What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is an alternative system of medicine used to stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself.  Founded over 200 years ago by German physician Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, Homeopathy continues to be one of the leading natural health treatments internationally today. It can be used as a primary mode of health care or it can be used complimentary or supplementary to existing treatments.  What makes Homeopathy different from other healing modalities and treatments is its holistic and unique approach to health and wellness in the being.

~Holistic~

Our bodies are an organized and intelligent collection of cells, tissue, organs, muscle, bones, skin.  And all of these make up the various systems of the body from our respiratory, circulatory, digestive and so on.  These systems work together in unison to keep everything regulated, balanced, and ordered.

Conventional medicine tends to view a person’s symptoms and ailments as separate and usually ends up giving out isolated treatments and medicines for each specific symptom. This can result in a person being on multiple medications and treatments for all sorts of ailments.

A homeopath will approach the multiple symptoms and ailments as a whole and will tend to prescribe a single remedy to address the whole, the totality of the symptoms.  This remedy is meant to not only address the physical, but also the mental and emotional.  These too make up part of who we are and are big components of our overall health and well-being.  When we are low in energy and we are dealing with all sorts of stress, that too can take a toll on us.  Not only does our physical body need to be in balance but also our mental and emotional bodies.  Homeopathy helps to bring about health and wellness to us fully, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

~Personalized Prescription~

No one else is like you.  No one else has your body, mind, or spirit.  No one else has lived your life, seen what you’ve seen, experienced what you’ve experienced.  You are unique and you have your own unique expression, behaviour, and way of doing things.

In Homeopathy, there is no ‘one size fits all’.  Take the common cold for example, how you experience it and how your symptoms are expressed will differ from one person to the next.  Your homeopath will take into account the quality of your expression of all of your symptoms, mental, physical, and emotional, and make a personalized prescription and remedy unique for you and what you are going through.  It is an individualized treatment meant specifically just for you and your life.

~Safe & Gentle Treatment~

The remedies used in Homeopathy are all natural and come from plant, animal, or mineral.  They are made through a process known as potentization in which the substance is highly diluted and then succussed (shaken vigorously) to remove toxicity while amplifying the healing energy.  The remedy is given in either liquid or pill form.

Homeopathic remedies are safe and contain no side effects unlike other medications.  They are prescribed with the principle of the Minimum Dose in mind which is the minimum dosage and potency needed to stimulate the body’s own healing mechanisms.  This brings about a subtle and gentle healing response yet at the same time can be quite powerful allowing patients to feel ‘more like themselves’ with increased energy.  Homeopathic remedies have been used effectively and safely on the elderly, pregnant women, children, babies, and even animals.

~Like Cures Like~

“that which may poison, may also heal”
-Hippocrates

Treating via ‘like cures like’ is the main principle of homeopathy.  As far as we know, this discovery goes back to the observations of Hippocrates (460-377 BC) who is considered to be the father of medicine.  What it means is that a substance which can cause symptoms in a person, that substance can also heal those symptoms.  Think of what happens when chopping a raw onion, your eyes water, nose runs, there’s a burning sensation.  Someone suffering from a cold with these symptoms could find relief from the homeopathic remedy Allium cepa, made from red onion.

Dr. Samuel Hahnemann first discovered this principle in the late 1700’s.  While translating medical texts he came across a book claiming Peruvian bark as a cure for malarial fever due to its bitter action on the stomach.  Not satisfied with the book’s explanation of why it worked, being the scientist that he was, he ingested amounts of the bark for a period of time recording his observations.  He found that through his consumption of the bark he was developing symptoms of malarial fever.  Hahnemann wrote: “The Peruvian bark, which is used as a medicine for malaria fever is effective because it can cause symptoms similar to malaria in healthy individuals.”.  It is through treating with ‘like cures like’ that provides the stimuli to the body to heal the like symptoms through its own abilities.

Fueled by his curiousity, Hahnemann went on to test many more natural medicines and substances on himself as well as both healthy and sick participants.  Through his experiments he found this principle to be true.  He compiled his findings and devised this system of medicine calling it Homeopathy.  ‘Homeopathy’ comes from the Greek ‘homios’ meaning “similar” and ‘pathos’ meaning “suffering”.

“Similia similibus curentur” … “Let likes be cured by likes”
-Samuel Hahnemann

During his homeopathic practice, Hahnemann noticed that while successfully treating patients with acute conditions such as colds, headaches, etc., a number of them would return to him with the same issues.  He discovered that these acute conditions could actually be part of a bigger, underlying chronic condition.  He also found that of his patients, despite suffering from the same illness or disease, there were always some sort of distinguishing characteristics from person to person.  It was then that he learned that we are actually treating the person, not the symptoms.

What to expect?

Because Homeopathy is a holistic and personalized type of treatment, getting to know and understand the patient is vital.  What I am looking for is your expression, your quality of symptoms, what makes it unique to you, what makes it yours.  In a set of people who would be suffering from insomnia, you’d find distinguishing characteristics that differentiate how each person would experience it: some can’t sleep because they are full of energy, some are physically exhausted but can’t fall asleep, some have their mind racing around preventing them from sleeping, some can’t sleep because they are affected by every single noise.

Not only is the physical complaint/symptom important but so are any mental and emotional aspects to it.  The remedy is designed to work at depth, healing on multiple levels, and as such, I am also investigating on multiple levels.  When we are dealing with a physical symptom we may also have thoughts linked to it, how we handle it, our feelings around it, potential triggers both internal and external that may aggravate it.  So when I ask about the main complaint, in order to cover the full depth of the symptom, I may ask other questions like: What makes it better/worse?  When did it first start?  What was going on in your life at the time?  What was that like?  What does the illness/symptom mean to you?  Other topics of inquiry that may likely come up could be health history, medications, fears, anger, sleep, dreams, digestion, allergies, and food likes/dislikes.  All of this makes for a very comprehensive and thorough initial consultation lasting up to 2.5 hours long as we get to explore you.

After taking your case, the information is reviewed and carefully analyzed to determine an appropriate remedy that best suits you and what you are experiencing at this present time.  This process can take up to a week or so as it may require further analysis and research to decide on the remedy.  Once the remedy is chosen, it may be either mailed out or picked up depending on preference and convenience.  The remedy will come with a set of instructions on how to take it, frequency and dosage chosen according to your level of health and vitality.

Typically, patients start to feel an improvement in multiple areas after taking a remedy.  The most common reaction observed by patients as well as myself is a greater knowledge of themselves and generally feeling better.  Many times either during a consultation, after a consultation or after taking the remedy, a patient may even experience an epiphany, a realization, a discovery, as they too connect the dots.

Afterwards, subsequent follow-up consultations are done every 6 to 8 to even 12 weeks out, depending on the patient’s progress, to gauge and track their health and the action of the remedy.  Follow-up consultations are shorter, 1 hour long, and are useful to monitor any changes as well as the path of healing to determine the next prescription.

While homeopathy can be used to palliate or manage the symptoms, the goal is to bring about a cure of them.  Just as the prescription and remedy are personalized, the path of healing also is unique to the individual.  How long it takes and how it happens is hard to say, it is all individual.  Nature takes time.  Symptoms and ill-health develop over time, true healing also takes time.  Depending on the complexity of the condition, the longer it may take.

Getting to truly know and understand a person can be a difficult task – we are complex beings after all!  Not only is the homeopath exploring and discovering what makes you, you, but also the patient.  It can be an incredible and transformational journey as they (re)discover who they are and allow themselves to express it.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
-Aristotle

True healing is available and it starts from within.
Rekindle your inner light.  Restore your harmony and balance in health and well-being.

~Consultation Fees~

Homeopathy treatment is recognized and covered by many health insurance companies.  Whether you have coverage for homeopathy depends on your health insurance plan.  For most plans, there is a set amount of homeopathic coverage per year according to the plan.  For others, there is a Health Care Spending Account or a Wellness Account where you get a certain amount of credits to use towards health services and supplies that are not covered by your standard plan.

If you are unsure whether you have coverage for homeopathic treatment you can inquire with your health insurance provider or your Human Resources department.  If it is not covered but you would like it to be, you can also contact your HR department to request it be added to your plan.  Homeopathy is one of the most widely used forms of alternative medicine in the world.  Used by over 200 million people worldwide it is recognized and covered by insurance companies around the world and even by some national and state health care plans.

Currently, these insurance companies recognize and cover homeopathy as part of a health insurance plan in Canada:

Contact / Book an Appointment

Edward practices Homeopathy in both Burnaby, BC as well as a shared clinic in Port Moody, BC.

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