About

Welcome to the Be Well Academy!

About me…

I became interested in finding ways to take control of my own health in my 20’s when I was struck down with a mystery autoimmune condition that left me hospitalised for weeks then off work for 6 months. During this time, I saw a number of different specialists and I was taking a multitude of prescribed medications, including very high doses of steroids, painkillers and antibiotics. Despite this I was getting sicker, plus the long term impact of these medications was also starting to have a detrimental effect on my health too. In the end my consultant said to me – “I’m sorry, I can’t do any more for you”. Devastated by his admission and obviously feeling very low, I spoke to my GP – he was from India and knowing the success of Homeopathy in India, he referred me to a Homeopath.

Alongside the Homeopathic treatment, I started researching into why I was sick; what things in my life could be affecting my health and how could I help myself to get well again? I remember being really surprised at how many areas of my life I needed to address, but I was determined not to give up and get well again. I started to notice small improvements after a few weeks, but a full recovery took about 6 months, which included weaning myself off the prescribed medications, trying lots of new wellbeing approaches and integrative therapies, eventually I was well enough to return to work. Shortly after, because of my experiences, I changed my career to a role in Occupational Therapy where I was trained in the skills needed to support other people to self-care, increase their independence and optimise their wellbeing – in this role I completed an NVQ 3 in Self & Environmental Management Skills. From there I was hooked, I went back into part time formal education to study a form of Integrative Medicine called Homeopathy.

Homeopathy is a form of medicine that works well alongside conventional medicine and other approaches. Homeopaths are trained to do holistic health and wellbeing assessments which cover the mind/emotions, the body, a person’s lifestyle – what they eat/drink, exercise, the environment they live in, their occupation, how they sleep, how they relax – they may also recommend some targeted screening and testing to fully understand what’s going on. From there they design a personalised health and wellbeing plan designed to address your health and wellbeing goals.

I qualified as a Homeopath in 2011, then studied for another 2 years and spent additional clinical time in India to get my Post Graduate qualification. More recently in 2018 I started studying Human Chemistry which has a specific focus on detoxing and balancing body systems – to date I have studied this to diploma level.

Additional qualifications, training & experience…

Diploma in Nutritional Leadership with Dr Josh Axe
Nutritional training at the Institute of Optimal Nutrition with Patrick Holford
Clinical skills training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Techniques
5 years working as a Senior Living Well Development Officer for Penny Brohn UK – developing and delivering Living Well programmes to people affected by cancer and their carers across the North of England
Regular research/training in other areas of Integrative Medicine, including Environmental and Ecological Medicine plus new wellbeing approaches as well as the required formal CPD training throughout the year to maintain my professional registration.

How the Be Well Academy could help you…

We are living in a more technological, toxic world than ever before. We have much busier, more stressful lives which means we find it hard to find time for ourselves and switch off.

The food/drinks we have access to these days are generally highly processed and nutrient deficient; as a result Western populations are becoming malnourished (known as the ‘Nutritional Gap’). This means that our bodies are not getting the essential vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, amino acids and other nutrients they need in order to function optimally, fight disease, detox toxins and repair.

It’s true we are living longer, but we are generally in worse health than our grandparents, with more people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes and heart disease and other chronic conditions (so called lifestyle diseases) than ever before.

I have created a well-researched holistic programme to support you to improve your health and wellbeing. The programme is called the Be Well Programme, it’s completely tailored to your individual needs and addresses all aspects of your life – body, mind and lifestyle. I use external health screening and testing (e.g. blood tests, hair tests), personalised nutritional programmes, detox and balancing protocols, Homeopathy and a broad range of other wellness approaches.

I see myself as a health detective, trying to identify the causes of your health challenges and working with you to restore balance – supporting your body’s innate ability to heal itself.

I would totally recommend you give it a try!

Carolyn Foster-Richards
DiHom (Pract) FBIH P.G. Hom ACH RHom MARH

Facebook @bewellacademy

For more information about me, please check out my LinkedIn profile

My other passion…

I am passionate to help to support the sustainability and welfare of our dwindling UK honey bee population. In order to do this, in 2018 I trained to become a beekeeper and a key mission of my Be Well Academy practice is to re-invest some of my practice income into the upkeep of a small number of beehives that I am in the process of converting from commercial bee colonies and returning them more natural beekeeping practices which means a return to more traditional beekeeping.

In addition I have started to educate other aspiring natural beekeepers and my longer term aim is to work with local businesses – including nature reserves to support them to introduce bee colonies onto their land with the aim of supporting staff/volunteers to engage more with the natural world and use beekeeping as a tool for managing stress and supporting long term health and wellbeing.

My key principals of beekeeping are:

Reduced human intervention
No manufactured chemicals used in the hive
Using hives/equipment made from natural resources
Only taking honey when the bees have it to spare

Testimonials

“I took my daughter to see Carolyn because she had really bad molluscum contagiosum. We visited Carolyn at her home where she carried out an assessment of my daughter including her complaint. Carolyn was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. We followed her recommendations daily for 8 weeks and the results were amazing. My daughter’s molluscum contagiosum has completely cleared – just tiny scars waiting to fade. I’m very happy with the service Carolyn provided, and more importantly my daughter is too. Really pleased I contacted Carolyn and would definitely recommend her to others.”
Laura B

“I was really struggling with my motorcycle test. When I was out with my instructor I was fine, as soon as the examiner came close I was a shaking mess and my mind went empty. Literally froze like a rabbit in headlights. After a short consultation and taking the recommended remedies for one week I was a different person in the test. I was as cool as a cucumber, no shakes and had full use of my brain. Absolutely amazing, I passed with flying colours.
I would definitely recommend Be well academy for any aliments, I know I will be trying homeopathy first in the future.”
Sarah L

“I am a lot better thanks, I have trying to manage my stress levels like we discussed and I am continuing to work on your mindfulness techniques (Walking the dog for 30 mins a day). When I do have a problem with my stomach my tablets are a huge help. But I haven’t had a huge bout for a good few months now.”
GaryHull

“I suffered from severe back and hip pain for over 3 years and my GP said that it was arthritis and gave me pain killers and Ibuprofen gel – didn’t work! It got so bad that I could hardly walk so I went to see a chiropractor hoping she could help. She told me that 2 vertebrae in my back were displaced which was causing my spine to be out of alignment and this is why I was having the problems. After intensive treatment and special exercises, my spine was realigned and I could walk properly again, but the pain was still in my hip joints. I saw Carolyn and she said that she may be able to help with some of her treatments. I was a bit dubious, but I decided to give it a try. Wonderful – those tissue salts and the homeopathic medicines have got rid of my hip problems and also relieved a problem I have in my left foot. I am so pleased I tried the Be Well Academy and would recommend anyone to try their services as they do work.”
SandraLincoln

“Carolyn at the Be Well Academy has helped me tremendously, I was diagnosed with colon cancer late 2011; following surgery I began a course of chemotherapy. The side effects had several effects on me such as tiredness, depression and neuropathy in hands and feet. Over many months I was prescribed several treatments for each side effect (which were taken alongside conventional medicines), the homeopathic treatments have really helped and improved my condition and general health and wellbeing. Carolyn either saw me or kept in contact via telephone over this period. She has always been concerned about me and made me feel well supported, which I have really appreciated over the past year. I can fully recommend homeopathy – I was skeptical at the beginning, but no longer, from now on I would always try homeopathy.”
AnneHull

“After sustaining a head injury where I was given strong pain killers so I could not function, I turned to the Be Well Academy. Carolyn was very understanding and sympathetic to my needs and after a course of treatment I recovered.”
BryonyEast Yorkshire

“I have suffered with chronic back pain for the last 15 years, my condition includes periodic episodes when my symptoms become acutely painful. Over the years I have tried the conventional medical options which did not help, one time during an acute flare up, my GP told me there would be a 6 month waiting list before I could get any physio treatment on the NHS. I had a consultation with Carolyn at the Be Well Academy and started with a Lifestyle Consultation which resulted in some lifestyle changes (advice on how I could manage day to day stress, information on nutritional/exercise) and some homeopathic medications to take. Whilst I was quite skeptical to start with, the results have been fantastic. Carolyn has always had a pro active approach and encouraged me to take control of my health and to come back to her if I start to experience any further re-occurrences. Although my pain has not completely gone away, it is now very sporadic, maybe once or twice a year. This more holistic approach allows me to sense what’s happening before the pains completely arrive and then I can make the changes/take the remedies that will either take my back out of spasm or eliminate a significant amount of the pain and discomfort that I would have suffered previously. I now manage my symptoms using this approach together with traditional homeopathic remedies and tissue salts – this individualised lifestyle plan helps me to avoid the need for conventional pain killers.”
AlexEast Yorkshire

“After suffering several years from migraines, I had exhausted all areas to try help get them to go away. My last visit was to see a head specialist where I was advised to start taking a mild anti-depressant, this didn’t give me the changes I expected and meant taking a tablet every day for the rest of life. I was introduced to Carolyn and Homeopathy, I hadn’t really heard of it before then. After filling out a questionnaire, I was prescribed my first course of medication, a few weeks later, the headaches very gradually started to ease off. I am still under going treatment, but for different reasons from what I originally started with. My Migraines are virtually none existent now and my sickness at work has improved massively, a long with my lifestyle. I would recommend Homeopathy to anyone”
KatyPreston

“My name is Sue and I have been using homeopathic remedies for about 2 yrs now. I suffer from IBS and usually control my symptoms through diet but after a lot of work stress Carolyn suggested I take tissue salts. The reason I like them is that they really helped ease my pain and there are no side effects either. Very easy to use and they work. Also, I have had a lot of pain in my wrist which I wasn’t sure if it was repetitive strain or from a needle stick injury. I have been suffering at work with being a hairdresser, I use my hands everyday. As soon as I started some homeopathic medicine for the first day I had a little pain but after day 2 the symptoms have nearly gone. It’s so nice not to be in pain. And to take something that doesn’t create other symptoms. I’ve never been a fan of taking anti-inflammatory drugs. They didn’t work for me and the side effects on my IBS are never good. Before taking the remedy I had to use a wrist support to help me through a day at work, I haven’t used it since.”
SueBeverley

“I have a stressful job that has demanded working long hours for many years. Carolyn has helped me to manage my general health and well being by being able to notice the initial signs of tiredness, poor sleep etc and, at this stage, I know that I need to focus more on my wellbeing again, pick up the meditation/mindfulness skills I have learnt and take an individualised Bach remedy that I use. Once I make these changes, I quite quickly (within about a week) notice a significant positive change in my well being and general outlook. This treatment, together with additional support from Carolyn, has helped me to successfully manage my job and to recognise the importance of trying to have a healthy work-life balance.”
PaulEast Yorkshire

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