Often dubbed a Voodoo queen, Kuni Frith-Black laughs as she says it and doesn’t have to explain that the description comes from those who do not understand the type of therapeutic work she does.

Far from the Haitian black magic practice, Mrs. Frith-Black only works on healing people. “I am a natural wellness practitioner,” she said.

While that might sound airy-fairy to many and like Voodoo to others, Mrs. Frith-Black has a host of experience and classical training in various therapeutic techniques.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in counselling with a minor in holistic studies.

She worked as an addictions counsellor for nine years before throwing herself fully into the field of natural health four years ago.

She is certified in clinical hypnotherapy, auricular (ear) acupuncture and reiki.

She is also near completion in her studies of naturopathic medicine.

Mrs. Frith-Black said she often mixes different techniques to give her clients optimum benefit. “No two people are alike and the treatments I give will therefore vary from person to person perhaps even for the same condition,” she said.

But what type of person would go to see her? Mrs. Frith-Black said the bulk of her clients are those for whom traditional medicine is not working. “They come to me as a last resort,” she said. And she said most are pleased with their move.

What also should be factored in is that most of her patients believe in natural remedies. She estimated that 35-40 percent of her clients fit this description.

“People are becoming more informed about their health and they are willing to make lifestyle changes,” she said. “They are more open to holistic therapists and I personally feel they are going back to basics.”

The basic, natural home remedies and what Mrs. Frith-Black calls ‘Bermuda folk medicine’ are the remedies her patients want to use. She frequently uses herbal concoctions to ward off or combat the ailments of her clients.

Often she prepares the mixtures whether tincture, tea or salve, herself. She is careful in introducing such medicines and pointed out that for clients who are on prescription medication she will double check with their physician.

“I do all the checking and research and then consult with the doctor so that they know what I am doing,” she said. This ensures her clients are getting the best treatment.

Mrs. Frith-Black, who plans to open her own herbal apothecary soon, works with the gamut of herbs and botanicals including many local varieties.

“I use some traditional Bermudian folk healing techniques like lemongrass, peppermint and spearmint to aid digestion and for relieving gas,” she said.

“It’s good to incorporate these herbs with others to promote balance. I make a lemongrass mix with Epsom salts, which relieves stress and tension in a body or footbath. Drinking it (lemongrass) is also good for the skin, it calms the nervous system just by its scent,” she said.

The majority of her clients are people with skin problems.

“I see a lot of rashes and a lot of intolerance to certain beauty products. Even children who use Johnson & Johnson products which are marketed as mild,” she said.

For these people, she makes special glycerin-based herbal soaps.

Insomnia is another ailment that plagues many of her clients. The loss of sleep results in these people being unable to concentrate in their waking activities, which can impair their learning or opportunities for job promotion.

“Sometimes this is caused by a traumatic experience, that’s when I use hypnotherapy,” she said.

Most effective for people who suffer with chronic pain, hypnotherapy is a form of visualisation. “I’ve used it with pregnant women for the birthing process,” she said. She does the therapy beforehand in much the same way as women attend natural childbirth classes.

She said the technique helps make them more relaxed and therefore experience less pain and fewer complications in the delivery of their babies. This in turn means fewer traumas for the baby and therefore a more relaxed and well adjusted baby.

Mrs. Frith-Black recently helped her stepdaughter deliver her second child. “I was in the delivery room with her. We did deep relaxation techniques. As her contractions started she became excited and the nurse was telling her to relax. I took her hand and led her through the technique and you could see on the monitor her body rhythms slow and relax. Her delivery was quick after that,” she said.

Mrs. Frith-Black said she sometimes offers hypnotherapy in a group setting but stressed that the practice is not appropriate for people with mental disorders. “If someone has psychotic episodes I refer them to a psychologist or psychiatrist,” she said.

Many of her patients are very specific on how they want it used. “Lots of people do not remember their childhood. Sometimes this is because there was a traumatic event. Sometimes women want to know if they have been molested. And sometimes they do recall an incident of fondling. Sometimes there is nothing, and they are quite relieved,” she said. Typically it will take a series of hypnotherapy sessions to answer a concern or question. In fact many of the natural remedies take effect over a longer period of time than pharmaceutical ones.

Mrs. Frith-Black said on average she sees about 18 people each year with complaints of allergies. She usually prepares an herbal remedy but stressed that while she has a high success rate it is not 100 percent.

“Not every herb works with everyone,” she said. “But there is zero to low side effects. Herbs have a chemical makeup and the body has a chemical makeup and not all will respond the same way. I’ve only had a few people come back, so my success rate is high but people have to stick to it for a long period of time. They may have to make lifestyle changes,” she said.

Living a more natural life can mean living a more healthy life but for it to have any lasting effect, people will have to be willing to change how they do things, how they live — their lifestyles.

Kuni Frith-Black operates Mystic Vibrations and can be contacted at 238-1227.