APPOINTMENTS WITH A HOMEOPATH

What to expect in a homeopathic consultation

In a homeopathic consultation (otherwise known as casetaking) the homeopath listens very carefully to you describe your problem and takes notes so he or she can remember the details of what you said, so when it comes to the repertorising (working it out) your remedy can be chosen precisely. Accuracy in the details is very important in homeopathy - it is the way to pinpoint the remedy that will actually be homeopathic for you. This is why in-depth casetaking may take an hour or so and confidentiality is of course guaranteed.

As you describe your problem the homeopath may ask questions to make sure what you say has been fully understood. It is important that your homeopath has a clear understanding of you and your symptoms, because the skill in finding your remedy relies on that understanding. If the patient witholds information then this can't be included when choosing the remedy.

You may be asked more questions that haven't already been covered in regard to your symptoms and also about your medical history and other medications, vaccinations, supplements, dietary preferences, emotional or physical traumas, stress, lifestyle, sleep and dreams, etc. It is surprising how often seemingly unrelated events in our life can influence our health and therefore the choice of our homeopathic remedy. In other words the homeopath tries to get to know as much as possible about your problem and how that relates to the rest of your life, in just an hour or so.

It is the homeopath's job to find a remedy that is homeopathic to your problems, to do that he or she must differentiate between the 3000 or so remedies that exist and find the one that will work for you. You might think this is easy. After all if for example, you suffer from migraines how many remedies can there be for that? - Well, 1232 remedies to be precise! Remember there are no specific remedies for named diseases in homeopathy, only for symptoms, and to differentiate between those remedies we have to differentiate between the symptoms. e.g. The if patient has a headache. We ask what sort of headache? Look here to get some idea of the options..

Don't worry you won't be asked every question under the heading! That's just to demonstrate that you always have more than just one symptom when you think about it. Cross referencing the remedies for all your symptoms in the *repertory*, and taking suppression and aetiology into account, we find some remedies occur in more of the headings than others. The ones that occur most often will then be studied in the Materia Medica to narrow them down even further until one is discovered that matches your problem fully; that then is your remedy.

This will either be given to you immediately or sent later by post, or in some regions you will get a prescription to take to the pharmacy. You will not be told to stop any medications you may be taking from the doctor but the options will be discussed. Additional advice may be offered e.g. dietary or lifestyle changes may also be recommended.

Homeopathy does not focus primarily on the disease name, but on the individual's symptoms and the person as a whole. Because of the nature of this initial consultation, clients often find it therapeutic in itself.

Following appointments (usually a month later) will be used to check progress and discuss changes and to determine whether another dose of the same remedy is needed or whether a new symptom picture is emerging requiring a different remedy.

This is what Hahnemann had to say about casetaking:§ 5
Useful to the physician in assisting him to cure are the particulars of the most probable exciting cause of the acute disease, as also the most significant points in the whole history of the chronic disease, to enable him to discover its fundamental cause, which is generally due to a chronic miasm. In these investigations, the ascertainable physical constitution of the patient (especially when the disease is chronic), his moral and intellectual character, his occupation, mode of living and habits, his social and domestic relations, his age, sexual function, etc., are to be taken into consideration.