Ricky Bratz
.:. Herbalist .:. Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner .:.Ricky Bratz is a plant nerd, queer dog mom, survivor, and earth person. She feels energized and resourced by her relationship with nature, especially plants and flowers. Ricky’s call to herbal medicine resulted in over a decade of experience working on small-scale organic farms throughout the East coast and cultivating her love of plants along the way. It wasn’t until engaging more deeply with her own healing that she realized the power and importance of personal development work, energy and intuition as part of healing and overall wellness. Ricky has personally and successfully benefitted from the wonderful allies she now offers to clients to manage her own depression and anxiety, and deepen her sense of connection to spirit and her ancestral lineage.
Ricky’s approach to working with clients is a combination of intuition, folk traditions from her Sicilian/Arab/Mediterranean ancestral heritage as well as her training in Western Clinical Herbalism, Southern Appalachian folk medicine and Greco-Arabic Unani.
In addition to her healing work, Ricky has been a community organizer, farmer, and food & health justice educator in North Carolina since 2003. Throughout the Triad and the Triangle, she has initiated and been involved in projects such as: healing justice, community gardening, food access/justice, labor organizing, homelessness, community centers, collective living, racial equity, consensus decision-making, and queer liberation. Because of this work and her own personal intersectional identities and experiences, Ricky is aware of the detrimental impact of oppression on our spiritual, emotional and physical Selves. She believes that knowing, connecting to, and healing our inner Selves is vital for the health of our communities and our society as a whole.
When she’s not seeing clients, she spends her time in the garden, being overly excited about all the things she wants to learn and buying too many plants. She enjoys taking walks in the woods with her two dogs and partner, and works with the Southern Vision Alliance as the Queer Mobilization Fund Coordinator.
Ricky is committed to offering quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all, especially queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people, Black, Indigenous, People of color and low income people.
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Connect with Ricky at ricky(at)cazimihealing(dot)com
Education and Training
School of Applied Functional Medicine // Core 101 Program // ongoing
One Willow Apothecaries // Intuitive Plant Medicine // ongoing
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts // Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner Program // 2018
Center for Transformational Presence // Transformational Presence Leadership and Coach Training // 2018
Transitioned Vital Bloom Botanicals into Cazimi Healing // 2017
BA Health Arts & Sciences // Thesis on Identity, Trauma, Race & Herbal Medicine // Goddard College // 2015
Racial Equity Training // Racial Equity Institute // 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Piedmont Medicinal Herb Production // Dr. Jeanine Davis // 2013
Assistant Instructor & Mentor // One World Healing Community (Online) // 2012-2013
The Nervous System // Weekend Intensive Training // 7Song // 2011
Began private Herbal Medicine Practice // Vital Bloom Botanicals // 2010
Clinical Herbalism // Weekend Intensive Training // 7Song // 2010
Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine & Clinical Assessment // Phyllis Light // 2010
One World Healing Arts Institute // Mimi Hernandez // 2010
Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference // 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017
Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine // Juliet Blankespoor // 2009
Apprenticeship at Mountain Gardens // Joe Hollis // 2009
Usui Tibetan Reiki Level 1 & 2 // Seed of Light Healing Center // 2009
Herb Classes with Suki Roth // 2008, 2010
Herbal Apprenticeship // Handance Farm // 2007
Racial Equity Training // People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond // 2004
Work on Small-scale organic farms // 2000-2014
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