Complementary
Therapies
Homeopathy - An Historical Overview by Thomas Simpson Just over 200 years ago, a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, began developing a new therapy that would revolutionize how illness could be treated, and set the stage for the development of homeopathy. Mr. Hahnemann made many contributions but his greatest to health care was his treatise on Miasms and Chronic Dis-ease, and how to use homeopathy to treat it. Homeopathic medicine is based on the principle of "like cures like" similar to the approach used with vaccinations. Treatments involve the use of minute amounts of natural substances which stimulate the body's self-healing abilities. . As with many advances, there was an incredible amount of resistance and opposition, not only in the early days but throughout it's long history. With the release of the Flexnor report in 1900, homeopathy was almost annihilated in the U.S. and Canada. By 1920, most homeopaths had given up their work and joined the ranks of the allopaths (medical doctors). Homeopathic hospitals and medical schools closed or converted to allopathy. In India, South America, and to some extent in Europe, the opposite happened. Homeopathy grew and flourished. It was kept alive in America for years by the students of Dr. J.T.Kent, whose great work and influence was second only to Hahnemann. A revival took place in 1970, due to George Vithoulkas. This renewal spread throughout North America, Europe and the British Isles, and gradually influenced the rest of the world. Ironically, through Mr. Vithoulkas' interventions, he was not only able to revive the teachings of Hahnemann but also of Kent and restore homeopathy to it's rightful place as a valid health system. Among his early students were American doctors who were drawn not only to practice homeopathy, but to go on to teach. This renewed interest has unofficially been named "classical homeopathy", referring to the original methods developed by its founder. The last 30 years has seen an enormous increase in momentum for alternative medicine, wholistic health and spirituality. Homeopathy has is one of the oldest of the modern therapies. The strong interest in alternative forms of health care stems in part from the fact the people a looking for something that will not only work effectively, but is natural, less harmful, and that they can be a participant in with their health care provider. A report this year stated that next to allopathic medicine, homeopathy is the 2nd most widely practiced form of health care in the world today. Tom practices classical homeopathy in Halifax & Charlottetown. |