Table Of ContentMETHOD
The Landscape of
Homeopathic Medicine
Volume 2
Part 3
Exploring the breadth, context and application
of different clinical approaches in the practice
of homeopathy
Alastair C. Gray
Third edition ebook
THE LANDSCAPE OF HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE - METHOD
First Edition: 2011 Second Edition: 2019 2nd Impression: 2019
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Forward to the 2nd Edition
In 2015, Alastair Gray and I took on the herculean task of restructuring a
Homeopathy curriculum. As an accredited American program, we had 1000
hours to work with (500 each didactic and clinical). Here was a golden
opportunity to apply all we had gleaned from years of teaching and working
for schools of Homeopathy and other integrative medical institutions.
It was our shared intention to create a curriculum in which, by
contextualizing modern practice in the light of Hahnemannian history and
philosophy, students would develop the critical thinking skills needed to
solve cases and fulfill the mandate of Aphorism 1 in The Organon of the
Medical Art: to reach our highest and only calling—to make the sick healthy.
As one who has been a clinical supervisor and mentor to scores of students
and practitioners, I have borne witness to the plight of smart, dedicated
practitioners (often with years of study under their belts) frustrated by their
mediocre results in resolving chronic cases. From this place of frustration
often comes the quest to find a “Method” to solve the case and simplify the
issue.
Alas, it becomes painfully clear that the application of a “Method” is only as
effective as the understanding of the problem it is meant to solve. One needs
to be clear about the “what” and the “why” before engaging in the “how.” To
quote Jeremy Sherr, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a
nail.”
At its heart, Homeopathy is elegant simplicity: The Homeopath discerns the
pattern of suffering in an individual and matches it with a similar pattern in
nature (see Aphorism 3 for the job description of a Homeopath. It remains
exactly the same as it was in 1810). Hahnemann, through his tenacious drive,
keen observation, and relentless quest for truth, managed to codify the laws
of nature into a system of medicine capable of curing chronic disease.
It can’t be emphasized enough that Hahnemann unlocked one of the great
mysteries and gave us a detailed roadmap by which to achieve success in
practice. Indeed, Hahnemann implores us, “Follow me, but follow me well.”
In this book, Alastair’s third foray into the exploration of The Landscape of
Homeopathic Medicine, the reader is taken on a tour of the ways in which
Homeopathic philosophy has been interpreted (and thusly morphed) such that
the profession now offers many paths of possibility. This book serves to
identify and explain the myriad current-day interpretations of our craft and to
help the student and practitioner make informed decisions as to how they are
applied in practice.
Initially, Alastair asked me to add a chapter to this second edition detailing
the “method” that I use in directing the teaching clinic at The Academy of
Homeopathy Education. After many attempts to put my way of analyzing
cases into the context of a discrete methodology, it became clear that the
“method” I employ isn’t really a “method” at all; it is an application of
Hahnemann’s mandate translated into contemporary nomenclature and
integrated into the challenging disease patterns of the 21st century.
As such, I am honored to write the fifth installment in this series, Case
Analysis, wherein I outline the processes that I have developed to help
students and practitioners understand and apply Hahnemann’s foundational
philosophical principles to achieve greater confidence and success in practice.
To acknowledge Hahnemann’s genius—to fully accept that this system of
medicine represents the applied science of truth in alignment with the laws of
nature—is to receive the privilege of being a Practitioner of the Healing Art.
As such, when we choose a “method” in our practice, the onus is on us to
ensure that it is based on sound principles and not the result of a game of
“Telephone” or “Chinese Whispers” where the ultimate application of the
principles bears little resemblance to Hahnemann’s system.
At the time of this writing, the Academy of Homeopathy Education is
embarking on the fourth academic cycle of our curriculum. It has been a
wonderful experience to watch our students and graduates reach the
confidence and competence it takes to thrive in the clinical setting. It is our
hope that their skills and acumen help to solidify this profession that is still
defining itself more than two hundred years after its inception.
Creating a unified principle of understanding in what we do—and educating
the next generation of practitioners to be clear in their applications of the
principles—is of the utmost importance. Together, with a deepened and
shared understanding, we can not only help more people to heal, we can
ensure that Homeopathy takes its rightful place in the rapidly evolving field
of Integrative Wellness. This shared wisdom is at the heart of how we can
move from surviving—to thriving.
Denise Straiges CCH, RSHom(NA), PCH, Philadelphia, PA/USA 2019
Foreword to the 1st Edition
When I first met Alastair Gray, not even a year ago, I was simultaneously
impressed with his fine understanding of homeopathy and with his humble
demeanor. Having read the first book of this series (Case Taking 2010), I had
invited him to speak at the Joint American Homeopathic Conference in
Alexandria, Virginia. With self-effacing candor, Alastair had the audience
laughing about his practice and his encounters with patients in a well-used
neighborhood of Sydney, where he treated predominantly addicts and other
non-traditional homeopathic clients. It was quickly apparent to me that
Alastair combined clarity of thought and depth of knowledge with the
objectivity required to aim a critical lens at himself and his modality. Time
has only strengthened my impression of a mind deeply rooted in the
principles of the Organon, yet spread wide to new ideas in homeopathy.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the second book in a series that,
simply for its breadth and objectivity, is certain to become a classic. Method
surveys with a scientific eye the prescribing techniques of the best-known
teachers and practitioners of homeopathy. From Hahnemann to Sankaran,
sixteen different methods of settling on a remedy based on different
understandings of the phrase, “totalityso-called “constitutional” prescribing,
as well as isopathic and tautopathic prescribing, miasmatic and other types of
intercurrent prescribing, group and family analyses and vital sensation
prescribing, among others.
Alastair begins with the theory behind each method and compares the
different approaches. The Organon of Medicine, for example, dictates that we
should prescribe for the totality of the disease picture since the patient was
last well. This differs substantially from Kent’s idea that we should prescribe
for the totality of the person. It differs even more from a constitutional
prescription that incorporates the totality of a patient’s strengths and
weaknesses, their typology and their temperament, as well as from a
prescription in which the totality is encompassed by a vital sensation. What
are the implications of these various approaches? How would we expect the
practitioners of these methods to prescribe? Did their actual prescribing line
up with their writings?
Alastair examines these questions as they apply to a dozen different methods
of homeopathic prescribing. And he examines the casebooks of these
homeopaths to see how their prescribing matched their own writings or
differed from their fellows. Where his own understanding of particular
methods is not well developed, Alastair brings in three experts in their
methods to lead the discussion. Shilpa Bouraskar, a Sydney homeopath and
the developer of the HomeoQuest software, writes on the vital sensation
method, when it is best applied, and includes one of her own cases. Jennifer
Osborne, who practices and teaches in Brisbane, gives an overview of
miasmatic prescribing. And Greg Cope, a Brisbane homeopath and lecturer at
Endeavor College of Natural Health, explains the group analysis approach of
Jan Scholten.
The upshot, of course, is that we now have a broad prescribing tradition on
which to draw, one that allows the homeopath to individualize method in the
same way we individualize the remedy. Any homeopath who has been in
practice knows that not everyone with a rash is willing to sit for a two-hour
probe into the subconscious. Some patients will need a remedy for the lesion.
Later, perhaps they will accept an organopathic remedy, and maybe after
months or years will consider a more in-depth prescription.
On the other end of the spectrum, what are your options when, having taken
the case, you have no physical or even functional pathology on which to
prescribe? One might approach the case from several different angles, so
what are the strengths and weaknesses of, say, Kentian, constitutional and
vital sensation approaches? Each might be a good choice, but each grows
from a different understanding of the totality of symptoms. Therefore, each
method will incorporate different information in its analysis and require a
different use of the research tools at hand, whether those be repertory, materia
medica or online tools. If we are to use these different methods, we must
know what each requires.
This is valuable information for the modern clinician wishing to hone her
prescribing skills. For the student venturing into clinical work for the first
time, Method will help to reconcile what has been taught with what he sees in
the exam room. The great theorists have much to teach us about how
homeopathy works ideally, but it often looks different in practice. A good
practitioner will be able to navigate the different methods of prescribing, to
know which is best for the individual patient and to apply these effectively.
Alastair Gray makes a rare figure in homeopathy today, a practitioner and
teacher with the objectivity to analyze the disparate methods of homeopathy
without favoring one approach. Alastair has mapped here the entire terrain of
homeopathic prescribing, from Kentian to polypharmacy. He surveys this
landscape with an honest and critical eye, giving both the new and the
seasoned practitioner an opportunity to reflect on what it is we do. I expect
this book and its mates will become required reading for all students of
homeopathy.
Kim Elia
Toronto, November 2011
Introduction to the Series
1. Critical Thinking
2. The Need for Clarity
3. Scope of Practice
4. Homeopathy in Trouble and Under Attack
5. The Change in Emphasis within Homeopathic Education
6. Research
