Thomas Avery Garran

Thomas Avery Garran has been studying plant medicine since 1989. He lived in China from 2007–2023 and received his PhD in Materia Medica studies and Plant Pharmacy at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences: National Center for Materia Medica Resources and Daodi Herbs in Beijing. He has a master’s degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine and certificate in herbal medicine from the American School of Herbalism. Dr. Garran is an internationally recognized educator, author, translator, and scholar of Chinese medicine. the author of 2 books on the use of Western herbs in Chinese medicine; Western Herbs According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Practitioner’s Guide (2008) and Western Herbs in Chinese Medicine: Materia Medica & Methodology (2014). He is the translator (with annotation) of the first book on growing and processing daodi Chinese herbs, Chinese Herb Cultivation: Daodi Practices for Growing and Processing Chinese Herbs (2019). Dr. Garran is the executive director of the East West School of Herbalism, president of Herb Whisperer, Inc., which focuses on education and agriculture of medicinal plants. He now resides in Western Massachusetts where he and his wife are building an herbal sanctuary and educational center.

This class will be an overview of the methods used to integrate non-Chinese herbs into the Chinese medical paradigm. We will look at how to employ historical records, botanical relationships, and even chemistry to develop a holistic picture of how a plant can be integrated into our practice using Chinese methods of diagnosis and treatment principles. With this knowledge in hand, Dr. Garran will guide students through the discovery of several plants and walk then through the process of understanding them using the lenses discussed in the beginning of the class. Students will complete the class with a sense of how to apply the process and gain practical knowledge of how to use specific plants in their own practice.