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| Hpathy Ezine - May, 2004 | |||||
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Shirley A. Reischman <-- Interviewed by Elaine Lewis |
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Shirley, how would you like to be the May "Homeopath In The Hot Seat"? I guess it depends on what the questions are. If I know the answers, then sure. If not, I’d be too embarrassed. OK, these questions are easy! 1. Who are you? How's that? 1. I’m me. OK, Shirley, I can see you're unfamiliar with the interview format, so let me help you: Never mind who you are! When you get to work--and never mind where--what do you do when you get there? Well, lets see. I say ‘Hi’ to everyone. I check to see if any of my clients are in the waiting room. I make sure their charts are in order. Is that what you mean? Aaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!! Shirley, let's try a different approach. From where or whom did you learn homeopathy? Kent Smith of Huntington Beach, California. His father, Dwight
Smith, was a friend and student of Dr. James Tyler Kent. Dr. Kent
Smith was my homeopath and when he told me he was retiring, I panicked,
so he offered to teach me. Sweet Georgia Brown! You were taught by the son of one of Kent's students? Do you know what that makes you? It makes me one of what our friend Hans calls a pseudo-homeopath! No, it makes you a student of Kent's twice
removed! Shirley, you're Kent's great-grandstudent! Hans has a problem with Kent (as do a number of people) mixing his Swedenborgian spiritual ideas with Hahnemann’s. Perhaps you could explain that. I started to write down some of the differences, but my mind is fried. That explains the interview thus far. Kent was a very strict Hahnemannian. He is the one who gave the name ‘classical’ to following the principles of the Organon. What he did do was explain the mechanism of how the remedies work, how one becomes ill and how one heals, using Swedenborg’s concepts. Far from diluting Hahnemann, I think it provides explanation and clarity to what can be a very difficult subject. In fact, the reason why so many early homeopaths were Swedenborgian was because the mechanism of homeopathic healing is clear once one understands Swedenborg. Kent of course was not the only well known Swedenborgian homeopath. There’s Hering, Boericke, Tafel, Farrington and many others. So, Shirley....What do you do when you get to work? Let’s see. I say ‘Hi’ to everyone. Uh huh.... Unless Dr. Jim’s in a grumpy mood.... I see.... in which case I say ‘Hi’ to everyone but Dr. Jim. Makes sense.... Then I see if all my charts are out for the day. Then I check the lobby and see if I have any early birds waiting for me. OK.... If so, I hop to it. If not, I look over the case files for the day. Uh huh.... Then I cross my fingers that I don’t have a bunch of last minute cancellations like I had a few days ago. And by then, my first client has usually arrived. Clients! Now, try and go with that, Shirley; do you have any interesting clients? They’re almost all interesting. On the negative side there was a family who came in with three preschoolers, all out of control. And they expected me to do a full chronic case study on the mother while the little darlings wrecked my office and the father just sat there amused. On the positive side is a wonderful elderly gentleman whose mother raised him on homeopathy. He had such an interesting life, including some amazing stories of being in France during WWII. He had been mayor of the small town he lived in. The interview took almost seven hours and he told me some wonderful stories of his life experiences. In general though, I find it most interesting and somewhat amusing that so many clients say, ”Oh, I bet you don’t have anyone as complicated as me!” Shirley, the elderly gentleman who had been raised on homeopathy, how was his health compared to others you've seen? He’s in his late 80’s. He and his wife bought a farm when he retired at the age of 73. He now works the farm and fixes all the machinery. His vitality is phenomenal, even though he does have a health problem. He joined my homeopathic study group and his biggest complaint is that he has to use a magnifying glass to read the repertory! What I see most often with people who have been raised on homeopathy or have used it for a long time is that they respond very quickly and the cases resolve in a straight forward manner. That's his complaint? That he needs a magnifying glass at 80 to see the Repertory? I can't see the Repertory at all, and I'm... only...not 80. Would you like me to tell you about my most frustrating client? Not really.... Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. Whenever I see her for a follow up, she says she’s not better. When I ask her specific things about her case, she says , ‘Oh, well, I guess that’s better’. So when we’re through, she has reported that most of the things are better. So, then I say, “Well, based on what you’ve just told me, it looks like things are improving.” Her response, ”No, I’m really not any better.” So, then I go back over all the things she said were better. I even read back my notes to her that I’ve written down word for word and she says, “Oh, did I say that? I don’t remember. I don’t think I would have said that, because I’m not better.” |
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