Homeopathic practitioners can treat a great number of chronic conditions. Most conditions that you would take to GP can be managed homoeopathically. Here are some examples:

• Skin conditions: eczema, psoriasis, allergies
• Digestive conditions: IBS, constipation, reflux, gastritis,
• Respiratory: chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic cough
• Neurological conditions: neuropathy, migraines, headaches, vertigo, labyrinthitis
• Women’s conditions: menstrual cramps, period pains, heavy periods, premenstrual syndrome, menopause, recurrent urinary tract infections, chronic pelvic pain, PMS;
• Mental health: anxiety, post-traumatic stress, OCD, depression, menstrual dysphoria
• Other: chronic fatigue, post viral fatigue
• Childhood illness: recurrent infections (ear infections, tonsillitis, UTIs, viral illnesses), headaches, allergies, colic, reflux;

Yes. The decision to go forward with homeopathy is individual and decided on case to case basis. Here are some examples of conditions which cannot be treated exclusively homoeopathically: genetic conditions, blood disorders (e.g. haemophillia, DVT); acute medical conditions (stroke, heart attack, sepsis); severe mental disorders (psychosis, schizophrenia). Many cases of chronic inflammatory conditions cannot be managed exclusively with homeopathy (e,g. Rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, inflammatory bowel disease).

findahomeopath.org has a comprehensive list of homeopathic practitioners.

Over the last few years remote consultations have become increasingly popular. Unlike a medical appointment, a homeopathic consultation entails not only of building up a comprehensive list of symptoms, but is a deep explorative process. It often delves into sensitive deep emotional topics and even childhood traumas. The deeper the explorative process the more likely it is to find an effective remedy . Some people find it off putting to open up freely in front of a computer camera. Also it is more difficult for the therapist to ‘hold the space’ when the consultation is unfolding on line. The consultation process is often therapeutic in and of itself. Therefore, when possible it is recommended to find a ‘homeopath near me’ whom you can build up deeper richer connection in person.

Homeopaths come from all walks of life and their background training is very variable from ‘some college’ to PhD level. To register to a homeopathic training school you do not need to have any prior medical knowledge. Indeed many current homeopaths have previously been artists, journalist, therapists or full time mums. Homeopathic colleges offer a basic training in anatomy and physiology.

A homeopathic doctor is someone who, before completing homeopathic training, has done a full medical training and also several years of postgraduate medical training to qualify in a particular speciality (for example, a GP would complete 5 years of postgraduate training in addition to medical school to register as a general practitioner).

Being a homeopathic doctor rather than lay homeopath offers the benefit of having a thorough understanding of your medical condition and of the options available to you in main stream medicine. Some conditions are not suitable for homeopathic treatments. Other times the symptoms you might present with require proper investigation before using homeopathic remedies so that a serious condition would not be missed. A Homeopathic doctor can advise you how to navigate the combination of pharmaceutical drugs which you might be taking when embarking on homeopathic treatments.

In principle any condition treatable with homeopathy can be approached by both a lay homeopath and a homeopathic doctor. However a medically trained homeopath has a better expertise to decide whether your condition is treatable with homeopathy, whether it needs further investigations, whether the pharmaceutical medication you are taking can be substituted with remedies or not, what are the risks of coming off your medication, what is the prognosis of your condition if left untreated etc.

If you live in Bristol or the surrounding area, it is important to connect with a local practitioner for two reasons. The homeopathic consultation is a deeply explorative, transformational process in itself it , and as such it is highly recommended that you attend your consultation in person rather than remotely.

A homeopath in Bristol can suggest other local therapists if your condition needs a more holistic approach and help you navigate local services.

Bristol has one of the longest history as a hub for homeopathy. The first homeopathic clinic in Bristol was Bristol and Clifton Homeopathic Dispensary on Upper Berkeley Place, which was instituted in 1832! That was taking place during the lifetime of Samuel Hahneman (1755 - the founder of homeopathy. Homeopathy in Bristol continued and thrived through the whole reign of queen Victoria (1837 - 1901). By 1893, Homeopathy had accrued 1377 patients in the city. In fact, the service was so popular that in 1921 a new premise was commissioned to help deal with the surge in demand. The Bristol Homeopathic Hospital first opened its doors in 1925. The hospital operated for nearly one hundred years until in 2009.

Worldwide, over 200 million people use homeopathy to maintain their health on a regular basis. An estimated 6 million people use it in the UK.

Homeopathy is included in the national health systems of a number of countries e.g. Brazil, Chile, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Switzerland.

India leads in terms of number of people using homeopathy, with 100 million people depending solely on homeopathy for their medical care.

There are ~ 400 doctors in the UK that use homeopathy, regulated by the Faculty of Homeopathy and promoted by Homeopathy UK.

There are ~1,500 professional homeopaths (non-medically qualified homeopaths) in the UK, regulated by the Society of Homeopaths (65%).

There have been five systematic reviews in the UK (Bristol, London, Liverpool, Glasgow) four of which demonstrate that homeopathic remedies have an impact which is well beyond the placebo effect. There are also observational studies looking at the results in clinical practice, rather than in artificially conducted experiments. Such studies conducted in Bristol and Liverpool showed that 70% of patients reported improvement. Similar studies performed in France, Germany, and Italy found consistent positive results and a decreased use of antibiotics, other conventional drugs, and fewer side effects.

Homeopathy has stood the test of time over 200 years.

Although there is good evidence (both systematic reviews and observational studies) to show that homeopathy gives results in clinical practice, the molecular basis on how homeopathy works is not fully understood. The fact that not only tiny amounts of substance can have therapeutic effect, but that the higher the dilution the strongest the experienced effect challenges the reductionist approach employed in conventional medical thinking. Recent years have opened a new avenue for understanding homeopathy through the lens of quantum physics and quantum biology.