[ Placebo]

[Paul Booyse]

Hi John,
The place effect says it will please, there is no implication of cure. When
we assess the placebo effect we must be sure what parameters we use. A knee
pain getting better is only 1 symptom. We should use the same basis for
remedy action assessment that we use in homeopathy - Herings law. I don't
think a placebo can be curative on all levels for 2 reasons.

1.) it does not carry the healing principles of the simillimum and while we
might please the patient and he feels better, through belief, it will not
address the cause of the disturbance which is at the core
delusion/situation/archetype level.

2.) If placebo cured, homeopathy would cure far more cases where the remedy
given was incorrect. When I give the wrong remedy, my patients don't get
better. Any improvements are either unfavourable (i.e. contary to Herings
law) or temporary in a palliative fashion. When the patient gets really
better, I can always explain the good response by the expectation of what
the remedy was required to do.

No doubt there is some effect from placebo, but that is why we analyze on
follow up to determine whether the response is favourable or not.
Perhaps it is more the impression you give the patient during consultation
which determines the effect.

Something which I think affects the patient far more is the actual
consulation itself. It can happen during the course of events that the
discussion and case giving leads the patient to talk about and come to an
understanding of a core issue - the "aha" experience. A true realization
here can imo help the curative process.

Regards,
Paul

[John Boulderstone]

Hi Paul

This is really difficult territory and one I don't think we will meet but I
will try. Incidently I see homeopathy as an art and a science but it seems
to me that homeopathy gets split into two camps, science and art. If those
two sides could ever come together I believe homeopathy could take its
rightful place in the world but it won't until that split is healed.
How does this happen? I believe that because the homeopath is actually
listening to the patient in some sense they are living the experience
related by the patient. The homeopath is experiencing a 'similar' illness.
But the homeopath doesn't get ill (hopefully) and by staying objective shows
the patient a non-stuck state and this is what is needed to get to the 'aha'
experience. Pure homeopathy, without pills. If you truly understand a
patient's case you prove it by giving it straight back to them with the
poison that could cause their symptoms. But what if you truly understand a
patients case and you give them a
blank pill with the feeling of the remedy (this is the bit thats difficult
to understand for the scientists)?

What's the difference between a blank pill and a potentised one? There is a
lot of emotion around this question. But scientifically there is no
measurable difference. One day science may be able to detect a difference
but I doubt it. But if it does homeopathy will be proved. But also it may be
able to detect that a pill given with understanding is actually not a blank
after all.

Fo me the way you listen to a patient makes a huge difference to the way the
case turns out, the way you finally decide on a remedy also does. Has anyone
else experienced that if you continually think, or worry, about a case they
seem to do better than the ones where you arrogantly believe you have the
right remedy and don't think about them at all?

Regards from me too
John

[Tanya Marquette]

john

fyi there is equipment that has measured the differential energy frequencies of different remedies. it
seems that this equipment if very expensive and those who have it do not do homeopathic research.

i do agree with your thought that homeopathy is both art and science. for that matter all healing is
heavily based on 'art'. the constant attempt to fit people into tight boxes that 'science' can
manipulate is fraught with problems, failures and dangerous side effects. for that matter,
great healers always rely on their intuition, instincts and insights into human nature to work
on diagnosis, prescription and prognosis.

tanya

[Paul Booyse]

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply.

shows
'aha'

I don't know if it is the practitioner reflecting the state so much.
Although this is hypothetical, its well worth discussion.

Cases where I feel this might happen, althoough it might be rare could occur
as follows. Assume a case revolves around the person stuck in a particular
delusional state. They might have pathology etc. but ala Sankaran you might
find the patient has the core delusional state. Now an outsider might see
this is delusional but for the person stuck in the state it is harder.

"I have to clean the house repeatedly, don't you know how many germs are
just in this room?"
or
"I have to work continuosly because I need to be financially secure".

The patient may even realises this is extreme, but cannot get out of this
stuck state. The reasoning almost keeps them pinned in. For an outsider it
is easier to see this and for a practitioner we can even see how this
affects the patient. But what is important is why the patient has chosen
these belief systems.

Similarly:

As a homeopath it is not enough to just take the direct rubrics suggested by
these statements (Anxiety for health, fear of germs, anxiety money matters,
fear of poverty etc.). The remedy may certainly be in the rubrics, but
that is not guarenteed. We need to also understand why, and then choose a
remedy based on that. Perhaps in the first case the patient was in a
position of responsibility caring for a loved one, who subsequently fell ill
with a severe infection and the patient actually blames themself. Before
this they were not that cautious with health matters, but responsibility and
self reproach were big issues. The new issue about health is as a result.
So we have to keep asking "why?". How did the patient come to this state?
It might still be the same remedy but now we can confirm it, or it might be
a different remedy, perhaps even some combo like Aurum ars. Confirmers
might come from the generals and other SRP's which also seem to contradict
the remedy we may have gone with first based on the initial rubrics.

Once we as practitioners get to this point we can look for an appropriate
Rx. But now, what if in the course of this discussion, the patient comes to
that realization? That connection gets made and they can understand why
they are stuck. perhaps then they can see a way out of the quagmire. Thats
what I mean by the "aha!". If we come to that realization and tell the
patient, they may block it. But if they come to the realization it may be
accepted. The remedy will do it by slipping past the conscious barriers and
delivering the picture of the delusion. It almost puts the patient in the
postion of observer and the patient can then realize, "but this is a
delusion and its not appropriate and not healthy."

For me the importance of listening to the patient is to keep tracking down
to the core.

If memory serves me correct I will give an example of a case from long ago.
Not of the aha, but of tracking to the core. Briefly the young girl was
experiencing a sensation as if there was a string in her ear being pulled
tight like a knot (out with Roberts and Wards Right from the start she
had this infectious laugh. I called in two intern students with her
permission to observe. Every question she answers and then laughs. Very
soon we are all laughing and feeling great.

In the course of the interview I asked about phobias or fears and when I
mentioned a list I only got to snakes and her eyes went big and she said
yelped. No laughing at this one. Well she was very talkative and we have a
nice rubric for this, so- was she Lachesis? Damin if I couldn't find the
rubric for the string in the ear the new Complete rep has:

Ears; PAIN; drawing; string, as if pulled by a (1) : atra-r.

but in those days I only had Murphy and an old version of Complete.

She wasn't hot and nothing else seemed to be lachesis. So I carried on the
discussion. Why was she fearful of snakes? In any event in the African
culture fear of snakes is very common. This is what she said

"When I was young I grew up in the rural areas in my village. Wewould be
playing and I could sense if ther was a snake in the grass. I just knew
ther was something there and when the boys would look, they would find a
snake. I would be worried about my brothers and sisters getting it so when
I sensed ther were snakes I would immediatley warn the others."

Furthermore she latter reveals that her dad also suffers with this feeling
of something tied in the ear. And she is very worried about "Actually I
should bring him in - he needs help more than me, I really am worried about
him."

This I took as having no boundaries. She senses what is out there. that
could be a danger She is sympathetic to her dads suffering but also to
his symptoms. She also experiences the same pain. Some further questioning
confirmed that she gets anxious her of others telling of their illness, then
she also imagines the symptoms. A kind of hypochondria.

Taking this into account with how well she made us feel, and her gregarious
nature, plus some generals, craving salt and very thirsty etc, I prescribed
Phosphorous, which is not in the rubric "fear of snakes". The result was
good.

So in this case the Rx did the job. But if in the course of the discussion
she came to realize that she has this sensation because she is harmonizing
with her dads Sx - because she doesn't have the boundaries needed to
differentiate suffereing of others from her own, then perhaps an "Aha!"
would have taken place. I don't think my pointing it out would have had
much effect.

Anyway I would be glad to hear your views on this.
If someone improves from a placebo, it is not through the process of working
on the core delusional state. In a way I see it as a palliative response.

the
anyone
they

Once again I think this may be palliative. Extreme example may be a Phos,
who improves already just by having someone there for them, giving them
love/ consideration, but in chronic disease you are only ameliorating, not
curing. they will always want consolation/sympathy.

Regards,
Paul
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