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| Hpathy Ezine - December, 2005 | ||||
Shopping For A Homeopath-- Elaine Lewis, DHom |
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| "How Do I Know If I've Found a 'Good' One?" The above question appears on the Hpathy Discussion Board. It's the kind of question that crops up so often, I thought it was high time we tackled it! I've asked a group of professional homeopaths to share their thoughts. I now give you:
The best way to choose a homeopath, in my opinion, is on the recommendation of somebody who has had good results from that homeopath. In the end it is "By their fruits you know them." Often a prospective patient will ask, "How many cases have you cured?" or, "How many cases of [name your disease] have you cured?" Its hard to know how many cases are "cured". I guess that depends on what you mean by "cure". A lot depends on the vital force, or immune system. The right remedy can be given and a weak body may not respond. And then, if the patient ends up being 75% stronger than before the remedies, but the wart on the big toe is still there, which is what the person wanted "cured" - how do you rate that? If they are sleeping better, their energy is better and other symptoms clear up, but the wart was still there - is that a cure? Sometimes when people come in, you give them a remedy and never hear from them again - then you might meet them in 5 or so years and they tell you - "Oh, by the way - my stomach problems cleared up after that remedy and I have been fine ever since." Who has the time to keep track of percentages? I don't find it a legitimate question. Would they ask allopaths the same thing? I don't think so. And also, just because you have given remedies to 25 people with hemorrhoids, and all of them were "cured" that doesn't mean that you will have the same result with the 26th person. What about compliance? How do you know that in the cases that weren't cured, that the people took their remedy as you told them, or at all? I just answer the questions people ask - most don't ask too many. I think by the time some of them get to homeopathy, they are pretty desperate and don't care about anything except being helped - some aren't even interested in how it works, they just want it to work. Others on the other hand want to learn all they can about it and that's fine with me. ___________________________________________________
As for choosing a practitioner, I think you have to have a strong connection with the person. When you talk to a new practitioner that you are considering taking on as YOUR professional, you must have some 'sympatico', something that tells you 'yes, I can talk to this person and feel heard'. As well, having practiced for some time, such as 5 years, say, and regularly upgrading skills by taking seminars also helps. These things need to be something you ask when you are interviewing. I think there SHOULD be an interview by the patient of the homeopath. This is an important job and both have to be aware of the requirements and considerations of the other. As a homeopath, I think you need to answer what you are comfortable with. How many cases have you cured? - what is the definition of a cure? Have you made people feel better and happy with their treatment? Different people mean different things when talking about cure. I think you need to sit down with the client and discuss her concerns while not neccesarily filling out a questionnaire. It does give you interesting rubrics to think about, doesn't it though, if someone hands you a lengthy questionnaire to fill out!!! Treating specific diseases will not ensure that you are able, in the same way, to cure HER disease. Most clients don't understand that you don't need to have seen it before to treat it. ___________________________________________________
Seriously, I think the practitioners, unfortunately for them, have to be there 24/7 in case of an aggravation or other ailment that comes up and needs immediate attention. I do phone consults for people like this. They pay me for them, as my time is valuable and I'd spend 1/2 my life doing phone consults. When the prospective client asks if you cure this or that disease, he or she is thinking allopathically and just needs to hear your voice, be calmed down by you and the conversation, and then make a decision. If the client is pushy and demanding information and statistics, you don't want to keep such a client anyway. ___________________________________________________
A good practitioner has many characteristics and different patients have different needs. For me, it is: At least 5 years of experience, treating at least 100 new patients per year for the first 5 years. Continues to keep updated with reading and attending conferences on homeopathy and medicine. Has a sound knowledge of pathology and medicine and knows when to refer to other health care practitioners. Has good boundaries and acts in a professional manner at all times. Is punctual and does what he or she says they are going to do. One who is approachable, listens to you and makes you feel at ease. Keep accurate notes and maintains your file for a minimum of 3 years after your last visit. One who always has your best interest in mind. ___________________________________________________
Re: choosing a practitioner. My advice would be: 1. If its a physician homeopath, he/she should have homeopathy
as 100% of their 2. Find someon who has been at it for as long as possible. 3. Ask if he/she is a classical homeopath and if he says, "what do you mean?" find someone else. 4. Call the study group in your area and ask who they use. [Short and to the point. Alan is the author of Homeopathy: The Home Handbook for Survival] ___________________________________________________
How to Go About Selecting a Homeopath? When I put myself in the shoes of a patient, as we all are at some
point, there are some definite criteria I look for in a doctor/homeopath
I want to entrust my ill self to. These criteria in order of priority
are: As a doctor myself, I know that it was a process of maturity to
fulfill the points above. I decided to asnwer this question in a
manner that would give, first us homeopaths reason to reflect. So
here are some criteria a homeopath would need: For point 2: For Point 3:
In looking for a homeopath, if the practitioner has initials after his or her name indicating that he or she has completed a course or graduated from a school of homeopathy, this is a very good sign. An example of such initials might be: RSHom, DHom, CHom, CCH, DHANP, DIHom, FSHom, MFHom, and so on. The trouble comes when there are no such initials to go on. That does not mean that the practitioner is no good, but it does mean that you have to ask a few questions in order to verify that he really is a homeopath. Here are 10 such questions which a qualified homeopath will find very easy but the practitioner you want to weed out will most likely be stumped! 1. What is Hering's Law? Answer: An observation of the course of natural healing, namely that: Healing takes place from the inside out, from the center to the periphery, from the most important organs to the least important organs, from above downward and in reverse order of occurrence. 2. What should a practitioner do if a rash breaks out on the patient's skin after a remedy? Answer: Nothing, unless it's intolerable. Skin eruptions after a remedy are a good sign. 3. A patient sees a dermatologist because he has eczema. After treatement the eczema goes away. A month later the patient sees a homeopath because he now has asthma. What do we call this phenomenon? What will happen when the asthma remedy is given? Answer: The phenomenon is called "Suppression". When the asthma remedy is given, the eczema will come back. 4. Which is a higher potency-- LM-1, 1M, 1C or 1X? Answer: 1M 5. What are "modalities"? Answer: Factors which make a patient feel better or worse. 6. When a chart shows that a patient received Sac-lac. for his complaint, what remedy did he receive? Answer: No remedy/placebo. 7. What is potentization? Answer: A series of dilutions and succussions. 8. Select a, b, c or d: Why did Mrs. Lachesis leave her husband? a. He was too quiet. b. He was a drunk. c. Mr. Lachesis had no passion. d. He was a slob! Answer: b. 9. Which of these remedies are chilly: Sepia, Apis, Lachesis, Arsenicum, Nux Vomica, Argentum nitricum, Silica, Iodium. Answer: Sepia, Arsenicum, Nux Vomica, Silica. 10. How do you find the common cold in the Repertory? Answer: Nose: coryza. Let me conclude by saying that all I can help you do is find a "homeopath". Any homeopath, by definition, is a "good" homeopath in the respect that he has taken formal courses, continues to study, as nearly all of us do; but being a homeopath does not mean that he or she will necessarily be able to solve "your" case. It is possible that the remedy you need hasn't been proven yet--doesn't exist in our pharmacy. It is possible that you've left out a key piece of information that would have shed light on the case if only you had shared it. It is possible that the causative factor in your case happened when you were so young that you can't remember it. Moreover, it is not unusual that in seeking homeopathic help, an individual goes to several homeopaths before finding the help that he or she needs. That doesn't mean that all the other homeopaths were bad or stupid. Most people's cases are badly complicated by over-use of drugs, by multiple etiologies (so many possible causes), and multiple pathologies. I think we've shown in our monthly quizzes that when a clear case is presented, almost everyone gives the same remedy. But homeopaths rarely get a clear case. People tend to come to us as a last resort where there is much pathology and much suppression. Wouldn't it be nice to have clients who came to us and said, "I have this one thing wrong with me, I'm not on any drugs, and here's what caused it or precipitated it!" Wouldn't we all have such success stories then! That having been said, I would have three areas of concern with choosing a homeopath after establishing that he or she really was one: 1. Do they know any antidoting methods besides peppermint and coffee? (See my interview with Diane Fuller in the November 2004 ezine for details about antidoting.) 2. Do they start every case with a high potency (200C and over) as a matter of rote prescribing? Do they keep repeating the high potency over and over without any justification other than that's how they practice? No school of homeopathy that I know of would turn out such students, but you can't be too careful. 3. Do they prescribe one remedy at a time and wait to evaluate it's action before represcribing? Prescribing many remedies at once would not be classical, and as Alan Schmukler said above, if your homeopath cannot answer the question, "Are you a classical homeopath?" (which means, do you practice as per The Organon by Samuel Hahnemann), find someone else. In thinking of these questions, I have tried to ask myself, "What can go wrong?" and can the homeopath prevent a case from going from bad to worse by prudent prescribing methods and by knowledge of antidoting techniques? Even so, as I said above, there are a lot of reasons why even a well-trained homeopath may not be able to help you; don't be discouraged. Your homeopath will probably say, "I'd like to refer you to someone else," and you should readily accept and not feel that homeopathy can't help you, but only that that particular practitioner did not get the insight into your case that was needed or didn't get the needed information because you couldn't confide in a male or couldn't confide in a female, etc; don't be afraid to keep trying. ___________________________________________________
I think word of mouth is the best reference you can get. I tend to think that having a diploma and having a title is not a sufficient guarantee that the homeopath is any good; but, cured cases and happy clients are a good indication. In the US particularly, people have to understand that they may need to drive quite a distance to go to a good homeopath. Also, people tend to ask if they’ve treated your condition before and what their success rate is. Some very famous homeopath whom I shall not mention (because I can’t remember who it was – maybe Andre Saine or Will Taylor or Paul Herscu) said the correct answer to that question is, “I hope not, since everyone is unique!” Something else that a lot of people do is wait to try homeopathy until after everything else has failed. They’ve been doing multiple modalities for years with no success. Then when the first homeopathic remedy doesn’t cure them in a month, they give up. They need to be patient and work with the homeopath – assuming it’s a good one. Oh, that’s what started all this, wasn’t it? Say 'goodnight', Shirley! Wait a minute, Elaine, something just came to me! Ask about their philosophy. Do they use multiple remedies at a time, multiple modalities? Those are both no-nos! At what point will they refer the client to someone else? How long do they spend with a person the first time? They should spend two hours or so and take a complete case, covering the physical, mental and emotional aspects of the person as well as the family history. Do they have any medical training or do they have a medical support person available if needed? I think good referral is the best. ___________________________________________________
When choosing a homeopath you need to feel that you are comfortable
with him or her. You need to be able to discuss your case fully
and that can include embarrassing or intimate details. It is important
that you are comfortable enough around your homeopath to be able
to open up. ___________________________________________________ Homeopathy 4 Everyone wishes to thank all the wonderful homeopaths who gave of their time and contributed; thanks so much, everyone! |
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Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom takes online cases. Visit her website at: www.hpathy.com/office/ElaineLewis.asp |
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Diane
Fuller, DHom
Carolyn
Ramos, DIHom
Shelley
Epstein, DVM
Dr.
Gabrielle Traub
Alan
Schmukler, CITT
Dr.
Leela D'Souza
Shirley
Reischman
Barb
Martorana, ND
