Kirsten Hartvig

Medical Herbalist, Teacher & Curator of the Biodynamic Botanic Garden at Emerson College

Kirsten Hartvig is a registered naturopath, medical herbalist, nutritionist, vegan, and the author of 14 books on natural health. She is in private practice in Forest Row, teaches materia medica on the Heartwood Herbal Medicine online professional course, runs the YouTube Channel ‘Herb Hunters’, and is in the process of setting up a Herbal Medicine Study Centre at Emerson College, comprising an ever-expanding teaching herb garden and library. She is there every Friday, if you would like to get involved.

Kirsten is president of the General Council and Register of Naturopaths (GCRN) and a member of EuroCam in Brussels, and SRAB, the Danish government CAM-council.

Kirsten’s main interest lies in helping people to take charge of their own health, and to find new awareness of their own inherent healing ability. Her one-to-one consultations focus on finding the source of imbalance, and then creating individual treatment plans consisting of naturopathic diet regimes, medicinal herbs, physical therapy, and gentle lifestyle changes.

Kirsten was born in Denmark, but came to the UK in 1986 and spent the next 6 years studying herbal medicine and naturopathy at the School of Herbal Medicine and the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy. After qualifying, she went into private practice, taught nutrition and dietetics at the European School of Osteopathy in Maidstone, and wrote a nutrition course for the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine.

In 1996 she set up a small naturopathic retreat in the French Pyrenees and ran it for a decade together with her husband, Dr Nic Rowley. While they lived in the mountains, they also wrote several books about their experiences, notably You Are What You Eat, Ten Days To Better Health, Energy Juices, Energy Foods, and The Detox Box.

Nic and Kirsten later lived in Denmark, where they set up a private practice in Skanderborg, a practice that Kirsten still visits regularly. During the time in Denmark, Kirsten also became involved with the political aspects of natural health, and became a member of the Danish Health Authority’s Council for Alternative Medicine. 

Kirsten has also written the best-selling Healthy Diet Calorie Counter, The Big Book of Quick and Healthy Recipes, The Complete Guide to Nutritional Health and Eat for Immunity, and since returning to Sussex she has written Healing Berries and Healing Spices.[1]

Kirsten runs The Healing Garden here at Emerson College and leads local herb walks, as well as giving workshops and lectures on the healing powers of plants.

You can book personal, Skype or phone consultations with Kirsten via the reception at the Riverside Practice or by clicking here

[1] all Kirsten’s books are available from amazon.co.uk