I have mentioned before that I am a huge complementary therapy advocate and thought it would be a great idea to contact some local therapists to answer a few general questions. For me the doctors is a last resort when nothing else seems to be working rather than my first point of call. It also probably explains why a home birth was so appealing to me.
I’m going to be ever so slightly bias(!) and start with Homeopathy, as it is something I’m very passionate about. If you have never been to see a Homeopath you are probably most acquainted with it through teething granules for babies, arnica cream for bruising and belladonna for high fevers – all available at Boots…and if you’re not that interested in complementary therapies then it’s an excuse to learn something new!
A massive thank you to Sarah Johnston-Knight of Naturally Homeopathic:
1. What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a system of medicine which involves treating the individual with highly diluted substances, given mainly in pillule form, with the aim of triggering the body’s natural system of healing. The word Homeopathy comes from the Greek, “Homeo Pathos”, which means “Similar Suffering”. The symptoms of a remedy are matched with the symptoms of the patient and this brings about a cure.
2. How did you discover homeopathy?
I first discovered homeopathy when I was pregnant with my first child. Someone said to me that I would need Arnica after the birth, “for the bruising”. Well, I thought, I’m having a baby not falling over…. but you live and learn 😉 However, I have experienced the most complete healing through homeopathy; healing from fibromyalgia. It was after bumping into a friend while I was being pushed around in a wheelchair, who asked me if I had tried Homeopathy. He said there were people who did this for a job…. find the right remedy for someone regardless of how poorly they were. So I found a Homeopath and from then on started to get well again.
3. What are the most common illnesses you treat children for?
Children respond quickly to homeopathy and I do treat a lot of children. I see them for all kinds of problems… skin stuff, like eczema etc…. coughs, colds and snottiness that just go on and on… sleep problems… ear problems…behavioural issues… and problems that can start after routine vaccinations.
4. What at the most common illnesses you treat adults for?
Adults come with all kinds of problems too. Anxiety, stress, insomnia, M.E, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fertility issues, menopause problems,IBS all respond well to homeopathic treatment. But also people with more serious problems like MS, Parkinson’s, MND and cancers come to me for support and treatment.
5. What happens at a session?
In a consultation all you really have to do is tell me about what’s troubling you. This could be the rash on your skin or the pain in your back or it could be the feelings you have about something that is going on in your life. This is what I’ll want to know about, and I won’t have to see it if you don’t want me to. You will not have to remove any clothing
Once you have told me about your symptoms I’ll ask you some questions…. sometimes people get a bit perplexed at the questions I ask but all the information that I get from you will take me closer to choosing the right remedy for you, so please bear with me!
I will then look at all the information you have given me and look up your symptoms in my Repertory. This is a book of symptoms and from here I will be able to narrow my choice of remedy down to a just a few (and remember there are over 4,000 remedies to choose from, so I can’t remember all of them!). Once I have my shortlist I’ll go then to my Materia Medica. This is where the descriptions of the remedies are written up to show the full picture of what they do. I’ll read the remedies and from there decide which one fits your symptoms best of all.
E xx
Image from theguardian.com.