Homeopathy is a system of natural medicine that has been in use worldwide for over 200 years. It is recognized by the World Health Organization as the second most widely used therapeutic system in the world (after Ayurveda). Millions of people benefit from homeopathy.

The name homeopathy, coined by its originator, Samuel Hahnemann, is derived from the Greek words for ‘similar suffering’. Hahnemann was born in Germany in 1755. He was a medical doctor and a chemist who became disenchanted with harsh and ineffective medical interventions.  Through rigorous scientific experimentation and the application of inductive reasoning, Hahnemann created the homeopathic system of medicine.  His careful observations led him to uncover the laws of healing found in nature upon which homeopathy is based.

          “No individual has done more good to the medical profession than Samuel Hahnemann” –Sir William Ostler, The Father of Modern Medicine

Homeopathy is founded on two main principles, the first being ‘like cures like’, which means that a substance capable of producing certain symptoms in a healthy person, can be used to treat those same symptoms in a case of disease.  In Homeopathy we trust that the body will always be using its most effective healing response to a given situation. By using medicines which can stimulate a similar healing response, we boost the body’s own vitality, and work with it, instead of against it.

The second main principle in Homeopathy is that only ‘the minimum dose’ should be employed, in order to avoid the side effects that are so often the consequence of conventional treatment. This principle is based upon the understanding that homeopathic medicines are stimuli for healing vital force (qi or chi or life force) and that we need only give enough to produce a response.  This ensures that treatment will be as gentle and natural as it is healing and effective.  This medicine is individualized to the patient as a true holistic healing modality.  By treating people as a whole, we often see the simultaneous improvement of more than one complaint.  Improved mood, sense of well being, immunity and increased energy levels often occur as a result of a positive response to a remedy.  Because of its ability to heighten the natural defenses of the body, homeopathic medicine is a great option in preventative treatment, and the maintenance of good health.

Homeopathy treats people, not just diagnoses.  When a person is ill, that illness has a unique pattern.  People express illness in a way that corresponds to the heredity, environmental factors, stresses and weaknesses that are unique to that individual.  As a result, five different people with the flu might require five different homeopathic medicines, because they have five different sets of symptoms.  Treatment is individualized to each person. A homeopath is not  trying to suppress symptoms, but rather to find the right medicine to stimulate the body’s healing powers so that health is restored.

It should be noted that diet and lifestyle factors need to be looked at in order to remove any blockages to the body’s response to remedies.  If, for example, a person has a skin condition that is cause by a vitamin deficiency, the deficiency needs to be addressed alongside, or in advance of, the administration of a remedy.

Homeopathy is a very different paradigm from modern Western medicine, and this is part of the reason why is remains a bit of a mystery to many North Americans.  The prevailing paradigm here is one of material reductionism which is interested purely in what can be seen under a microscope (even, sometimes, to the point of negating the felt experience of the patient).  Fortunately, Homeopathy has been taken up with enthusiasm in many places in the world and clinical studies are being funded and published which show the effectiveness of remedies at both at the cellular, and holistic level.   Hopefully with time, bridges will be built between our Western medical paradigm and the paradigms of natural therapies, allowing more freedom of choice in healthcare and cooperation between medical professionals.  The Regulation of Homeopathy in Ontario was a major step in this direction.

Here are some key differences between modern Western medicine and Homeopathic medicine, with a view to the fact that every treatment can have its place and time as beneficial to the patient:

• Conventional Western, or allopathic treatment, views disease as being localized in organs or tissues, whereas Homeopathy views disease holistically as belonging to the mental, emotional and physical aspects of the patient
• Allopathic treatment relies largely on pharmaceuticals and/or surgery, whereas Homeopathic treatment relies upon natural remedies and lifestyle (dietary) adjustments
• Allopathic treatments often involve unwanted side effects as counter reactions from the body, whereas homeopathic remedies are given in the most gentle dose possible
• Visits with a conventional doctor are generally quick and consist of analysis of quantitative data, whereas Homeopathic consultations involve detailed question and answer about the particular disease experience of the client