About

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