So… do you recognise your clients with their clothes on?

​I’ve been aware many people don’t really understand homeopathy entirely but this was a surprise comment to me recently. We were talking about recognising people out of context and they asked what I did. I work with homeopathy, said I. ‘Oh.’ Said they. ‘So… do you recognise your clients with their clothes on?’
 
Well of course this prompted a discussion of what I do, which I hope means they went away a little more aware of what homeopathy is and what we do. But the reason for being here writing this is that I’m aware it’s not that uncommon.
 
The definition of homeopathy – that homeopathy treats each person as a unique individual with the aim of stimulating their own healing ability. A homeopath selects the most appropriate medicine based on the individual’s specific symptoms and personal level of health – helps explain a little more.
 
What we do, in terms of actually seeing clients could be different for each practitioner so really I can only talk about myself. I allow a two hour session for the first consultation although it could take anywhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours. I perceive that this is their space, if they talk non stop then that’s OK. My aim is that the more details I can get about what’s going on for them then the more likely I am to be able to find a remedy that matches what’s going on for them.
 
There are remedy pictures of thousands of remedies out there. There are many types of person, and indeed many types of remedy. My job is to match the two as best as I can. The length of consultation space allows the depth of investigation of what’s happening for them. The feelings that they are going through. The experiences they’re having/had and how they respond to them. How challenges are for them. What they like, dislike. What makes them better and worse. What makes the conditions they suffer from better or worse. What makes them angry – do they get angry? So talking. We talk. They talk a lot, or not a lot. Ideally for me it’s a place they can be themselves, not have to be an anything for anyone. To be honest with feelings and experiences. It’s a confidential space, they’re able to be themselves without judgement.
 
Several clients have commented recently that I know them better than they know themselves, which clearly isn’t the case as they have told me it all. But it does beg a point of how often we are aware of ourselves, or also how often we notice how we behave in situations or around people. So perhaps longer term, some patients become more self aware, and that is a part of the process some engage with. Others find their main complaint clears and off they go into the world. Probably as many patient responses as there are remedies. And that, for me, is their choice, it’s not for me to choose.
 
So back to the homeopathic consultation experience, I’m looking to understand as much as I can about how it is to be them, what’s it like living their life and ideally help them move forwards in a healthier way. It may be that we look at obstacles to cure, things that may stop the person getting better.
 
Dr Hahnemann, founder of homeopathy, worked before his adventures into homeopathy as a conventional medical doctor and then started moving away from medicine but into helping people to live a healthier life without drugs – improving their diet, suggesting they cut out caffeine, alcohol or get some exercise. This was his way of working for some time, and continues to be something that’s relevant for homeopaths today. It’s one thing to try and help with the constant coughs, but if someone keeps smoking, there’s only so much we can do. So support to stop smoking may be relevant – either with homeopathic remedies or something else. Which may or may not be something the homeopath offers – I work with food and mindfulness, others work with other systems, and what we often may do as homeopaths is refer someone to another practitioner where this is needed.
 
So we find out what we can. We give the remedy that matches the patient. I may do that in the session and there will explain more about why I’m giving that remedy. And then they go away and take the remedy. Or I may work on the case after I’ve seen the client – which could be any time up to a couple of hours of work with research and reading around what’s going on for them. An appointment is made for the next session which generally is between 4 and 6 weeks for them, depending on how acute things are for them.
 
The follow up session is a place to assess how taking the remedy has been for them. How the complaint has changed or altered, and where to go from there. It may be to wait, to repeat the remedy or to change the remedy, which is what we do in that space. I allow an hour for that session and generally it’s between 30 and 60 minutes in duration.
 
In terms of how long people will consult me for – that differs – it’s difficult to guage that right at the beginning of meeting someone but we can have more idea after the first or second follow up. There is one school of thought that things may take as many months as they lasted for years. This hasn’t been my experience but I’m sharing it as a guideline. I’ve seen 20 years of headaches be better in 5 months. So, just as we’re all so different, so are our paths to health.
 
And those differences make our work with homeopathy so much more challenging, interesting and wonderful to work with. But please, please, keep your clothes on.