Halifax Clinic of Natural Medicine

HOMEOPATHY, NUTRITIONAL HEALING, SPEECH & LANGUAGE THERAPY, VOICE THERAPY

HOMEOPATHY
Nick Hewes, Registered Homeopath, RSHom

Nick Hewes trained at the School of Homeopathy in Devon between 1983 and 1986, and became a registered member of the Society of Homeopaths in 1990. He worked for 17 years as a homeopath in Hull, East Yorkshire, during which time he also had a weekly clinic for over a decade within an NHS practice in the East Riding. He was the editor of The Homeopath, the Society’s quarterly journal, between 2001 and 2004.

What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a form of medicine that has been in existence for over two hundred years. Over that time it has survived remarkably unchanged, a testament to its sound principles, as well as to the positive experience of countless thousands of patients. 

The Law of Similars
The first principle of homeopathy, the Law of Similars, states that in order to alleviate an illness, it is only necessary to give a treatment which can cause symptoms similar to those displayed by the suffering patient. You might think, by giving a treatment which mimics the symptoms, that the patient would surely get worse. In practice however, a minute dose of the similar remedy does the very opposite: - rather than making things worse, the remedy stimulates, reinvigorates and revitalises the health of the patient, thus enabling the symptoms to improve.

The whole person
An essential part of the homeopathic approach is that you always aim to see the patient as an individual, rather than as just another case of disease. This holistic approach is necessary because, in reality, all medicines (and all diseases) act upon the whole person, rather than upon just one part of the patient. We can confirm this by observing our results: - after a successful homeopathic remedy, patients often report unexpected improvements in their general health (for example, sleep, appearance, appetite and energy), as well as experiencing an increase in their mental and emotional well-being.

The minimum dose
All homeopaths know, from daily experience, how sensitive the body is to unbelievably tiny doses of the similar medicine. The minimum dose, one of the homeopathy’s central tenets, means it is an extremely safe form of medicine. Because all our remedies are so thoroughly diluted, we are able to avoid entirely the problems associated with conventional pharmaceutical medicines, such as addiction, side-effects and toxicity. This is of great reassurance, especially when treating the very young or the very weak.

What happens after treatment?
Having taken the remedy, the patient might notice a marked change in their symptoms. For example, a correct prescription might initially cause an increase in the patient’s energy; a brief aggravation of an existing symptom; the appearance of a runny nose or a rash; or even the return of an old symptom that may not have appeared for some years. All these are benign indications that the remedy is working well, and that the body has started the essential process of ‘spring cleaning’. The most important factor is the vitality of the patient. In general, the more vigorous the patient, the more quickly and thoroughly he or she responds to treatment. This explains why children often react so well to homeopathic remedies: - their natural vitality allows them to ‘bounce back’ from illness, in response to the gentle prompt of the similar remedy.

The simple benefit of homeopathy
The great advantage of the homeopathic approach is that it offers true independence. The responsibility for a person’s health is given not to the drugs, nor the doctor, nor the NHS, but back to the patient. This is because, as we have seen, any improvement that takes place following homeopathic treatment is only a result of the body’s dynamic and energetic reaction to the remedy, rather than to any chemical action of the remedy upon the body. The remedy is merely a catalyst: - it lights the fuse! The great benefit of homeopathy then, is its capacity to stimulate and empower the body to heal itself. It offers the possibility of a gentle, natural and reliable improvement in the patient’s symptoms, with a corresponding increase in vitality and well-being. That is a great hope.

Nick works in Skipton and Halifax.
He can be contacted on:
01756 709694 (Skipton)
01422 340919 (Halifax)
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