CLASSICAL HOMEOPATHY, CONSTITUTIONAL & TOTALITY PRESCRIBING, EXPERT HOMEOPATHY

What is 'constitutional homeopathy'?

Sometimes called ‘constitutional’ 'classical', 'totality', 'genuine' or 'Hahnemannian' homeopathy, these titles all mean essentially the same thing; they denote a precise definition of homeopathy in which there must be a proper in-depth case taking and understanding of the patient and this information must then be matched to one single remedy. Any other way of using potentised remedies isn’t actually homeopathy but something adapted from it and so,being different, it won't operate according to the same paradigms and so could be superficial or even questionable. To get the most out of homeopathy one has to clearly understand what homeopathy correctly is and what it is not.

What constitutional homeopathy is not - is simply any method that doesn’t submit to the above criterion (as explained in depth in Hahnemann’s organon). This is important not just because the meaning of ‘homeopathy’ needs clarification but because patients can become very disillusioned if they think they’re being treated homeopathically when in fact they are not. There may even be therapists who claim to be using constitutional homeopathy but who don’t actually understand the term properly themselves, so it’s important that the prospective patients do!

To be able to find one single remedy (sometimes called the 'simillimum') that will address the patient’s symptoms in their entirety, it is necessary to understand as much as possible about the whole of the person's makeup. The patient may have several complaints that they have not initially seen as being related, but from a homeopath's perspective every symptom, both emotional and physical, no matter how obscure or where it’s located, is part of the person's expression of disease, and the homeopath will be looking for a coherence that covers that expression in one single remedy.

This is why homeopaths must have keen observation and analytical skills in addition to their knowledge of materia medica if they are to locate a remedy that is truly homeopathic. By cross referencing the remedies suitable for one symptom with those for other symptoms, and taking past traumas, suppression and aetiology into account, we find some remedies occur in more of the headings, or are more strongly represented in the repertory, than others. These top remedies will then be checked in the Materia Medica to further narrow down the options, until just one is found that matches the totality of symptoms; that then is the homeopathic remedy, the 'simillimum'.

Although it is harder to master than superficial prescribing, and certainly takes longer consultation time, the single remedy, single dose approach is the most respected and preferred strategy among registered homeopaths and is also recognised by all authorities on homeopathy as the most profound and beneficial for the patient's long term health. Not every patient is suitable for this method initially, e.g. due to current allopathic medication or other 'maintaining causes' it may not be effective, but the homeopath can still help by using alternative methods until their treatment progresses them to a level where it can be applied.

So, in constitutional prescribing only one remedy is used and preferably only in a single dose. The remedy is only decided upon after in-depth case taking and deliberation; the effect of the remedy can be profound and long lasting and it categorically must not be repeated without very careful consideration. In addition to curing the problem you initially came with, it should also improve your overall health and well being, and lessen your general susceptibility to illness; in other words it improves your whole constitution!