Herbalists & Nutritionists: In the Clinic with Camille

Have you ever started a "quick" DIY project for your private practice, only to find yourself pulling your hair out three days later?
In this episode, I’m sharing a slightly embarrassing (but hopefully helpful) cautionary tale about a recent tech rabbit hole I fell down. After noticing my website traffic had dipped, I decided to take my page speed optimization into my own hands. What followed was a crashed website, a warning from my web host, and hours (days?) of wasted time. I finally hired an expert to fix it in under two hours for $100.
If you are a solo practitioner trying to do it all yourself, I want to talk about how to recognize when it’s time to step away from the keyboard and pay an expert to do what they do best.
In this episode, we cover:
Why page speed actually matters for your website traffic and search rankings.
The trap of the DIY rabbit hole (and how to know when you’re officially stuck).
My experience finding an affordable, highly-rated WordPress expert on Upwork.
How to weigh the cost of hiring help against the value of your own time and sanity.
Links & Resources Mentioned:
Camille's workshop on Updating your Home Page
Google PageSpeed Insights (to check your own site's speed)
Independent Analytics (the lightweight WordPress analytics tool I use)
Looking for the name of the speed optimization expert I hired? Send me a message and I'll gladly share his Upwork info!
Coming Up Soon: Keep an ear out for upcoming episodes where we'll be diving into my policies on using AI in clinical practice, as well as my opinions on functional labs.
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter: Every Thursday, I send out a newsletter with short essays, resources, and three specific recommendations—recipes, products, or tools—that made my life a little better that week. I’d love to have you join us! You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.

Are you still working at 9 pm when you meant to stop at 3? If you're a solo herbalist or nutritionist, the line between working and not working can get quite blurry, because this work is part of who you are. Your clinical brain doesn't clock out just because you're supposed to be doing something else.
In this episode, Camille shares how she's managing this challenge right now - 20+ years into practice - and why systems that used to work may need to be revised periodically. 
What's covered:
Why solo practitioners are especially vulnerable to chronic overwork
The cost of "half-working" all the time - sleep, movement, and mental load
How Camille is currently using Caveday, a co-working membership, to create defined work blocks and a clear stopping point
The concept of monotasking
Other boundary strategies worth trying: timers, app blockers, accountability partners, and co-working sessions
Key point: If your current plan for turning off isn't working, it's time to change things up. The fastest road to burnout is always being on, or never being fully off.
Resources mentioned:
Caveday - co-working membership with sessions available almost around the clock ($35/month; the link here is Camille's referral link, which will get you a month for $1, 3 months for $40 or 1 year for $300)
Bloom & Grow co-working sessions (offered through Camille's own programs, once or twice a week)
Submit a Question
Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.
 
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with a short note and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.
 

Are you hesitant to include fennel in formulas for clients managing diabetes? In this quick clinical breakdown, we look past the generic safety warnings to understand what the data actually shows about fennel, insulin resistance, and blood sugar regulation
In this episode, I discuss a recent systematic review on herbal use in type 2 diabetes. Imagine my surprise when I saw fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) listed as one of eight herbs that the authors consider contraindicated in T2D. I share reflections on how this seems to be a misunderstanding based on unfamiliarity with herbal medicine and/or poor citations. 
The episode highlights why it's so important to track down original references and to be cautious with literature summaries.
Here are the two papers I mention in this episode:
Boulares, E., Bragazzi, N. L., Yin, T. S. C., Choi, S. J., Park, J. H., & Han, D. (2026). Assessing the safety of herbal medicine use among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 97, Article 103319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103319
Levorato, S., Dominici, L., Fatigoni, C., Zadra, C., Pagiotti, R., Moretti, M., & Villarini, M. (2018). In vitro toxicity evaluation of estragole-containing preparations derived from Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel) on HepG2 cells. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 111, 616-622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.12.014
Submit a Question
Have a question or topic you'd like to see discussed in a future episode? Please let me know: https://www.intheclinic.com 
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with short essays, resources, and three specific recommendations. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.
 
 

As herbalists and nutritionists, navigating conventional lab results can feel like walking a fine line. We want to understand and work with the information that's available from labs while staying within our scope of practice. 
This week, I explain how herbalists can responsibly discuss conventional labs with clients. We'll go over my thoughts on what’s useful, how to stay within scope, and when to recommend primary care or direct-to-consumer options like GoodLabs.
It's important to consider accurate documentation, financial implications, and practical steps for requesting or reviewing labs without interpreting results as a medical diagnosis if you decide to work with labs in your practice. 
In this episode, we cover:
How to request and review standard lab work while strictly staying in your scope of practice.
Practical steps for accurate, responsible charting and documentation.
How to navigate the financial impact of lab testing for your clients.
When and how to utilize direct-to-consumer lab services like GoodLabs.
Submit a Question
Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? Please reach out via the "submit a question" button at intheclinic.com.
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with short essays, resources, and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.

If you run a membership program or community and have ever brought in a guest speaker, you know how much easier it is when they already understand who they're talking to. In this episode, I share the simple "community overview" document I created to send to presenters before they join a Bloom and Grow workshop, and why I hope it will make for a better experience for everyone in the room.
In this episode, we cover:
Why a brief "about our community" document can set guest speakers up for success 
How to communicate your group's values and clinical philosophy without making presenters feel like they're walking on eggshells.
The specific things I include in my presenter brief: training level, clinical approach, weight-inclusive and trauma-informed framing, and CEU guidelines.
If you'd like to view the document to see the current draft, you can take a look at the community guidelines here. 
Submit a Question
Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with short essays, resources, and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.

Most email platforms make it easy to resend your newsletter to subscribers who didn't open it the first time. But, just because you can resend doesn't mean you should. In this episode, I share why that one-click resend feature might not be the best idea in all cases.
In this episode, we cover:
Why "non-opener" data is less reliable than it used to be - and how privacy settings mean you could be pestering people who already read your email.
How sending to your least-engaged subscribers drags down your open and click rates, and why that matters more than most people realize.
The behind-the-scenes reason low engagement stats can get your future emails filtered into promotions or spam.
The one specific scenario where resending might make sense - and how to do it in a way that minimizes the downside.
If you need extra newsletter help, check out my book Write Better Newsletters!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
0:19 - The question: should you resend to non-openers?
1:42 - How privacy settings are making open rate data less accurate
3:10 - Why resending hurts your deliverability stats
4:41 - The exception: when a resend might be worth it
5:57 - Summary and recommendations
Submit a Question
Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? I'd love to answer it! Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.
 
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with a short note and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.
 
 

What if you could grow your newsletter list and make your work more accessible without social media, paid ads, or a big platform? In this episode, I share more about the "social sharing workshop" model I've been running for years, including what's worked, what I've learned, and how you could set up something similar.
In this episode, we cover:
What a social sharing workshop is: a paid class ($25-$40) that attendees can access for free in exchange for sharing it with their community.
Why I use this model: making my work accessible, reaching new audiences without social media, and building the kind of community that grows through genuine word of mouth.
How the sharing works in practice, including the honor-system approach I use and why I'm okay with it.
What happens when someone admits they didn't actually share (yes, it happens, and yes, I have a policy).
What I've changed recently to make the exchange clearer and the time-limited free option more visible.
Real numbers: how many new subscribers I used to see from these workshops vs. what I see now, and why the shift makes sense.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
0:34 - What is a social sharing workshop?
1:17 - Why I use this model: accessibility and word-of-mouth growth
2:49 - How it started and what the numbers looked like early on
5:36 - What I've refined over the years
6:26 - How I handle the "but how do you know they actually shared it?" question
8:56 - How to try this yourself
Relevant links
If you want to check it out, sign up for Updating Your Homepage on May 6 from 12-1 pm ET. It’s $25 or free if you share.
Viewing this after May 6, 2026? Join my mailing list for practitioners to find out about upcoming social sharing workshops.
Submit a Question
Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.
 
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with a short note and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.
 
 

Do you need to alkalinize the urine for Uva ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) to “work”? Let's talk about it. 
Uva ursi is a classic go-to for cystitis because it contains arbutin, which the body metabolizes to hydroquinone, a compound that shows antimicrobial activity in vitro. That’s the theory. In my opinion, focusing solely on arbutin is reductionistic. The leaves also contains tannins, flavonoids and other constituents that may be helpful. In addition, information on urinary alkalization and uva ursi is theoretical - meaning it has not been tested or demonstrated in humans, and the historical use of the plant is as a cold infusion or short hot steep, not with baking soda.
There’s no clear human evidence that alkalinizing urine improves outcomes with Uva ursi. Also, adding baking soda is not physiologically neutral (it’s a lot of sodium and may be risky for some clients), and many uropathogens like E. coli actually grow better in alkaline urine, so alkalinizing could theoretically make things worse if the herb dose or metabolism isn’t sufficient. A small study that actually is in humans (Siegers et al., 2003) suggests that uropathogenic bacteria can deconjugate the hydroquinone themselves, which would make urine pH less relevant.
Ultimately, I think uva ursi can be a useful part of an herbal approach to lower urinary tract symptoms, prepared traditionally (cold infusion or short steep). Don’t assume it’s the only tool, and don’t automatically add baking soda just because you’ve heard that tip. It helps sometimes, for some people, and not all the time for all people. As always, if symptoms don’t improve within 24–48 hours or they worsen, refer for medical care. 
Resources to Explore
You can sign up to catch the recording of the full UTI training for practitioners mentioned in this episode. 
Quintus, J., Kovar, K. A., Link, P., & Hamacher, H. (2005). Urinary excretion of arbutin metabolites after oral administration of bearberry leaf extracts. Planta medica, 71(2), 147–152. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2005-837782 (there is substantial individual variation in metabolism and quantities of metabolites excreted) 
Siegers, C., Bodinet, C., Ali, S. S., & Siegers, C. P. (2003). Bacterial deconjugation of arbutin by Escherichia coli. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 10 Suppl 4, 58–60. https://doi.org/10.1078/1433-187x-00301 (E. coli can take up conjugated hydroquinone) 
de Arriba, S. G., Naser, B., & Nolte, K. U. (2013). Risk assessment of free hydroquinone derived from Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi folium herbal preparations. International journal of toxicology, 32(6), 442–453. https://doi.org/10.1177/1091581813507721 (unrelated to this episode, but interesting notes re: safety of uva ursi) 
Submit a Question
Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? I'd love to answer it! Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.
 
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with a short note and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.
 

Are you feeling hesitant or confused about how to properly dose compounded liquid extracts and tinctures for your clients? It’s a very common point of confusion, especially when what you were trained to do differs from what's printed on the back of a bottle.
In this episode, I break down my rationale and practical strategies for dosing compounded liquid extracts. You'll learn how to figure out whether a client is getting a high enough dose to actually see meaningful change, and how to convert herb grams to milliliters using ratios (e.g., 1:5 extracts vs. 1:1 extracts).
In this episode, we cover:
Why "drop dosing" vs. high-gram dosing creates so much confusion in clinical practice
How to do the math to convert grams of herbs into milliliters for liquid formulas
How to weigh factors like client sensitivity, alcohol exposure, and cost when setting a dose
Why I often lean on infusions and decoctions as a cost-effective alternative to high-dose tinctures
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with short essays, resources, and three specific recommendations. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.

In this short episode of In the Clinic with Camille, I’m sharing a simple idea that guides how I think about marketing and promoting a 1:1 practice: treat other people the way you want to be treated. When it comes to newsletters, social media, and outreach, it can be tempting to automate everything or follow tactics that promise maximum reach. I talk about why that doesn't tend to work. 
I invite you to instead think about how you prefer to find a practitioner for yourself or someone you care about. What actually helps you feel connected, seen, and confident in someone’s work? My experience is that an interesting but imperfect piece of content or meeting someone individually is far more useful than blasting generic content everywhere. 
Submit a Question
Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? I'd love to answer it. Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.
 
Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter
Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with a short note and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. You can sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.