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| Hpathy Ezine - February, 2006 | |||||
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Frederik Schroyens<-- Interviewed by Dr. Manish Bhatia |
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Dr. B - Welcome to the Hpathy Hot-Seat! Frederik, Tell us something about how your journey into the world of homeopathy began? FS - Yes. When I started studying medicine I was not aware of homeopathy. During the first years of medicine, classical training for MD, I was quickly disappointed about the contents, especially in successive years when I was confronted with clinical work, observing patients and understanding how the treatment was carried out and was failing. I found that patients were not being taken care of in an efficient, kind and gentle way. At the same time when this was happening, I was getting to know many different types of philosophies, cultures, situations and workshops. During this exploration, I came across homeopathy and I read about its principles, etc. These two incidents together gave me the grounding in my decision to do homeopathy.
Dr. B – But how exactly did you come in contact with homeopathy? FS - When I was at the university, it was the end of the Sixties. It was a time when knowledge was being spread, everybody was giving lectures and workshops. As students, we were going from one to another to attend those workshops to know about all the knowledge that existed – and it just happened that in one such workshop homeopathy was mentioned. I investigated it, because I was into medicine. I investigated acupuncture; I investigated different types of diet, etc. So it was in this search that I came across homeopathy.
Dr. B - You have been the president of VSU, the largest school of homeopathy in your country. What was the experience like leading the school from the front? FS - It was a very interesting time because it was the first school in our language area. Before that there were only schools in the French language area. So to start a school in our own language, which was Dutch, was very interesting and challenging and rewarding because there was enormous feedback and thirst for homeopathy. And it was the start for homeopathy in our part of the country.
FS - When we started there were very few homeopaths, only a few in Brussels, the capital, and in the Flemish part there were only 5 or 10 homeopaths. With our school we have increased the number to several dozens of homeopaths practicing full-time and several hundred people use homeopathy from time to time.
Dr. B - And what change do you perceive has come in the last 25 years or so? FS - That the public is now requesting homeopathy. Very clear! From the side of the public there have been several studies and one study mentioned that at least one in three people have used homeopathy the year prior to that enquiry.
Dr. B - While homeopathy has spread in general in Europe, there have been efforts to ban or restrict the supply of homeopathic medicines, like in France. They have banned most of the nosodes and sarcodes, there has recently been a ban on Syzigium as pointed out by Gabrielle Traub in our December editorial. Many other medicines are coming into that list as well. How do you perceive this? On one hand there is demand from public and on other hand the laws, the countries, and the legal setup are crippling homeopathic practice. FS - Yes it’s absolutely correct. While the demand is still there, the people enquiring and requiring homeopathy treatment is increasing but certain legal institutions, sometimes political, sometimes medical boards etc., are trying to enforce certain regulations to hinder and 'cripple', as you have very correctly used the word, the expansion of homeopathy. So we are at this time facing a very difficult situation.
Dr. B - What is being done in Europe to counter this? FS - Well, there has been an initiative against the article in the Lancet, which you must know about. This reaction was widespread in Belgium, all over Europe, television and all newspapers, etc. We have replied to that with press releases; we have spoken to the patients, written articles in our own magazines. We are trying to give as much information from our side as possible. So on this ground work, we are involved in international politics. On the European level, it is more favorable to alternative medicine and homeopathy. We are also in touch with W.H.O. As you may know, that whole setup of Lancet was because the W.H.O. had released a preliminary report which was favorable to homeopathy!
FS - So this was all about Lancet. So I expect that the European legislation and statements from W.H.O. will help to crush the very intolerant attitude of certain national governments and medical boards.
Dr. B - Nearly every where you go, you are asked about RADAR and Synthesis but we would like to know about you as a homeopath, your clinical practice and experiences. I would like you to share those aspects of your life with us. FS - I started practicing in 1977. I have been practicing classical homeopathy since the beginning. I keep on practicing even though a lot of my time has to be spent in coordination of the team behind Synthesis. I keep on practicing all the time. And secondly, since June 2004, since the seminar in Alonnissos, Greece, I have started teaching again, which I had given up before. Even when teaching I present my own cases so that people know the way I practice.
FS - That is a very interesting question because some people look at George like he is someone who suddenly finds a remedy out of the blue and say what an incredible intuition he has. George has repeatedly, as you may know, denied this and has replied that if he has a suggestion to make on a remedy, it is based on his study and his knowledge and not so much on his intuition. This means he expects homeopaths to study and not to hope for some kind of inspiration or intuition to come up. This is exactly his whole approach, which has impressed me very much while creating VES with him because it was almost just like mathematics! You do this, then you think this, and when this is happening you make an exception. Very clear and precise. First of all this confirms what he has been saying, that you have to have knowledge and not wait for an intuition. Second, it was very easy because he has a clear and mathematical perception of how his brain is functioning within those homeopathic symptoms in the case. So it was very easy to convert it into a computer module.
FS - Yes. Well I think that there are 2 areas. One area is whether it can be investigated or tried out, etc. using the set of homeopathy principles, which means that homeopathy has a certain definition and we start with that. And there is a second area which has those things that look like homeopathy but this is a different area because it is not homeopathy, and I think it creates a certain confusion in using the word homeopathy in these other areas; and apart from homeopathy and this so called homeopathic area, there are many areas where the mind is investigated; the potential of intuition is investigated, etc. That is fine. I don’t have a problem with investigation. The problem arises when people are invited to apply certain thinking or certain working methods. They must decide for themselves: Does it work or not? Can I repeat this suggestion in my practice or not? Do I get the results or not? And people should be open-minded and listen. They should try that and find out whether it is useful of not. So it is a matter of trial and error. We are in a time where just everything goes much faster, where everything is getting integrated, like physics is touching the area of religion. Everything is becoming more interwoven. So we have to face that fact in homeopathy too. But coming back to homeopathy itself, we must use the word homeopathy only when it fits the definition.
Dr. B - In homeopathy, there has been too much focus on the subjective aspect of cases. For example, remedies are being given only on delusions and dreams that are ‘interpreted’. We see such cases are presented in many conferences, where the remedy is selected based upon, not the concrete symptoms, but the interpretation of the subjective symptoms. Do you think that such subjectivity should be there in case analysis and remedy selection? FS - First, regarding the mental symptoms, I believe that we should use them. The way to use them should be such that it can be repeated, it can be understood, that there is a method which is clear and applied. So if I say, listen, this patient has this and this and this, so for this reason I take this information, I use this repertory rubric and I think of this remedy. This method of going from the language of the patient about mental symptoms to a conclusion should be clear and repeatable. So for me the criterion is - can it be repeated? Whatever anyone says can be fine and very nice and interesting. The criterion is, can it be repeated. Because if it can be repeated it means that there is methodology behind it and it can be applied.
Dr. B - Before we start talking about the repertories, there is a step before and that is of case-taking. What are your views about case-taking? How should a case be approached? What is the proper way of case taking? How should the symptoms be evaluated? FS - This is exactly the content of the course that I am giving here and there since almost 2 years. It is about case taking and how to go to the medicine. It is difficult to summarize it but I will just say two phrases. The case that should be taken is the case that the patient is telling you. I am interested to go where the patient leads me to the case. Therefore I repeat the words of Hahnemann – don’t interrupt and just ask, What else? I really believe this brings up important information. Secondly, as we walk towards the decision, the repertorization and remedy selection, then I believe that the natural idea is, we must have what is strong and striking. Again I relate to Hahnemann's paragraph153, about the strange and peculiar symptoms of the case. I believe these two elements are the core elements of my approach that have stood with time.
FS - About LM potencies, I used them for acute and chronic cases for a year or more. I still use them but now I also use another scales because I feel that at some times some patients have better reaction with other scales.
FS – That is very difficult to answer in short. I will give maybe one idea which I believe is also the key idea on this topic. People have different approaches for different patients. I think what one should be very carefully assessing is, what happens with that patient? One of the principles is that it has to be individualized. People say, if there is heavy pathology use low potency. This is not individualization. I will prefer other rules that are individualized. I suggest to you to look at the reaction of the patient and then decide and optimize the poslogy for each patient. |
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