I have recently moved to Cambridge. Once I had unpacked my boxes etc., I decided to have a look at what Cambridge offers in terms of homeopathy. My hope was that, being a town dominated by higher education and top science, Cambridge would be free (or almost free) of quackery.
This hope was sadly disappointed. The first website I came across was this one:
Homeopathy can be used to treat a wide range of complaints…
- mental and emotional states (eg OCD, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, irritability, etc)
- respiratory tract disorders (eg asthma, bronchitis, laryngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, hayfever, etc)
- digestive problems (eg IBS, IBD, heartburn, colic, constipation, candidiasis, etc)
- skin conditions (eg eczema, psoriasis, acne, warts, molluscum, urticaria, herpes etc)
- musculo-skeletal complaints (eg rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, etc)
- hormonal problems (eg thyroid disorders, menstrual and menopausal complaints, etc)
- male and female reproductive issues (eg PCOS, infertility, endometriosis, fibroids, etc)
- sex related issues (eg physical and psychological issues, diminished libido, etc)
- complaints of pregnancy (eg nausea, fatigue, emotional upset, etc)
- complaints of babies and children (including behavioural issues)
- acute and/or recurring illnesses (eg ear infections, tonsillitis, cystitis, childhood diseases, etc)
- disorders affecting the immune system (eg autoimmune disorders, allergies, etc)
- side effects of conventional drugs (eg nausea of chemotherapy, skin burns of radiotherapy, etc)
- and many more (eg ME, chronic fatigue, glandular fever, migraines, headaches, insomnia, etc)…
You would be forgiven for finding this list worrying – I certainly do. But there was an assurance:
Each homeopath at the Centre holds a Licentiate qualification from a respected homeopathic college and has many years experience. All are registered with at least one professional body, whose code of ethics and conduct they adhere to.
It seems that the code of ethics of these professional bodies has nothing against making bogus therapeutic claims.
Cambridge also offers training and education in homeopathy – even homeopathic first aid courses for lay people:
Courses typically cover the following topics:
- The principles of homeopathic first aid
- How to choose the right remedy
- Understanding homeopathic potency
- How to treat conditions such as colds, flu, fever
- How to treat conditions such as insect bites, bee and wasp stings
- How to treat food poisoning and other digestive ailments, acute tendon inflammations caused by overuse of parts of the body (tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, ‘keyboard’ wrist) and exam nerves…
Whether you are looking after yourself or looking after your family, knowledge of homeopathic first aid equips you with safe, simple and proven treatments for many common ailments and conditions…
The course fee is £90 and includes a booklet and refreshments. Fees are payable in two instalments.
A choice of homeopathic first aid kits is available on the course…
And there is more!
Take this website, for instance:
The healing process using clinical homeopathy, shortly explained
The homeopathic case-taking will assess a patient in respect to the position of the symptoms and vitality on the two charts above.
When faced with disease and symptoms, the body does not heal in a haphazard, accidental way, but according to a deep biological intelligence. A true healing process will mirror the body’s own healing strategies. It will not be about a specific herb or remedy but about understanding and helping the way our mind and body heal themselves.
The healing process can broadly be divided into five stages. For some cases, the focus is only needed in one or two stages, but in others, the healing process will require all five. Depending on the individual and the situation, each stage will be best done one-by-one but sometimes several stages can be achieved simultaneously.
1. Symptom Relief
What drives most patients to a health practitioner is relief from some kind of pain, discomfort or lack of freedom on a physical or psychological level. All systems of medicine are involved with alleviating these symptoms. While, this is the primary focus of conventional medicine, holistic treatment such as homeopathy will also seek to unravel deeper causes and promote lasting changes in your level of health.
2. Revitalisation
As the body has devoted parts of its energy to eliminate an illness, there is usually a loss in vitality and internal resources suffered by the individual. In order to have an effective response, it is important to ensure that the body has the right nutrients and resources to promote health. This is often overlooked by conventional medicine and also many holistic practitioners. Providing nutrients and support to a sick body will help with the recovery.
3. Detoxification
Very often, the body cannot function properly if there are high levels of damaging toxins or free radicals within the lymphatic system or at a tissue or cellular level. Toxins are often found at an area where disease occurs or has occurred. Toxins can be external (virus, metals, chemicals) or internal accumulations of the body’s own by-products. These wastes slowly and inexorably weaken the organism on all levels, generating both chronic disease states and acute illness. Clearing debris from cells, tissues and organs relieves the body of a tremendous burden and allow the body to work as it should…
But the proverbial biscuit is taken by another Cambridge institution, The Quantum Medicine of our Time:
LOOKING-GLASS MEDICINE is pioneering work in Homeopathy energy healing, and particularly in medicine. It possesses the capacity to heal the mental, emotional, and physical illnesses (refer to Case Studies under the title “Publication”). This energy form of medicine culminated a synthesis of the healing laws and principles of Homeopathy and Jungian psychology of the archetypes, and of which also incorporates the human energy system (the chakras) in both theories and practice. Counselling is an integral part of this healing process for one to achieve deep healing.
My working and researching, over the years, in how individuals whose life/psyche impacted severely by trauma can be healed has given rise to Looking-Glass Medicine’s sound theoretical foundation in terms of congruence and consistency in its healing system and healing outcome. It is this unique three-dimensional energy healing system’s capacity to heal from the personal unconscious that these patients’ healing outcome is INNER TRANSFORMATION that shifts their negative/harmful behaviour patterns into life affirming ones. Particularly, many of them were severely traumatised…
Einstein says, “The field is the sole governing agency of the particle.” Particle is matter, which is determined ultimately by the field as in how things manifest. Our body in disease and health is influenced and impacted by the individual energy field, the vibratory frequencies, in our evolution of consciousness…
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There would be much more but, at this point, I stopped my searches and asked myself, HOW IS IT THAT A MAJOR CENTRE OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE IS ALSO HOME TO SOME OF THE WORST QUACKERY?
Is it that excellence in science always attracts an excess in pseudo-science?
I am not sure.
Perhaps there is a much simpler explanation: Cambridge is a fairly wealthy town, and quackery always thrives where there is money to be earned with it.
PS
I will soon give a talk in Cambridge about homeopathy. If you are a Cambridge homeopath, please reserve the date. This could be fun!
9 Responses to Homeopathy close to home
Leave a Reply to Michael kenny Cancel reply
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How many times are we told that the people who fall for this and similar quackery are not necessarily the simpletons one might expect, but, on the contrary, are often extremely bright, questioning, cynical and perceptive in every other area of their life?
I’ve always been somewhat wary of this view, but I’m currently reading ( among others) John Sweeney’s book on Scientology, in which he often makes similar observations.
Bright people typically tend to search for answers. The problems arise when their questions reveal their complete ignorance of a particular topic — most commonly science. If they encounter articulate, self-confident, apparently erudite answers from equally bright but scientifically illiterate folk, they become as gullible and malleable as a child hearing about the tooth fairy.
I have sent in a complaint to the ASA about http://www.integralhomeopathy.net/. As you say it takes the biscuit for virtually a full house of anti-science `health’ tropes. I’m especially concerned about the virulent rubbish on the `Vaccination Damage’ page. Free speech is fine up to a point, but this is dangerous. Could it be classed as hate speech?
anti-vaccination propaganda is demonstrably harmful and therefore not ‘free speech’, in my view.
@Les Rose
From the ‘Vaccination Damage’ page in your link: “Disclaimer: Any information obtained here is not to be confused as legal or orthodox/bio medical advice. To vaccinate or not is your decision alone. The purpose of this page is to explain how the body intelligence organises itself towards self-regulating and self-referencing in order to engender self-healing by means of the least harm done to itself.”
We were doing what this lunkhead (Ai-Ling, or perhaps just ‘ailing’) calls ‘least harm’ for millennia before vaccines came along: the ‘body intelligence’ failed miserably to prevent or cure infectious diseases. (See here for a chart with a take-home message even a total cerebral basket-case like Ai-Ling should be able to comprehend.)
“Could it be classed as hate speech?” Not in a million years. The (UK) law on hate speech is pretty clear (see here). Talking complete bollocks is not covered by these statutes, particularly when you add a disclaimer acknowledging you’re talking complete bollocks.
Why aren’t they forced to register as a church?
Like Chiropractors, it does seem homeopathy must, for its very existence be “capable” of treating EVERYTHING….if not, than what ONE thing would they suggest they settle on?
Unlike Chiropractic, which (if it wished to be ethical) could suggest ‘temporary back pain relief’.
However you can fish with a pole or you fish with a net…..
I was speaking somewhat tongue in cheek. My point is that this is damaging language, because someone might believe it. Some of what might be considered real hate speech might not actually be as damaging. But that’s more a value judgement than evidence based. The language used is certainly vituperative as well as false, but isn’t clearly directed at any group or individual.
I have made the point to the ASA that disclaimers carry little weight in law, as courts will always consider what the average reader will understand is the main message.
“Some of what might be considered real hate speech might not actually be as damaging. But that’s more a value judgement than evidence based.” Agreed!
And how many times does this link need to be up?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg2CQqMaU1I
Look out for the wall signs along the way!