What Happens During Homeopathic Consultation
Since each individual is unique, the patient is envisioned as a global entity. This means that we seek to ascertain not only the physical symptoms of our patient but also his/her psychological and moral state. The treatment chosen will thus be specific to each individual based on what he/she is and feels. Therefore the consultation will last however long is required, usually about an hour, longer if necessary. All homeopaths must “Know”, with a capital K, and listen to, their patient. “One cannot set apart the disease from the patient’s life story.“ (Samuel Hahnemann, 6th Organon)
Observation lets your homeopath record the external and specific signs that characterize the person needing care.
This history-taking is often long and can seem tedious, especially during the first visit. Some therapists prefer to spend two or more hours with their patient on this first visit. In our practice, we feel that an hour or a bit more is plenty of time, and if need be, a second visit can be scheduled. We will ask you to fill out and send us, if possible at least a day before the consultation, a questionnaire which you will have downloaded beforehand when the appointment is confirmed.
These visits are often intense emotionally and tiring for many patients. History-taking includes a series of specific questions about the problems for which you are consulting, the circumstances in which they appeared, their periodicity, their intensity, what makes them worse or what improves your condition, their relationship to the weather, seasons, etc.
But more specifically, history-taking goes beyond the disease itself to consider other issues: the patient’s and his/her family’s history, his/her habits, tastes, sleep habits, relationships with others, emotional state, mental state, etc.
After taking down this history, we must find the remedy whose symptomatic characteristics are similar to the patient’s overall symptoms (Law of Similars). This remedy will be called “simillimum”. Thus the simillimum is the remedy which corresponds to the person’s combination of symptoms, at a specific moment in time. It matches the image of the disease (postulating that the symptom is the expression of the disease, one can then speak of the image of the disease).
This search can only be performed conscientiously by using repertories. Even the greatest homeopaths still use and will always use their repertories. This search can be more or less involved, depending on the case. Except for acute cases (tonsillitis, flu, burns, accidents, gastroenteritis, etc.) for which the remedy will be chosen during the consultation, we will provide you with the search results at the latest 48 hours after the visit. This procedure allows us to study your case in a most detailed fashion and with the utmost concentration possible, and you thus don’t need to wait in front of your homeopath for an extended period of time. We would rather that you would spend this time relaxing, reading, walking, enjoying the company of your family or friends…
