What Happens During an Initial Homeopathic Consultation?
An adult’s initial consultation lasts approximately two hours. During the consultation, the homeopath will ask a series of questions to try to determine which remedy is most suitable for you as a unique individual. In classical homeopathy, there are many remedies for the same disease. Therefore, the homeopath is most interested in what sets you apart from everyone else. The things that are unique about you are the things that will guide the classical homeopath to your remedy. Because classical homeopathy always treats the whole person, various details about you are important, such as personal details and dreams. The more the homeopath knows about you and the details of your symptoms, the easier it is to determine your correct remedy.
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What Happens During a Teen or Child’s Homeopathic Consultation?
A teen or child’s initial consultation is similar to an adult’s initial consultation. With children, there is less history to go over compared to an adult, so the consultation is shorter. With babies and children 12 and under, I allow up to an hour and 15 minutes for the initial consultation. I allow up an hour and a half for a teen initial consultation. Follow-ups for children and teens are similar to an adult’s follow-ups. Up to 40 minutes is allowed for teen and child follow-ups.
With younger children, it is required that the parent remain in the consultation room with their child. I will be observing the behaviour of your child, but the parent will be doing most of the talking. With older children, I may ask that the parent leave the consultation room for part of the consultation or for the whole consultation. I want your teen/child to be as comfortable as possible, so if they would like you in the room with them for the whole consultation I will allow that.
For telephone or online consultations, I will require you to email me a picture and/or video of your child to give me an idea of your child’s appearance and mannerisms.
What Happens After the Initial Consultation?
After the initial consultation, I will study all the notes I took during the initial consultation, and from those notes, will determine a remedy that is suitable for you. There are thousands of homeopathic remedies to choose from, so if your remedy is not in my personal pharmacy I may have to order it from a reputable homeopathic pharmacy such as Boiron in Quebec or Helios in England. Once I have prepared your remedy, I will mail it to you or you can pick the remedy up in person. The cost of the remedy as well as shipping is always included in the cost of the consultations.
For long-distance consultations, it may be easier for you to obtain the remedy from a local pharmacy. I do ship remedies to US clients all the time without issues.
How Do I Take My Remedy?
Detailed instructions will accompany the remedy when it is sent to you. The remedy comes in the form of sugar pills, and sometimes in liquid form. If taken in sugar pill form, a few of the pills are dissolved under the tongue, they are very sweet and pleasant tasting. The liquid form can be squeezed directly into the mouth with the dropper provided, only a few drops are needed for one dose. For those who do not enjoy the taste of medicines, the taste can be masked completely by putting the drops of the liquid remedy in juice.
Typically, with a relatively healthy person, only 1-3 doses of the remedy in sugar pill form are needed in total. Taking the remedy is very simple since in most cases you don’t need to take it daily. After taking your remedy, your body is stimulated by the remedy to heal itself. Even one dose of the remedy can keep stimulating your body for a long time – months or even years in some cases.
With less healthy people, we will have to determine the regular repetition of the dose (typically, it could be taken twice weekly, or even daily). Since everybody’s reactions to remedies is different, I often do weekly informal follow-ups by phone or email at no additional charge to determine the repetition of your remedy, or to determine whether you need a different remedy.
Do I Need to do Follow-ups?
Yes, I need to see you (or your child) for a follow-up approximately 6 weeks after the initial consultation. The follow-up lasts about 45 minutes for adults and about 35 minutes for teens and children. I need to do regular follow-ups in order to determine whether the remedy needs to be repeated or adjusted. Once we have you on a good remedy, it will not be necessary to book follow-ups as often; follow-up intervals lengthen to every 2 months, then every 3 months, and so on. Since homeopathy is so individual, I will always assess a follow-up schedule that suits your needs.
I do recommend, for new clients, to try at least one initial consultation and 2 follow-ups, as often a few months’ time must be devoted to treatment before we see results. My aim is not to make you dependent. Rather, I see myself as an equal partner in your healing journey. I am also more than happy to inform you of any books or other educational tools that will help you become more resourceful and independent with your own healing.
But nothing has changed since I saw you for the initial consultation. Do I still need to do a follow-up?
Yes, follow-ups are necessary and important to do in these cases. With some people it can often take several months before there is any noticeable response to homeopathy. I find this is especially the case when clients present with health problems of many years duration. I also find that in many cases, more severe health problems can take more time to heal and respond to homeopathy. This is the reason that I recommend doing at least 2 follow-ups, so that there is adequate time to determine whether homeopathy is right for you.