Homeopathy

The first homeopathic consultation (homeopathic interview) usually lasts one hour. Often the patient is given pamphlets to read beforehand with information on homeopathic treatment. During a spontaneous conversation (anamnesis), the homeopath establishes contact with the patient, tries to understand him and learn about his problems, wants to find out why the patient feels bad, what he does not accept in his life, what he lacks to feel happy, what clearly makes him feel better, and what those around him think about him and his condition (so-called hetero-anamnesis) and reassure. Homeopaths use hetero-anamnesis (e.g., a teacher's opinion), for example, with school-aged children. The homeopath also inquires about the diagnosis made by a doctor or specialist

At the same time, the homeopath looks for key symptoms (known as keynotes) that will enable him to choose the right homeopathic preparation, or simile, i.e. a remedy that, when given to a healthy person, will cause the same mental and general symptoms that the patient suffers from. When making a diagnosis, the homeopath uses the Materia Medica and Repertorium.

After about 4 weeks, the patient comes in for a second visit (called follow-up), which lasts about 30 minutes. The homeopath evaluates the patient's response to the administered preparation and determines further treatment. The patient has received the correct medicine if the patient's symptoms have decreased and the patient's general well-being has improved. The choice of drug was incorrect if the patient's condition did not improve or new disease symptoms, unknown to the patient, appeared, in which case the homeopath must re-evaluate.

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The efficacy of homeopathy in animals is also debated due to the lack of evidence. Animals do show a placebo effect in scientific studies, but this does differ from humans: after all, animals are not supposed to realize what effect is intended by a particular treatment. However, the evaluation of treatment takes place by humans, who may be influenced by various psychological effects (see above). Homeopathic treatments are commonly used in animals for conditions that are impossible or difficult to evaluate objectively, such as nervousness, excess libido, etc. Disorders often remain transient for humans and animals, so the healing effect may be wrongly attributed to the homeopathic remedy that was administered.