The homeopathic principle

The homeopathic principle states that an organism is trying to express, or excel it's dysfunction. The best way to help this effort is to aid the process of expressing or excelling. If the body is trying to get rid of some poison (in food poisoning), the best remedy that one can offer to the person is something that will aide the excelling process, i.e. something that will take over the body's effort to expell the disturbing substance and as a result will give the opportunity to relax and recover for the body.
The other day I was thinking that psychodynamic therapy is very much in line with this thinking. There are psychotherapies that are more aligned wit the allopathic thinking, which is based on the theory that the problem needs to be fixed, stopped, cleared up. While the intention is good, and is often effective, the medications stop the body's (and mind's) natural process of elimination. They go against, they fight the body (and the mind and the person). They prove the body (mind, person) wrong and they teach the body (.., ...) how to do it better, how to be more effective. While it is a fine idea to do this, this often meets resistance in the person. In the body. In the mind.
The idea in homeopathy is well documented and I do not intend to recite that theory. For me this is a new idea when it is translated into the world of psychotherapy:
the approach in psychotherapy I am prone to is an expression of the individual, a ways of finding the root cause of the problem in the very experience of the person. While the therapist is encouraging the patient to talk about their view of their problem, their relationships and their experiences, these form some themes for the person. Their unconscious experience is coming to the surface in some form of conscious manifestation. It is not always a solution per se to the problems the person is facing. it is often a revisiting process of one's experience, a retelling of one's stories and in this process of expression one finds the healing, the reorganization of the unconscious self experience into a more balanced self image. Healing happens, as in homeopathic theories, through this expression of one's imbalance. The sheer telling of the story in a therapeutic environment and in the presence of the expert guidance of a therapist the story, the expression transforms into the vehicle of healing.
This is in parallel with homeopathic theory and the same forces are seen in action. In this lies the body's and mind's own self-healing power. The encouragement for expression is the key to healing. The faith in the process is the art of the therapist.

Grounding the relationship

Bodily sensations and the work focusing around these can keep the “talk therapy” wonderfully grounded. Most often patients seeking psychotherapeutic help don’t expect to do anything but think hard and build theories that will explain their turmoil and sorrow. A big part of a therapist’s job is to calm down this expectation and allow some space for some relaxed mindful work to take place. The unconscious part of the work is really important, it is like the soil feeding the conscious mind. If the soil is rich and has the capacity to provide nurturance it creates the potential for growth and healthy being. But more often than not when we try really hard to help ourselves to feel better, we create more constriction and obstacle to a healthy flow of consciousness. I have found that even if the patient is not yet ready to focus on their bodily sensations and their whole-body state (instead of purely thinking mode), my focus on my bodiy awareness of the situation is often calming and centering. The soil is created by my awareness of the situation and the plant is allowed to grow. It is first an observation where patient and therapist discuss the looks and qualities of the plant. Then, while I am holding the space for the soil to be recognized, the patient will gradually become more aware of its existence and then will join me in admiring it, feeling it, sensing it, and eventually exploring it on an experiential level. This is a process that I wish to embrace and nurture this year in my work. I invite you to join in. I am looking forward to an abundance of interaction with people who find this work fascinating, on any level – email exchanges, forums and personal interactions. Please do stay or get in touch!
Ildiko
Ildiko@innerexperience.com