Five Questions

Five Questions You Should Ask Your Homeopath

Finding a good homeopathic practitioner is like pinning down your teenager's plans for Saturday night. It takes patience and persistence.

Some medical doctors (M.D.'s) and osteopathic doctors (D.O.'s) specialize in homeopathy. Another large group of homeopaths are naturopathic physicians (N.D.'s), doctors who are considered the general practitioners of alternative medicine. But homeopathy is also practiced by chiropractors, dentists, acupuncturists, nurse-practitioners and certified midwives.

So how do you find a reputable homeopath? To start, write the National Center for Homeopathy and ask for its information packet, which includes a list of homeopathic practitioners in your area (refer to the resource list on page 637).

Then before choosing one, ask each homeopath these questions to narrow your choice.

Where did you receive your homeopathic training? "The answer you don't want to hear is that they were trained in self-help study groups. Study groups are great, but you want your homeopathic care to come from a professional," says Maesimund Panos, M.D., a homeopathic physician in Tipp City, Ohio, and co-author with Jane Heimlich of Homeopathic Medicine at Home.

How long have you been practicing homeopathy? The longer they've been in practice, the more likely they are skilled and knowledgeable, Dr. Panos says. Some homeopaths are board-certified, meaning that they have been practicing homeopathy for at least three years and have passed a comprehensive exam.

How much time do you spend with each patient? An initial office visit for treatment of a chronic ailment should take at least an hour, Dr. Panos says. It often takes that long for a homeopath to learn enough about you and your symptoms to select the right remedy for you. If the homeopath spends significantly less time than that on your initial visit, it may be a signal to see another homeopath.

What percentage of your practice is devoted to homeopathy? "If he uses it only 50 percent of the time, you might wonder about him," Dr. Panos says.

Do you treat patients with one remedy at a time, or do you use several homeopathic remedies at once? Although some homeopaths successfully treat patients with several remedies at a time, most good homeopaths prescribe only the one remedy that most closely matches all of a person's symptoms. They avoid prescribing one remedy to treat one disease and a second remedy to treat another, says Dana Ullman, author of Discovering Homeopathy and Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants and founder and president of the Foundation for Homeopathic Education and Research in Berkeley, California.