Reprinted with the permission of The Society of Homeopaths. From 'The Homeopath' Journal, Spring 2012 edition. Reviewed by Ian Hamilton.
When I was first a student of homeopathy, the case taking method of Pierre Schmidt was standard reading. His fifty questions provided the framework for the tyro to probe into the depths of the mysterious organism before them, if no juicy symptoms were forthcoming. Of course we are the unprejudiced observer, but clarification is always needed at some point, hence sometimes a question is essential when modalities and concomitants are eluding us.
Modern, newer, methods such as Sensation, also use guided questions to delve deeper, so Schmidt's approach still has relevance now, maybe even more so.
This little book comprises extracts of Schmidt's writings. He was a very long lived student of Kent's work, having been taught by two of the great man's pupils himself in the USA. He also studied in India and lectured extensively from his base in Lyon. Like all great homeopaths, he also had his peculiar skills and one of Schmidt's was to examine and diagnose from the eye. He quotes one case of a woman doctor spurned by a man and whom she felt had broken her heart. Schmidt examined her eyes and observed that the iris of the left eye was flattened, whilst the right was normal. His observations over the years suggested that a great emotional loss showed in the right eye, but that suppressed anger was revealed in the left. The woman was in fact very angry and humiliated at being dumped, so he gave her Staphysagria!
In addition to the main section on case taking, which is worth the book's cost alone, there are fascinating insights and stories, some drawn from his own, humiliating, learning experiences with luminaries such as Dr Weir. There is also brilliant analysis of certain aphorisms of The Organon, notably aphorism 6 where he unpacks the six categories the unprejudiced observer must encompass.
For me, a real gem is his discussion of what he terms "reactive remedies". He examines the rubric, Generals, Reaction, lack of, using some examples which he connects to therapeutics. We all know about Carbo vegetabilis, but what about Ambra grisea, Teucrium and Ammonium carbonicum? He also gives an account of how he treated his own mother with Opium having initially thought she was about to die and she lived an active life for another three years!
Finally, reading this book will give you resolution to defy the sceptics. Schmidt was at the Italian Ligue, to which allopaths had been invited. A Dr Gadliardi presented a difficult case of mental illness, cured by Calcarea carbonica and some of the allopaths leapt up crying, "Miracolo!". The president of the congress. Dr Mattoli, rose to his feet. "Who says miracle? You are the ones who claim miracles, not us. We homeopaths have successes like this every day!"
This just gives a flavour of the range of the book. It is good to reconnect again with the basics of our trade, but such is the timelessness of our ways of being, we can see from people like Pierre Schmidt, that the reconnection is pure fluidity.
Reprinted with the permission of The Alliance of Registered Homeopaths from the Journal 'Homeopathy in Practice', Winter 2011. Reviewed by Di Belton.
Pierre Schmidt (1894-1987) was a Swiss homeopath who was largely responsible for the reintroduction of classical homeopathy to Europe. Previously an orthodox physician he converted to homeopathy and set up a school of homeopathy in Lyon in 1946, which attracted 40 doctors to attend the course. Having trained with some of the great classical homeopaths such as Alonzo Eugene Austin and Frederica Gladwin, both pupils of Kent, he became famous as a practitioner, teacher, writer and lecturer as he travelled all over Europe and India.
The book is taken from a collection of his writings and is presented in two distinct parts. The first is concerned solely with the process of case-taking both in acute and chronic disease whereas the second part focuses on therapeutics and what Schmidt terms 'reactive remedies'.
I feel that his orthodox background and his very classical training, coupled with the translation of his writings into English, lend a very 'harsh' feel to the case-taking writings. Indeed, having read and digested the book, I felt uncomfortable with the case-taking process being described as an 'interrogation' and at the thought of guiding the 'interrogation' in the following way:
I listened to you without interrupting you, but now we are going to change the roles. Don't be surprised if I stop you in your replies in order to ask you some further questions. That means simply that I've already received the reply I was expecting from you. Don't think that in proceeding in this way I am disrespectful of your reply, but it is because in that direction a longer explanation from you won't bring me any useful detail which is new or interesting. Schmidt describes his shortened process of questioning in terms of identifying:
- mental symptoms
- general symptoms
- alimentary desires and aversions
- sexual symptoms - including details of menstrual history for women
- sleep and dreams.
Nothing new for practising homeopaths in that, but in the individual chapters on each symptom set there are some useful and thought-provoking suggestions on how to word questions to get the best response, in terms of the repertory.
Having guided us through the case-taking process, Schmidt then continues with a chapter on Reviewing the case' which is a useful reminder to us all on the skills needed to successfully apply the classical approach.
The writings then progress to a number of chapters which explore the therapeutics of states and diseases such as, for instance, reactive remedies for the aged, for cardio-pulmonary patients, for nervous subjects, to name but a few before a brief journey through the nosodes Psorinum, Tuberculinum bovinum, Medorrhinum and Syphilinum.
At the end of this book I am left with the question: who would most benefit from reading this? I think that, providing you can get past the vocabulary used (due, no doubt, to the translation), it is actually a really valuable read for student homeopaths - especially those focusing on classical homeopathy. The section on reactive remedies or therapeutics is definitely worth a read by anyone but, again, I see it as much more appropriate for students.
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