6 min
What happens at a first session
The most common question I get before a first session is not what homeopathy is. It is: what am I supposed to say? The short answer is that you need to prepare nothing at all. The longer answer is this piece.
Ninety minutes, and why
A first session is set aside for ninety minutes. That sounds long, and it is. The reason is that the method rests on the whole picture, and the whole picture rarely appears in the first ten minutes. It comes out in the subordinate clauses — in what you mention in passing on the way to something else.
You will be interrupted rarely. That is deliberate. My job for the first half is to listen and take notes, not to steer.
What I ask about
We go through the whole picture. That includes things which can seem unrelated:
- how you sleep, and how you wake
- appetite, thirst, what you are drawn to and what does not agree with you
- how you react to heat, cold, weather, seasons
- mood and energy across the day
- past illness, and what was going on in life when something began
None of these questions is a test. There are no wrong answers, and "I don't know" is a complete one.
What you don't need to bring
You do not need to write up a medical history in advance. You do not need to bring copies of records. If you have test results or an investigation under way and want to mention it, that is welcome — but it is not required, and it is not what the assessment rests on.
Do write briefly in the booking form what you would like to book. Save health details for the session itself: the form goes through an external provider, and health details do not belong there.
What is to be cured in an illness is the whole picture that shows itself — not the part of the picture that happens to have a name.
How it ends
The last quarter of an hour goes to summarising. I tell you how I read the picture and what I intend to choose, and you get to ask. Sometimes I do not choose a remedy in the room but come back within a couple of days, because the picture needs working through. That is normal and does not mean anything is unclear.
You leave knowing how the remedy is taken, what to expect between now and the follow-up, and when we meet again — usually after four to six weeks.
If you are unsure
Homeopathy is a complement. If you do not know what a complaint is caused by, start with a doctor. I will never ask you to stop a treatment you have been prescribed, and I never advise against medical care.