"You can start with the internet to find executive directories or simply google headhunters, executive search firms or even staffing agencies, depending upon your level," said Reinhold former director of the Career Development Office and Executive Education Programs at Smith College. "Always plan to interview them too."

Whether you decide to research potential headhunters or they find you, be careful not to enter into a 'relationship' without gathering some information about their credibility. Read online reviews, verify their success rates and ask people you know and trust for referrals.

Very small numbers of job hunters get jobs with the help of headhunters so don't get discouraged if working with one is not working for you.

"Headhunters tend to use the line 'You're not marketable' but what they really mean is 'My database doesn't have any of the jobs you would be good at," Reinhold said.

The end of pregnancy is wrought with exhaustion and constant urination.

Insomnia coupled with intense sweating.

Cramps and pain and waddles.

It’s not a miracle; it’s a nightmare.

I crave things I’ve run out of room to eat.  I’m cranky and irritable.  I just want a nap and a marathon of some cheesy reality series and cheesier snacks.

But my children don’t care or humor me in the least, and neither does the Navy.

My husband isn’t home to help anymore.  And this baby is coming soon.  Very soon.

But not soon enough.

It’s not fall down here in the South yet.  My legs sweat like sausages in a pan when I leave the house wearing anything but maternity underwear. Not to mention that nothing fits.

And the crying.  Oh, the crying.

My daughter is doing a school lesson on sea turtles, and we watched several YouTube videos of the hatchling turtles digging out of their beach nests and wiggling their tiny turtle bodies down to the sea foam before being swept up by the ocean waves.

And I cried the tears of joy I couldn’t control because they were just so cute.  And little.  And they were trying so hard to beat it down to that surf.

My hormones are out of control.

So, in fact, a total nightmare may be an understatement.

I’m just grateful it’s almost over.  But I’m also scared of what this birth will look like.

Without my husband’s support and the added burden of my daughters.

Plus, because it’s my third baby, I am simply not ready.  Tiny onesies aren’t folded.  Blankets aren’t washed.  I need a little more time.

It’s enough to bring on the tears again.  It makes me thoroughly confused and emotional.

It’s all very muddy these days, these end of pregnancy days.

So I may be miserable, but it’s true.

 I’m not ready yet.

Tropical Storm Joaquin has become a hurricane and is barreling towards the east coast today. Eleven  states, stretching from Appalachia to New England are under flood watch.

And in those states there are likely thousands of military families, who PCS'd there this summer and have never had to prepare for a hurricane. If this includes you, you should start preparing, now.

www.ready.gov/hurricanes provides a complete checklist of everything you need to know about hurricane preparation and evacuation. The site even provides a list of what you need to be doing when the hurricane is 36 hours from arriving, 18 hours from arriving and six hours from arriving.

The organization's most basic preparedness tips:

• Know where to go. If you are ordered to evacuate, know the local hurricane evacuation route(s) to take and have a plan for where you can stay. Contact your local emergency management agency for more information.
• Put together a disaster supply kit, including a flashlight, batteries, cash, first aid supplies, and copies of your critical information if you need to evacuate
• If you are not in an area that is advised to evacuate and you decide to stay in your home, plan for adequate supplies in case you lose power and water for several days and you are not able to leave due to flooding or blocked roads.
• Make a family emergency communication plan that includes discussing a safe place everyone will head to during the storm and how your family will keep in touch if communication systems are out.
• Many communities have text or email alerting systems for emergency notifications. To find out what alerts are available in your area, search the Internet with your town, city, or county name and the word “alerts.”

You can also follow the progress of storms by visiting the National Hurricane Center's website at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

The PCS move is over, now it is time to prepare for any emergencies in your new region. Don't wait to prepare for major storms. Hurricane season runs until the end of November. There is a lot of time left for a major storm to hit.

So, I’m in this microeconomics class.

You may have taken a microeconomics class before, and you may read this and think that I am a whiny, self-pitying pain in the butt, and that is occasionally true.  At any rate, I’m going to give you a rundown of the first two chapters of my lessons:

Nebraska and Iowa grow corn and wheat, right? (Understand that this scenario may or may not have any kind of basis in reality, but I don’t care.)  Anyway, they grow corn and wheat, and they each grow specific amounts. But who grows corn better? Who grows wheat better? Why? Could one grow corn or wheat better than the other if they stopped growing the other crop? What if they only grew part of the other crop? What are they each missing out on by taking the time and money and resources it takes to grow the amounts of corn and wheat that they grow? What if they combined forces and became some kind of Midwestern corn/wheat superpower? Or what if they both stopped all growing of any kind and started making Blu-ray players?

Yes. These are all actual questions. And if all these questions seem crazy or boring (or crazy and boring), you are not alone, my friend. Now obviously there’s a lot of math involved with answering these questions. Frankly, it’s a lot like easy algebra, which should make life easy as well, right?

Unless the book sucks, and the formulas in it suck.

It’s not so much that the information is wrong, but that it’s oversimplified. It’s oversimplified to the point that you can use any of the formulas the textbook provides, and get the same (super wrong) answer!

Have any of you had this kind of problem with a textbook? What did you do?

Help me!                    

 

Don’t believe me? I’ll give you an example from my book:

                      E=  %  Change in Qd

                            % Change in P

Seems simple, right? Well, it is. Anyway, here’s the second example that can be found everywhere else:

 

 

 

So technically it’s the same thing, but the textbook version is so oversimplified that it makes it almost impossible to get the right answer.

One thing I do know, after this, I have no interest in eating, buying, selling or seeing wheat or corn.                      

It's down to the wire. Resumes were reviewed. Interviews were conducted. Thank you cards were received. All the top contenders are great candidates for Company X. But, there's only one position to fill. Let the reference checks begin!

How many times have you been holding your breath, hoping your references will get you over the top?

What happens when you are that hope for someone else?

When a friend asks you to be there reference, you might want to just say, “She's awesome! Hire her.”

Well, don't. That's not what the employer wants, and, it could cost her the job.

Great references are a must for job hunters. Be great by using these tips to validate the strength of her hard skills, soft skills and enthusiasm for the job.

Hard skills

Nothing is more important than having relevant technical skills to do the job because it conveys that one needs minimal training and orientation to hit the ground running. As a reference, take time to review the resume and the job description so you can hone in on whether that is the case.

If you don't know much about the field, call the job candidate or a colleague in the field and discuss with them the day-to-day work of a person in that job. It only takes a few minutes to gather the information that would make it an easy conversation with the employer.

After all, the employer's goal at this point is to confirm a match, not to be convinced of one.

Soft skills

Also known as people skills, soft skills involve managing people, including oneself. These general work characteristics make employees who have job-specific skills even more valuable to the team.

Since proof of people skills doesn't always come through on paper or in an interview, the employer and the job seeker are counting on you to turn the words into a living, breathing, get-the-job-done employee. Your interactions with the candidate can give you instant credibility as to why she is a great person for the job.

Use examples to put relevant people skills into context. For example, you might say, “I have worked with her on three complex projects and no matter how tough it got, she kept the team calm and focused on the priorities. Therefore, we always met timelines and our work products were error-free. To me, that is a sign of a great leader and she was widely recognized for it.”

Enthusiasm for the job

In a tough job market, people tend to apply for jobs even when they aren't excited about them. However, employers want candidates who want the job because they love it, or at least strongly like it.

Get this point across by mentioning what the person has done to prepare herself for such a job. Has she volunteered for assignments, attended training or engaged in professional opportunities?

If you aren't sure, ask the candidate, “What excites you about this job? Why do you think you are a good match for it? What have you done professionally to prepare for this job? How does it connect with your career goals?”

You don't have to spend a lot of time preparing to be a great reference. Just stay focused on information that makes you comfortable enough to have an honest, accurate conversation that will confirm your candidate is the right one for the job.

Walking into the lunchroom on the first day of a new job can feel a bit like being the new kid at school.

You don’t know who to sit by. Or where.

For those of us with the slightest bit of an introverted personality, sometimes it is easier to sit at our desk and read a book. Or just keep working as we munch on our sandwich.

Don’t.

One of the most important career moves you can make for yourself is to take the time at lunch to get to know your co-workers. Ask them about their lives, tell them about yours.

If you are uncomfortable talking about your personal life, find out about their professional life. How did they come to this company, what have they learned, what are their goals?

As we have PCS’d from place to place my first friends have almost always been those I’ve made at work. This year our office hired an intern from across the country.

I remember my days as an intern fondly. Lots to do, lots to learn, lots of mistakes. But it was a glorious time of learning and exploring and reaching out beyond my boundaries. I made lifelong friends and mentors. I loved it.

But for our new intern, the Deep South is a tough transition from her home in the Pacific Northwest. She was stunned. She was homesick. And rather than reach out to us, every day at lunch she shut her office door. She left early. We barely heard her at all.

Rather than learn about her new environment, she made fun of it. Our pleasant small talk was met with ridicule and attitude.

And suddenly, she was alone.

When she needed help, the tight-knit office that had worked together for a decade wasn’t interested.

Ouch.

Another employee and I who had only started in the last year approached her to talk about how important those professional relationships are and how she could work toward building them with her new co-workers.

She roller her eyes slightly. Oh, that’s going great. I think I’ve done a great job of that. We talk all the time, she told us.

The icy reception she receives every time she walks through the lobby tells us otherwise.

She is going to have a very long, lonely year.

Reach out to your co-workers. They are your friends, your confidantes and your biggest supporters for eight hours of the day, or more.  When you shut them out, you intentionally make every day on the job much harder than it needs to be.

Holidays are approaching. You know what that means? Employers need extra help! And you may be just the right fit.

Check out these military spouse only hiring fairs across the country. These events are hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation in an effort to keep spouses working even after PCS.

The employers who attended are looking for spouses because of the talent and skills that spouses can bring to their companies.

Remember to click on the link and register. Spaces fill fast!

Oct. 1

San Diego, Calif.

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/san-diego-hiring-fair

 

Oct. 6

Los Angeles, Calif.

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/los-angeles-hiring-fair

 

Virtual Job Fair

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/virtual-job-fair-7

 

Oct. 7

Knoxville, Tenn.

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/knoxville-hiring-fair

 

Oct. 15

Tampa, Fla.

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/tampa-military-spouse-hiring-fair

 

Oct. 20

Warwick, RI

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/events/hiringfairs?page=1

 

Oct. 22

Miramar, Calif.

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/events/hiringfairs?page=1

 

Oct. 27

Fort Worth, Texas

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/ft-worth-hiring-fair

 

Oct. 29

Quantico, VA

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/quantico-military-spouse-hiring-fair

 

Nov. 3

Des Moines, Iowa

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/events/hiringfairs?page=2

Dream of having your own blog? We can make that dream come true.

If you are a savvy military spouse who can put pen to paper we would love to interview you for our next blog spot. We want to hear from fantastic military spouses who are juggling a job and military life, from moms who wear combat boots and dads who hold down the homefront while mom heads to the front lines. Do you volunteer a lot? We want to hear from you too!

If you are interested in learning more, please email editor in chief, Allison Perkins at aperkins@bryantstratton.edu

By Mandy Rebmann

A couple of months after closing on our new house, my husband had a troubled look on his face. He was working on the monthly budget. 

“So, how soon can you go back to work,” he asked.

I knew it was coming. I had already been working on getting a job with my old company, which I was lucky enough to do.  Hello paycheck. Goodbye stay-at-home mommy, “free” child care.

Figuring I would be going back to work, I had already registered my little one at the daycare on post. I knew we would be put on the wait list.  The DC-area is notorious for its waitlists for daycares and preschools; they are expensive and hard to get into, particularly for infants.  With the wait for a two-year-old being 4 to 6 months, I knew I’d have to arrange an alternative while we waited.

Word of mouth among the other military spouses sent me to the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) childcare subsidy program for federal employees.  Particularly for us, the Army Fee Assistance (AFA) program helps working Army families by reducing the cost of off-post child care if on-post care is not an option.  The program buys down the higher costs of non-installation childcare to what you would pay on post.  The Army believes programs like this positively impact readiness and retention by minimizing conflict between work (mission) requirements and the home.

Who Is Eligible?

• Families of Active and activated Reserve Soldiers
• Department of Army Civilians
• Wounded Warriors
• Survivors of Fallen Soldiers

The spouse of those eligible must be working, actively looking for work, or enrolled in school.

AFA Program

• Parent Responsibilities- After determining eligibility, parents must complete the application (paperwork), meet the requirements and enroll with a qualifying provider.  They must sign all invoices and attendance forms (more paperwork) to certify child care given, and pay the provider their share of the costs.  They must also immediately report any family or financial changes to the provider and GSA (even more paperwork).
• Provider Responsibilities- Providers must meet AFA’s licensing and accreditation requirements to maintain participation in the program and receive payments directly from the GSA.  

The GSA works as third party administer for the Army determining eligibility, providing payments and acting as customer service agent for parents and providers.

Fee assistance may be full-time or part-time determined by the status of the spouse.  If the spouse works more than 25 hours a week or is enrolled full-time in college (or a combination of work and school), the family would receive full-time eligibility.  The spouse may also be in the first 90 days of looking for work.  Part-time eligibility can be determined by working between 16 and 25 hours a week or being enrolled in school part-time.

How Much Do I Pay?

• An Army-approved fee calculator determines the amount of fee assistance for each family by taking into consideration total family income, employment/school status of the spouse, and hours of care. 
• The “provider rate” is an amount calculated based on geographic location that is comparable to the rate paid on post by families of similar income.  This amount is paid directly by the family to the provider.
• The provider then bills the GSA for the difference and is paid directly.  The payments are then made directly to the provider.

Simple, right? 

I should note the website currently warns there is a three month backlog in evaluating applications, but is retroactively providing benefits.  So the benefit is there, but it is not a seamless process.  But at a time of skyrocketing child care costs, it’s worth the time.

Christine Cioppa

The scuttlebutt on many bases is that home apothecaries are a must-have. In the hopes of their medicinal properties, more and more people are turning to fresh or dried herbs, tinctures or herbal extracts, topical salves, herbal teas and essential oils. But is it safe? How do you know if you’re doing it right?

Especially when three of your neighbors are selling essential oils door to door and leaning on you to buy some.

“There are people who are using concentrated essential oils in ways that are frankly unsafe and they are telling other people to do the same,” warns naturopathic doctor Orna Izakson, ND, RH (AHG), Traditional Roots Institute lead physician at the National College of Natural Medicine. Essential oils are typically diffused, inhaled or diluted and used topically. What’s definitely not safe is using the concentrated or distilled essential oils internally without the proper medical guidance.

How potent are distilled essential oils?

Dr. Izakson says that the bottles of distilled essential oils are very concentrated, powerful, potentially dangerous medicine.

“For example, it takes 625 pounds of rose blossoms to make one ounce of oil. For peppermint, it's 16 pounds of leaf to make one ounce of essential oil,” explains Dr. Izakson. “What is happening now is people are being taught to use large doses of very intense essential oils directly on the skin undiluted or orally,” she adds. Even when used improperly in baths, distilled essential oils can cause rashes, burns and other problems, says Dr. Izakson.

While there are safe ways to use distilled essential oils, she cautions that the misuse of them can really hurt people.

Fortunately, using fresh herbs as medicine is a bit less tricky than working with distilled essential oils, tinctures or making a topical salve by infusing an herb into a fixed oil. Also, using manufactured herbal remedies is complicated. Manufactured herbal products are not regulated in the way drugs are.

The products that you buy at the store are not tested for effectiveness or safety by the government before they hit the market, according to the National Institutes of Health. What is imposed on the makers of these products is their guarantee of the strength, purity, identity and composition of their products. Still, it’s a lot less strict than drugs.

If you are new to the concept of starting a home apothecary, begin with simple herbal teas as well as the spices and culinary herbs in your pantry, says Jenny Perez, education coordinator at the American Botanical Council. Work up to the more complicated therapies — but do the latter with the guidance of a trained herbal professional or naturopathic doctor. “For the most part, the common herbs we are used to using in our kitchen are very safe,” says Dr. Izakson.

The herbs below are a great addition to your home apothecary, regardless where you live, because these plants can be grown indoors. This list was compiled with the help of Dr. Izakson and Perez, as well as Moe Hemmings, senior horticulturist at Atlanta Botanical Garden and Ken Johnson, extension educator, horticulture, at the University of Illinois Extension.

THYME (Thymus vulgaris)

Getting it started: Start your thyme plant with a cutting from someone else’s plant or by buying a plant. It needs six or more hours of full sun. Thyme prefers a drier soil than other indoor herbs. (See herb growing tips below.)

Medicinal use: According to the American Botanical Council, thyme leaves inhibit a variety of viruses, fungi and bacteria. One way to use thyme is in a steam. Perez says thyme steams are used for disinfecting the mucus membranes and thinning and clearing excess mucus associated with colds, flus, bronchitis and pneumonia. “If you have general lung crud or buildup of mucus, breathe in the steam and it will loosen things up. The essential oils — from steaming the fresh or dried herbs — specifically support mucus membranes to do what they need to do to help you feel better,” says Dr. Izakson.

Steam recipe from Dr. Izakson: Take a large handful of fresh thyme (or a small handful of dried thyme from your spice rack). Place in a bowl. Pour hot water over it. Put towel over head like a tent and breath in steam. Repeat a few times a day as needed.

ALOE (Aloe vera)

Getting it started: Buy a plant instead of trying to grow it from seed.

Medicinal use: The American Botanical Council says the gel within each leaf of aloe can be used topically to treat first- and second-degree burns, superficial wounds and hemorrhoids.

HOLY BASIL (Ocimum tenuiflorum)

Getting it started: This medicinal basil species is known as tulsi, or holy basil, says Perez. You can grow it from seeds or a cutting or you can buy a plant. “If you grow it from a cutting, you are going to get a larger plant faster than if you grow it from seed,” says Johnson. It needs full sun.

Medicinal use: The American Botanical Council says drinking tulsi tea may shorten the duration of colds and flus as well as reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

LEMON BALM (Melissa officinalis)

Getting it started: It grows well in a container and can take shade, says Hemmings. It does not need a full-sun area. It can tolerate moisture.

Medicinal use: The leaves of this plant are mildly anti-depressive; antiviral against Herpes simplex cold sore virus (topically); and helpful for Graves disease, according to the American Botanical Council. The herb, however, should not be used by people who have an under-active thyroid. Dr. Izakson says it may help those with PTSD. “This is one where you want to work with somebody because you want to know that you are not depressing the thyroid; you are going to be doing it at higher doses; you are going to be using a tincture. So you want someone paying attention,” she explains.

Tea recipe (for topical use) from the University of Maryland Medical Center: For cold sores or herpes sores, steep 2 to 4 tsp. of crushed leaf in 1 cup boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool. Apply tea with cotton balls to the sores throughout the day.

PARSLEY (Petroselinum crispum)

Getting it started: Grow parsley from seed. Since seeds are slow to germinate, Johnson suggests soaking seeds overnight. Give this plant full sun. You can also buy the plant. It also grows well in shade, says Hemmings.

Medicinal use: Parsley leaves are nutrient dense (vitamins A and C, potassium, folic acid), alkalinizing to the body and act as a diuretic, according to the American Botanical Council; however, because parsley contains compounds called oxalates, the herb may not be the best choice for those with kidney disease and gallbladder problems.

GINGER (Zingiber officinale)

Getting it started: You need to order a ginger root from a seed catalog; the root in the grocery store won’t work because it has been dried out, says Hemmings. However, organic ginger from the grocery store may work fine, since it is not allowed to be irradiated; it can sprout and be planted, says Perez. Hemmings says it takes some effort, but once established it does well. You can start it in a pot. It can take shade and be placed in the corner of the house that stays warm. It doesn’t necessarily need a window. Hemmings says to harvest just a portion of the plant, not the whole plant, since it is a root crop. You can shave down the ginger root and eat it fresh.

Medicinal use: It relieves nausea, enhances circulation, reduces acute and chronic inflammation and may help tinnitus or dizziness, according to the American Botanical Council.

Dried herb spices and herbal teas can also be considered a part of your home apothecary. For example chamomile and lavender tea is calming before bed. Cinnamon as a spice can help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Mustard seed powder has been used topically for pain and inflammation in those with arthritis and rheumatism. (See “Resources” below for research links.)

Whatever home-based remedies you use, be sure to tell your doctor — especially if you have a health condition. If you are pregnant, check with your doctor before use, as certain remedies can be risky during pregnancy or aggravate pregnancy symptoms.

In the words of Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Indoor Herb Growing Tips:

Horticulture expert Ken Johnson of the University of Illinois Extension offers the following tips for a successful indoor herb garden:

• Plants should sit next to south- or west-facing windows if in the Northern Hemisphere.

• Ideally, plants should get 6-8 hours of full sun.

• If your home doesn’t get enough sun, supplement light exposure with florescent lighting. For every hour of required sunlight, plants need 2 hours of florescent lighting. Keep florescent bulbs 6 to 12 inches from plants. Closer than that the leaves can burn. Farther than that and plants will not get enough light.

• For homes that get enough direct sun, rotate pots every couple of days to prevent plants from leaning. Give it a quarter turn.

• Make sure leaves don’t touch cold windows because it can kill the leaves.

• Avoid putting plants under heating vents.

• Mist plants with a water bottle a couple of times a day during the winter to help increase humidity.

• Place a container of small rocks and water next to plants. The water will evaporate and increase humidity.

• For all these plants, you can grow them in pots outside in the spring and summer and bring them indoors in the fall.

• For indoor herbs, use a well-draining potting mix. Don’t use garden soil.

• Use pots with drainage holes in them.

Health Insurance Coverage

Q: Does Tricare cover complementary and alternative medicine?

A: Sorry. No! Tricare doesn’t cover alternative treatments or naturopathic care. You can check what Tricare covers at: http://tricare.mil/CoveredServices/IsItCovered.aspx. Dr. Izakson suggests telling the individual responsible for your benefits that this is coverage that you want.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Botanicals, Including Herbs

Get a free e-newsletter from the American Botanical Council at http://abc.herbalgram.org/site/PageServer.

Find out more about botanicals and how safe they are at

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/BotanicalBackground-HealthProfessional/.

Read a free e-book on herbs from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at https://nccih.nih.gov/health/herbsataglance.htm.

Get info on growing and preserving herbs (and get recipes too) at

http://extension.illinois.edu/herbs/directory.cfm,

View safety info from the Mayo Clinic at  http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/herbal-supplements/art-20046714.

Find herb recipes from the Traditional Roots Institute at http://traditionalroots.org/category/recipes/.

Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

NIH: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0032645/

National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/aromatherapy-pdq#link/stoc_h2_1

National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy: https://www.naha.org/explore-aromatherapy/regulations/

Natural Products

Whole Foods:  http://www.wholefoods.ie/product-category/healthcare/

Herb Seeds and Starter Plants

Johnny’s (seeds)

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/?source=google_johnnys_seed&gclid=COXGxpOn68cCFYIXHwodLR8O3g

Burpee Seeds (seeds and plant starts)

http://www.burpee.com/?cid=PPC&gclid=CJTz-aSn68cCFQ2PHwodeoIIgA

Mountain Rose Herbs (organic herbs and spices)

https://www.mountainroseherbs.com

Horizon Herbs (seeds and plant starts)

https://www.horizonherbs.com/

Richter’s Nursery (seeds and plant starts)

https://www.richters.com/

Crimson Sage Nursery (plant starts)

http://www.crimson-sage.com/

Finding an Expert

Licensed Doctors Who Practice Integrative Health

Not all people who call themselves naturopaths are trained to be licensed physicians. In the U.S., seventeen states license naturopathic doctors. To find out more, go to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians website at http://www.naturopathic.org/content.asp?contentid=57. Also check your state’s licensing board if your naturopath doesn’t appear here. Dr. Izakson says some licensed doctors practice in states that don’t license. “For instance, New York doesn't license NDs, but qualified NDs in New York usually have a license from another state — often Oregon, Washington or Connecticut,” she says.

Registered Herbalists

These professionals are not doctors, but many receive professional education and training. Not all herbalists have the same training. Learn more at the American Herbalists Guild at http://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/fundamentals.