Dr. Luc De Schepper is one of the most accomplished practitioners and authors and one of the most sought after teachers today.  His most recent book is a major contribution to the furthering of the science of homeopathy and the art of case management.

If  the myriad of mistunements of a person’s life force are as diverse as a forest, and the many factors to consider in homeopathy are a lake… then, the two coming together are a swamp we slog through in order to resolve cases.  This book is the map of the dry paths and a field guide to the sights of the swampland, speeding the way to the destination, Hahnemann’s ultimate objective, of a quick, gentle, permanent cure.

The intended audience is the intermediate to advanced student and the professional.  However, the first 2 chapters are valuable for anyone who has or wants to pick up a vial of pellets, or to put themselves into the care of a homeopathic consultant…anyone wondering about those tiny tubes on the health food store shelf with their hints on the label of what they can do, as well as for the beginning or advanced practitioner.  Chapter 1 presents a concise history of the discovery that like cures like, that disease is a mistuned Vital Force, and why allopathic drugs appear to work and must be taken for a lifetime to keep up the appearance of good health. In Chapter 2 the primary and secondary actions of substances taken into the body, and how homeopathy cures are presented. The flow chart in the back, on page 349 will help anyone- whether they are a  1st time user for an acute event , or seasoned practitioner for an acute event or a chronic condition, to trace the effect of each dose-- and understand the next step.

The book is very easy to understand and is written in a personal style.  The humour the author injects into the text here and there is refreshing. The guidance comes from Hahnemann’s Organon, and Chronic Diseases and some other old  masters of homeopathy, among them Kent, Hering, and von Boenninghausen.  The author then explains what the masters were saying in a clear and uncomplicated way, and illustrates their concepts with pointed examples and simple diagrams.  All of Hahnemann’s observations and guidance are borne out in the examples of stalled or confused cases moving forward again after following these principles discovered and tested by Hahnemann, lost by time, then dusted off and given back by Dr. De Schepper.
 
It is all about the perfecting the individualization…making the dose and the potency and the indicated remedy fit the patient like a custom made suit; identifying an imperfect fit as a pucker in a seam and what to adjust to get it out.  The result is a book astoundingly well organized, given that the insights between his experience and the history and evolution of Hahnemann’s methods draw a web of connections that might have obscured the Gestalt of the book from being understandable at all; instead it makes a finely woven cloth.

This book is divided into 5 sections—Potencies, Management, Management Inquiries (question and answer format), Clinical Examples of Management, and Hahnemann’s Paris Casebooks (1835-1843)

Chapters 1 and 2 were described above.  Chapters 3 -5 recount the evolution of Hahnemann’s understanding of how the body heals and how to best assist it  as documented in his 4th, 5th  and 6th  editions of  the Organon, and Chronic Diseases.

Chapter 3 briefly touches on the developments leading to the 4 ed., then the evolution beyond the 4th ed. and why Hahnemann abandoned those methods of dry doses, in favor of  watery solutions and contrasting the two  methods.  The author quotes the aphorisms of  each edition, and Chronic Diseases to spotlight the evolution of Hahnemann’s nascent science, for the purpose of clarifying and underscoring the improvements of the 5th and 6th editions, which is a quicker, gentler, permanent cure. He quotes Kent and where he went wrong in believing the size of the dose doesn’t matter.   He shows where Hahnemann explained the correct smallness of the dose, and the effects of a too large dose, and why potentizing every dose is essential. There are instructions for using the 5th and 6 th edition methods and when to use each, and a helpful chart of potency selection based on the patient’s sensitivity.  Throughout one finds many options for working with hypersensitive patients, whom Kent once said were incurable.

Chapter 6 contains every possible combination of accessory symptoms and: the simillimum, acute diseases, the close simile, the distant simile.  Also, altered symptom pictures, cases with a paucity of symptoms, and recognizing the simillimum.

Chapter 7 describes necessary surgery, various situations which suppress and their consequences, what local diseases are--local expressions of internal and generalized suffering.

Chapter 8 reveals that modern homeopathic myths and misconceptions are based on Hahnemann’s abandoned experiments and ruled-out hypotheses, taken out of the context of the evolution. The author has tracked down from where these concepts were extracted, and put them back in their original context and in their proper place in the timeline.

Chapter 9 discusses the obstacles to achieving the cure, such as, something the patient is doing, rather than the homeopathic prescription. Sometimes it is the homeopath, or an uncooperative patient. This chapter would also be very interesting for a beginner, or a patient to read.

Chapters 10 & 11 illuminate when an acute or chronic case requires an intercurrent remedy or nosode.

Chapter 12 covers the 12 scenarios arising after giving the 2nd prescription, which is an expansion on Kent’s scenarios in which he proffered only one reason causing each scenario.  The author has observed additional reasons the case played itself out in that way and how to differentiate which option applies.  The charts also illustrate why the progress is quicker and gentler with 5th and 6th ed. watery solutions compared to 4th ed. dry doses.  It includes incurable cases  and miasmatic blocks.

Chapter 13 points out connections to look for which may speed one’s search for the next simillimum in some cases through being aware of remedies in series, complementary remedies, antidotes and inimicals, other remedy relationships, and the pattern in which miasms tend to become active after another miasm is subdued.

Part 3, The Management Inquires section is a bit of a jumble of miscellaneous questions.  Trying to refer back to something again is tricky. Each question, however, one is so glad to see asked…and answered!!

In Part 4, Clinical Examples of Management, are 26 actual cases on and off track, and how they got back on track using the information presented in this book. 

Part 5 is a sampling of Hahnemann’s case notes from Paris, 1835-1843.  They make an enigmatic first impression, and one must use imagination to connect Hahnemann’s dots. Often he used olfaction--fascinating, yet the author elaborates little on Hahnemann’s apparent frequent usage of the method. Perhaps when he has dusted off and read the masses of cases, we will see even more refined methods of Hahnemann’s which appear only in his cryptic personal case notes from his last years?

Appendix A is the aforementioned flow chart of responses after the test dose, and how to adjust the treatment accordingly. Appendix B is a sample description for of how to take the remedy, for the patient.

This book is physically a joy to work with.   It is well made. The pages are of a pleasant thickness, and a crisp yet not harsh white.  The book is bound in such a way that it lies open flat before the reader.

For the clear and abundant guidance through the management landscape, the price of 75 dollars is absolutely very reasonable: it certainly must cover no less than 60 hours in the classroom.  The curious layperson may not invest in it, but they should borrow it! This reviewer is seriously considering buying a lending copy.

The problems with this book are minimal.  Since this book will be a valuable reference for anyone seriously practicing homeopathy, it could use many more entries and subheading under many listings. There are a few typos, but none are critical.

Dr. De Schepper’s mission is not only to get the 5th and 6th edition methods off the dusty shelves and into widespread use to truly cure as many people as possible, but also to dispel the misconceptions which left them on the shelf until recently.  He also makes it his mission to explain other misconceptions he has encountered in order to increase the greater understanding of how homeopathy really works.  Comprehending the Gestalt of homeopathy is an enormous task and the authors’s dismantling of the misconceptions fits fragmented knowledge into place to reveal more of the whole and to reveal its beauty.

Every homeopath deserves the assistance this book can provide to get out of the swamp to a place where they can see the landscape as well as its details. This book should join another title by this author, Hahnemann Revisited, as foundational textbooks for the serious student. It also leaves the reader hoping that a book will be forthcoming on Hahnemann’s Paris casebooks.

Edith Malin, BFA, CMT, CABT, has been studying alternatives to chemical medicine since 1983, disillusioned by the doctors in her college health plan who didn’t seem to look for the underlying cause of ailments.  She became a Shiatsu therapist in 1992, moved to Germany to co-found a school in 1996, where she started seriously studying homeopathy. After her return to the U.S. she started studying at the Renaissance Institute of Classical Homeopathy (RICH) under Dr. Luc in 2002.