An initial homoeopathic consultation is very different to your typical visit to a GP’s surgery or clinic.
Consultation actually starts before you step in to the consulting room or even meet with your homoeopathic physician. Typically you will be asked to fill in a questionnaire that will give your physician a good idea of your medical history and that of your family’s. This will allow your physician to consider if there are other health issues or inherited or otherwise that may contribute to your current condition.
Dr Hahnemann identified that individuals are often susceptible to certain types of dis-eases and this became apparent from their family history. He termed this susceptibility a miasm or taint. Today we understand this as a genetic predisposition for certain illnesses.
You will usually also be expected to provide details of any on-going conventional treatments and supplements so that your physician will have a good overview of what you are currently taking.
The first appointment usually lasts up to 90 minutes. During this time, the physician gets to know you as an individual beyond your current ailments. It is important to answer all questions as honestly and as frankly as possible as this helps your physician build up a holistic picture of you.
In homoeopathy, the physician always treats the patient as a whole, taking all the patient’s symptoms, their physical and psychological state, family medical history, sleep patterns, food preferences, worries, fears and phobias, lifestyle, work and home life into consideration to match the most appropriate remedy to each patient.
At the end of the consultation, your physician will prescribe a remedy and advise you on the best way to take it.
A follow-up appointment will typically be booked a few weeks later. Subsequent follow-up appointments can last up to 60 minutes depending on the complexity of the case.
At all times, the homoeopathic physician aims to treat towards your overall well-being and while an instant cure is rare, in the long term, a gradual return to a healthy state, one in which your body is able to embrace it’s own well being is the main goal of homoeopathy.