Homeopathy is a system of medicine that uses the principle of 'like cures like' - a substance that produces particular symptoms in a healthy person has also the power to cure those same symptoms when experienced in disease.

Whilst this principle is a very ancient idea, the modern system of homeopathy was developed more than 200 years ago by a German doctor called Samuel Hahnemann. Discouraged with the medicine of his day he experimented with cinchona bark - a common herbal cure for malaria - by taking a dose of the herb to discover its effects. He went on to develop many of the symptoms of malaria. From this initial experience, he began to experiment with many more substances, to determine their effects on the human body and so to discover what symptoms they could cure.

It was during his experiments that Hahnemann also discovered the principle of the minimum dose. Using substances that caused disease symptoms sometimes had too much of an undesirable effect. Again, he experimented. This time he discovered that through a process of dilution and vigorous shaking, the healing potential of the remedy became more potent whilst the undesirable side effects were greatly diminished.

Today, thousands of remedies are in use - Hahnemann's original remedies are still amongst the most widely used and the principles of like cures like and the minimum dose remain at the core of the now global medicine.

Homeopathy as a holistic medicine

Homeopathy uses a holistic approach to healing that focuses on the unique expression of a person's symptoms. Rather than treating disease-labelled conditions with the same limited number of medicines e.g. all headaches need painkillers - homeopathy seeks to find the detail and the difference about the individual's condition.

In addition, other symptoms that may also be occurring - for instance other physical problems, emotional issues, past medical problems - are given value as being part of a whole picture of imbalance. It is with all this information that the homeopath is then able to prescribe a remedy that most clearly reflects the pattern of disharmony that is unique to that person.