Meet Your Practitioner

I may recommend, or even insist on, orthodox or other complementary medical treatment as well (e.g. with cancer or some psychiatric disturbances). It is my responsibility to ensure that the methods I use are safe and compatible with any others you are having. If you are unsure about whether I believe I may be able to help in your particular case I invite you to contact me to check before committing yourself to an appointment. 

It is not uncommon for people to present with a certain physical problem and then move their focus to other, sometimes deeper, issues. I see my role as one half of a partnership where I help my patients understand how they have come to be as they are, how best to proceed and how to turn their illness into a positive experience.

I work in a very individualized way because everyone is very different. One person may want to change their diet completely while another may want results without any impact on their lifestyle, or to see me only once, for example. I have come to work as a homeopath and herbalist by design, this being the best combination I could think of. Because I have several ways of approaching many ailments it is usually fairly easy for me to adapt to each situation.

My unusual position has enabled me to combine precaches to both stress and chronic fatigue. I foresee a future where homeopaths and other practitioners work very differently from how they do today.

The first session is always an information-gathering one. The immediate problems are explored along with secondary or associated issues. Then I need to know about general physical and mental functioning. Lifestyle, diet and work are included as have a great impact on our state. Finally, the type of person is important too, given that most of our ailments arise from the inside i.e. are made by us. Just as there is a correlation between aggressive ‘type A’ personalities and stomach ulcers, physical dysfunction is often associated with an inner dysfunction that has been completely overlooked.

Treatment usually starts in the first session with a discussion about how the current state has developed and an overview of how to change things.

Most people leave the first session with a remedy or having had their first treatment though sometimes I will post a remedy on afterwards.

Follow up sessions involve my getting feedback, asking more questions, having thought about the case in the meantime, maybe a machine retest and then the next prescription and advice.

Although I usually know how to start off in the first consultation the picture has to be drawn together, a treatment plan formulated, further remedies chosen and information-gaps identified. Therefore, after each session I resummarise and then separately reanalyse each case. This takes a lot of time but is necessary in order to get good results, particularly from the homeopathic point of view.

What is a healing crisis?

Also known as an aggravation, a healing crisis is a reaction that sometimes happens a few days after treatment. It only happens to the minority of cases and is a good sign. It is one way the body seems to mend itself, by having an acute intensification of all that has been wrong, followed by rapid relief into a lasting improved state. It is seen particularly in homeopathy but also with nutrition, herbalism, acupuncture, osteopathy and even talking therapies. Of course, our society is more used to immediate relief, then maybe long-term side effects from the treatment, which is more typical of orthodox medication. The healing crisis represents the opposite, an initial stir-up leading into long term gain.

This is one of mankind’s oldest medical systems and involves medication with plant extracts.
Herbal Medicine works similarly to acupuncture but in opposite directions. Acupuncture focuses on the energetic level and works from the outside inwards, while herbal medicine focuses on the internal organs and works from the
inside outwards. By using different herbs and formulas we can improve the efficacy of the treatment.

Each plant has a complex action with many effects going on at once. Prescribing involves blending several herbs together to suit the individual and address their physiological priorities. As they progress, so the blend of herbs needs to be changed

Does homeopathy work if vitality is low?

Yes. It works, but it might take more intricate work with low potencies and more frequent dosing. Plus, it might be more important to find the remedies that can best interact with the vital force and not just the acute symptoms being presented, i.e., an ideal time for a trained homeopath.