treatmentTreatment
Consultations
In common with most homeopaths, your first visit to me is a fairly lengthy 'information-gathering' conversation. In preparation for the first consultation, I usually ask clients to complete a registration questionnaire which we can then go into in more detail when we meet. This covers not only any illness or symptoms that are being experienced but also information about you as a person - for example how you are affected by environmental factors, the kinds of food that you like or that you avoid, your moods and feelings, and your overall medical history. It will also introduce you to the types of questions that I need to put to you.
This all goes towards establishing a complete picture of you as an individual person. This first detailed meeting then helps me to understand the nature of the complaint and how it manifests or is experienced by you. The job of the homeopath is then to analyse this information in order to select an appropriate remedy for you. This choice of remedy is therefore directly linked to the individual and their whole condition, not just their separate symptoms.
Remedies and prescriptions
Most homeopathic remedies are derived from natural substances that come from plants, minerals or animals. Remedies are prepared by diluting the substance in a series of pharmaceutically controlled steps. This process preserves and 'potentises' the substance's healing properties.
Homeopathic remedies are safe and are unlikely to cause severe adverse reactions. They are not known to interfere with the action of conventional drugs, though it is often the case that clients are able to talk to their GP about reducing their medication as they begin to improve with homeopathic treatment.
Remedies are mostly prepared in liquid, pillule or tablet form; medicated creams can also be prepared for topical use. Alcohol-free liquid remedies are available for people who require this. The cost of remedies prescribed as the result of each consultation is included in the treatment fee.
Reviewing progress
The duration of your treatment will depend very much on what sort of illness is involved and how long you have been suffering from the symptoms, as well as other characteristics of your case, such as the level of stress that you are normally subject to in your life and your general level of underlying health. A slowly developing complaint or one that has been lingering for some years may take longer to improve, though there are usually signs of a positive shift in health quite soon. Acute complaints can get better more quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours.
My overall approach is to be as open and straightforward as possible with clients about progress with their treatment. I aim to agree a review programme with each client at our first meeting. Typically this will involve discussion of progress after around 4 visits and consideration of any next steps. At this point, additional health care advice can be explored and there can be discussion of appropriate supporting treatment if necessary.
The aim of homeopathy is to promote good health. This may be obvious, but once the client is feeling well therefore, there is no need to continue with treatment.