We were lucky to catch up with Sean Rose recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sean, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

While there have been many points in my career so far that have been “defining moments,” I think by far, the most defining has taken place in the last few months.

I am first and foremost a clinical herbalist by training, but mid-way through last year, I took on some extra training to learn how to support people at the end of life as a death doula. I made this decision because of a particular client, my very first long-term herbal client, who was suffering from a degenerative condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or EDS. EDS is a degenerative connective tissue disorder with many types and presentations, but one of the more well-known types of EDS is referred to as hypermobility, in which the connective tissues of the joints no longer function as well, making sufferers prone to hyperflexion and hyperextension of the joints, making dislocations and tears of the tendons and ligaments more common. This client suffered especially from hypermobility but also had other tissues which could easily tear and cause extraordinary pain.

When this client came to me, her doctors had effectively cut her off, telling her that there was no more they could do for her. So, she sought out an herbalist, and found me. I supported her through the first few months of care, using large amounts of yarrow and horse chestnut, among other herbs, to tend to her random bleeds. In this time, she was able to go into hospice and get many supports that she and her husband wouldn’t have gotten without it.

Over time, it became more and more apparent that nothing I gave her was ever going to get rid of the degenerative quality of the disorder, and I knew that I would need to support this client through her eventual death, so I went through INELDA to get trained as a death doula.

This client lived on through her enormous pain and difficulties up until May of this year, when she did eventually pass on. I’m still working through my own emotions surrounding this event and the grief and beauty inherent in the dying process. I can say for sure that this client, alone, has changed my practice forever and has driven me to support more clients at the end of life in the future. Moreover, it has driven me to think more about how I can use my skills as an herbalist to support a better quality of care in the dying experience.

Without revealing too much for privacy concerns, I can say that this client was such a spunky, energetic person who never took “no” for an answer and cursed like a sailor. She was truly an inspiration to me in all aspects of my life, including my professional work. I will miss her dearly, and I have her to thank for truly giving me the title of Clinical Herbalist and Death Doula.

Sean, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into herbal medicine originally through working in local wellness departments and small businesses, and I particularly credit my experience working in the produce section of an organic market for getting me interested in plants and how they can support health. Following this job, I went to work in the medical cannabis industry, where I learned tons about plant chemistry and science, which then informed my practice using other herbs besides cannabis.

Currently, I operate two small businesses focused on two different sides of the wellness industry.

Firstly, I am one of five co-founders of STRŌB Apothecary, a small custom-formulating bulk herb apothecary and tea, aromatherapy, and crystal shop. Our mission here is to provide personalized, one-on-one service to our customers to direct them to the products that will work best for their situation, especially since most of the wellness information available on the Internet is not very accurate. Through STRŌB, we are able to create a number of wellness teas and other products that we carry regularly to support common problems, but we also offer custom formulation and blending for teas, topicals, and more for those customers who need more fine-tuned support. STRŌB can be found at www.strobapothecary.com, on IG and Threads at @wearestrob, and on TikTok @strobapothecary

Secondly, I also run a clinical services business called Tenderhearted Wellness. Through Tenderhearted, we provide clients with direct 1-on-1 support with trained wellness practitioners in a number of modalities. Currently, we offer clinical herbal therapy, crystal healing, reiki, aromatherapy, and mental health coaching, with more modalities being added all the time. These are the services to look into if you want to support your own mental, physical, and spiritual wellness, but you have no idea where to start! We are still very much growing, and hoping to extend into the wellness education space soon! To book a session with me, this will be the way to go. Tenderhearted can be found at www.tenderhearted.love, and on IG @tenderhearted.love. We will be expanding our reach soon!

I think what sets both of these business apart from others is our dedication and attention to our customers and clients. I am so used to walking into businesses where it just doesn’t seem like the people working actually care about supporting me through my problem, and are much more concerned with making a sale (or an upsell!), whereas we focus more on getting you exactly what you need and nothing more. I think this keeps people coming back to us because they actually feel seen, heard, and understood! I’m proud to say that STRŌB, in particular, has nothing but 5-star reviews on Google.

Check us out and let us know what we can do for you!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

There are tons of resources available for learning management, entrepreneurial thinking, and philosophy. I also have to admit these are skills I am still learning and working on, so I’m definitely not an expert in this area yet.

As a neurodivergent person, most of the learning I’ve done so far has been in learning to manage my own internal experience of the workplace, including the people and the environment. Most of the jobs I worked before going into business for myself I was only able to stay with a couple years max before reaching points of intense burnout, rejection sensitivity, and so forth.

For me, podcasts have been an invaluable resource for learning more about managing my own emotions and productivity in an environment that is constantly changing and is mostly self-driven. My personal favorites have been:

– Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris
– Hidden Brain with Shankar Vedantam
– Overcoming Distractions with David Greenwood
– Psychologists Off the Clock with Drs. Debbie Sorensen, Yael Schonbrun, and Jill Stoddard
– ADHD Rewired with Eric Tivers

Granted, none of these podcasts are focused on business, in particular, but as a neruodivergent person it is so important to build a foundation of self-understanding as you move through the world as an entrepreneur. There are so many other great podcasts out there on similar subjects, so I recommend looking into them as a learning medium, especially if you have a long commute or need something to listen to in your downtime!

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

If I could go back, I would certainly choose herbalism as a specialty every time. I love the world of herbalism and the access it gives you to supporting yourself and your loved ones through basic health concerns.

I would, however, have also pursued a psychology degree to go into mental health counseling as well. I bill myself as the Mental Health Herbalist (@mentalhealthherbalist on TikTok & IG) because I got into herbalism for my own mental health, and its the main way I support my own mental health in my daily life. I think going into licensed mental health counseling might have opened up more doors for me, especially as I added in herbalism to support my own mental health management.

I think what many people don’t realize is that there is certainly a time and place for prescription medications, but they are not always 100% necessary for many people who really need a gentler touch. My next big project is to focus on teaching mental health counselors how to use herbs in their practice, and to teach herbalists how to incorporate mental health counseling techniques in their practice to help appropriately challenge their clients and promote better compliance to herbal treatments.

I work with and maintain an extensive support and referral network of licensed mental health counselors and I find so many of them interested in how I use herbs to support clients, wanting to know more. So keep an eye out for future online courses and other offerings for those of you in the mental health field!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.strobapothecary.com & www.tenderhearted.love
• Instagram: @wearestrob & @mentalhealthherbalist & @tenderhearted.love