Concerns About the Future of Homeopathy

I just returned from the Joint American Homeopathic Conference in Atlanta. This is an annual conference presented by the National Center for Homeopathy. It was my first conference in a while and I was really surprised by what I experienced.

When I was studying homeopathy in the 1990's there were many conferences and speakers that exposed much new information about homeopathy. In some ways I look back on these times as the heyday of the current homeopathic renaissance. The speakers were dynamic and enthused. There was never a conference I attended that did not inspire me and left me feeling excited to be learning so much and a part of such a great movement.

I did not get to see all of the speakers at the conference but those I did attend were less than dynamic. Most were MD's and ND's. Some of the content presented was not purely homeopathic. A homeopathic remedy may have been mentioned but the focus of the cases or presentation was from a naturopathic or medical perspective. There should have been more pure homeopathic cases. Where were the Hahnemannian Classical homeopaths?

There was also a marketplace where different organizations and vendors presented their goods. It was nice to see most of the Homeopathic pharmacy's there along with the leading homeopathic software programs. North American Society of Homeopaths was there representing professional homeopaths from USA and Canada. A couple of schools had booths there. Vaccine awareness and Health Freedom was represented also. There were quite a few booths with essential oil products. This was surprising since most strong smelling products are contraindicated with homeopathic remedies.

What was really missing were young people. I would say the average age was well into the 40's if not the 50's. Young people are the future of homeopathy. As the older homeopaths retire or worse, die, there needs to be an army of new, young homeopaths to fill the ranks. It was very telling to see all of the older homeopaths in attendance.

So in conclusion I was saddened by the lack of inspired presentations that were of a naturopathic or medical slant. Homeopathy is a science and art that stands alone. It should be kept that way. As more and more alternative therapies get confused with homeopathy it becomes diluted and the art of prescribing becomes lost. This combined with a lack of young people was very telling for me. Because of this I worry about the future of Homeopathy.

So if you are a classical Hahnemannian prescriber and care about homeopathy's future, invite a younger person to share with. Get them excited about this wonderful healing art. We need to spread the good word and do all we can to bring young people into our profession. Show them the power of pure homeopathy. When there is a great influx of youth asking for more information about true, classical homeopathy, then maybe these conferences will change. For now it was a sad eye opener for me.