What is Constitutional Homeopathic Treatment?
Constitutional treatment, simply stated, involves taking the whole person into account as far as this is possible and treating the person simultaneously on all levels – physical, mental and emotional. The expression ‘treat the person, not the disease’ is an expression often used by homeopaths to simply express the idea behind this philosophy.
The homeopathic treatment of any chronic complaint will include prescribing the person’s constitutional remedy that covers the whole state of the person. This constitutional remedy can treat and resolve many different chronic complaints, even if the remedy does not have the specific symptoms of the chronic illness from which the person is suffering. For example just one well-chosen remedy could help improve a person’s excema, asthma, digestive issues and help them sleep better and feel more confident.
Why do I need to see a homeopath for Constitutional Homeopathic Treatment?
The main reason is that it is very difficult to observe yourself or anyone close to you in an objective or ‘unprejudiced’ way. Someone outside the situational will be better placed to see the overall picture because we all have out ‘blind-spots’. This is why even homeopaths visit other homeopath’s for constitutional treatment! The process will involve taking a detailed case history and discovering as much as possible what makes you an individual and homeopath’s are specially trained to do this through looking at your symptoms and many other aspects of your being such as dreams, fears and food preferences.
How is the Constitutional Remedy found?
The constitutional remedy is found by looking at all aspects of the person. At the first appointment the homeopath will take a full case history and may ask you to fill in a form beforehand to give necessary details. This first appointment usually takes longer and costs more than subsequent visits that are shorter and subject to a lower charge.
The homeopath will want to know about your past medical history, including details of your mother’s pregnancy and your birth, any illnesses you had as a child and later on and any medications taken and a vaccination history including any adverse reactions. They will also ask about the medical history of your immediate family with particular attention to any disease pattern that has a tendency to be passed on through successive generations. The homeopath will ask about your personal history and any emotional traumas or difficulties that may have had an effect on your health.
The homeopath will also need to know details of the following in order to select the most suitable remedy out of the thousands of possible remedies available:
- Food likes and aversions
- Appetite and eating habits
- Thirst
- Any problems with bowels or digestion
- Any allergies to food or environmental pollutants
- Temperature and perspiration
- General energy patterns
- Sleep patterns including difficulties falling asleep, waking in the night and mood on waking in the morning
- Sleep position, temperature and perspiration at night, teeth grinding
- Dreams and nightmares
- Worries and anxieties
- General behaviour and temperament, including anger, tantrums, irritability, mood swings, weepiness.
- Need for company versus independence
- Relationships with family members and friends
- Confidence and self-esteem
What happens after the Initial Consultation?
Your homeopath may prescribe the remedy at the initial appointment or they may need to consider the case and send remedies or prescriptions later.
Your homeopath may explain why they chose a particular remedy and what to expect but it’s impossible to predict exactly what will happen as homeopathy works differently for each individual person.
If you have any queries about the treatment of have any reactions to the remedy it is always best to contact your homeopath by email and let them know. Your homeopath will expect you to contact them if there are any difficulties.
Your homeopath will make a follow-up appointment for 4-6 weeks after the initial consultation when your reaction to the remedy and progress will be discussed. It may be that there is a great improvement but often with chronic complaints treatment is needed for a much longer period.
Once the person is better it is a good idea to see your homeopath once a year for a constitution remedy which will help keep you in good health.