Individualisation: The Heart of Homeopathy

At the recent biennial Congress of the Faculty of Homeopathy, its online audience was treated to presentations whose speakers emphasised the individually caring and prescribing approach that characterises homeopathic treatment. As Dr. Bob Leckridge reminded us, it is about reflecting the uniqueness and the profound self-healing powers of the individual patient. In his lecture, Dr. Brian Kaplan referred to the homeopathic consultation as one that requires “affection in your heart”. The empathetic process of “listening with your heart” has always been the essence of traditional medicine[1] and it is the mark of the contemporary practitioner who respects—and whose patients can benefit from—both the modern and the more holistic methods of healing. Two of the articles in the current issue focus on individually prescribed homeopathic medicines within a modern context of health care—one a randomised controlled trial,[2] the other a clinical case series.[3]

The latter article is one of an increasing number of case series and reports that are currently being accepted in the journal. It is timely therefore that this issue contains an overview of guidelines on case reporting and the associated scientific tools that enable good case documentation and evaluation.[4] Meanwhile, research on the efficacy or the mode of action of specific homeopathic medicines continues apace, with articles in this issue on signalling molecules used in homeopathy,[5] and on novel nosodes for treating parasitic disease,[6] microbial infection[7] or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).[8] The last-named study highlights the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, a reality reinforced by the data collection work that is continuing in India.[9] We conclude with a Debate item that illuminates the questions of ultradilution and potentisation in homeopathy through a heart-felt individual account of laboratory research in the 1980s.[10]

Publication History

Article published online:
31 January 2022

• References

• 1 Peate WF. Listening With Your Heart: Lessons from Native America. Tucson, Arizona: Rio Nuevo Publishers; 2003
• 2 Shahid S, Ghosh S, Chakraborty AS. et al. Efficacy of individualized homeopathic medicines in plantar fasciitis: double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 22-30
• 3 RajachandraSekar B, Nair JKR, Sunny A, Manoharan A. Individualised homeopathic medicine in the treatment of infertility: a case series. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 66-73
• 4 Teut M, van Haselen RA, Rutten L, Lamba CD, Bleul G, Ulbrich-Zürni S. Case Reporting in Homeopathy—An Overview of Guidelines and Scientific Tools. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 2-9
• 5 Manchanda RK, Gupta M, Gupta A, van Haselen RA. The clinical and biological effects of homeopathically prepared signaling molecules: a scoping review. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 10-21
• 6 Joshi J, Bandral C, Manchanda RK, Khurana A, Nayak D, Kaur S. Evidence for reversal of immunosuppression by homeopathic medicine to a predominant Th1-type immune response in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania donovani . Homeopathy 2022; 111: 31-41
• 7 Munshi R, Talele G, Shah R. In-vitro evaluation of antimicrobial activities of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Candida albicans nosodes. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 42-48
• 8 Talele G, Vaidhya S, Chowdhary A, Herscu P, Shah R. Randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled feasibility study, evaluating the efficacy of homeopathic medicines in the prevention of COVID-19 in a quarantined population. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 49-56
• 9 Manchanda RK, Miglani A, Chakraborty M. et al. Impact of bias in data collection of COVID-19 cases. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 57-65
• 10 Allan N. An explanation of ultradilution and potentization in homeopathy. Homeopathy 2022; 111: 74-76