The homeopathic treatment of addictive disorders

POSITIVE responses to homeopathic treatment

The feedback from clients, responsible therapists and the homeopathic doctor in a survey is unanimous: 70% of treated clients respond positively to the homeopathic treatment. They feel emotionally and physically better and are more able to overcome their addiction. The long-term results are good, but further studies are necessary to differentiate the homeopathic effect from that of other therapies.

Introduction:

For seven years (since May 1998) homeopathy has been part of the treatment plan at the "De Brijder" clinic, an addiction treatment centre in the province of "Noord-Holland". Amsterdam is in this province but has its own clinic (Jellinek). The two clinics work closely together not only in the therapeutic field but also in scientific research. In addition, there are numerous branches of "De Brijder" in the province. The clinic itself is located in Alkmaar, 40 kilometres north-west of Amsterdam, and consists of a detox unit, an outpatient department and a residential facility.

Homeopathy was introduced for patients whose private lives and social environment were stable and who had insight into the problems underlying their addiction. Above all, the outpatient therapists favoured holistic approaches; the trial was started at their initiative.

Trial

At the start of my work in the clinic, the homeopathic treatment was experimental. In the first six months I treated 13 new patients, most of them in the outpatient department. At the end of this period all patients, therapists and attending doctors had the opportunity to evaluate the homeopathic treatment separately from the other therapies.

The following ratings were possible: poor – insufficient – doubtful – adequate – good – excellent. The response was unanimous: 70% of the clients rated their homeopathic treatment positively, although most had no experience with this treatment method and some were very sceptical.

Case example

One of the "excellent" cases was particularly spectacular. For a man with obsessive thoughts and an anxiety disorder I prescribed a dose of Lithium metallicum C30. In the first week his symptoms worsened, but afterwards those thoughts – the main reason for his drug dependence – disappeared and did not return!

We decided to extend the trial for a further six months. When the results at the end of this period were again positive – seven out of ten assessments were rated "good" – homeopathy was integrated into the treatment programme of the "De Brijder" clinic.

Since 1998, 159 clients have been treated homeopathically and the results have remained constant with 70% positive feedback. The clients were emotionally and physically more stable and left the clinic in good health.

Outpatient department

During my close cooperation with the outpatient therapists I learned a great deal about the treatment and healing possibilities in addiction therapy.

Clients attend the outpatient department three times a week for six to nine months. They must be clean and are not allowed to consume alcohol or drugs during this period. In practice, however, there are occasional exceptions.

The therapy is very intensive and consists of group therapy, bodywork, creative therapies, family constellation work, couples therapy, etc. The aim of the treatment is to gain insight into the underlying problems, to resolve them or at least to learn to live with them and integrate them into everyday life.

From a holistic perspective the cause of an addiction is not only in the (inherited) constitution but also in the social environment, upbringing and possible traumas. In patient interviews it emerged that around 50% of those with addictions had experienced sexual abuse in their childhood/adolescence and around 80% had been victims of sexual and/or physical abuse.

Role of homeopathy in the treatment of addictions

Homeopathy appears to be an important tool for transmitting insights (information) and thereby changing the clients' emotional and behavioural structures (the body). I believe that the mode of action of homeopathy can be explained by a transmission of information (as outlined by Prof. Dr Madeleine Bastide[1]). The combination of an awareness of the underlying problems (consciousness) and an impulse that stimulates the vital force (a homeopathic remedy) reinforce one another and can produce a real, lasting cure on the physical, emotional and mental levels. Insight alone can in some cases effect real changes, but in practice it is rarely strong enough to dissolve the addiction pattern. These patterns seem to be deeply anchored in the body's memory, similar to genetic information.

Homeopathy can help on three different levels: during detoxification, with the existing state and with the current physical condition. The client's current state is the first level. Although we do not yet use homeopathy in the detoxification phase at this point, I am sure it would be very successful. Most clients who come to me for the first time suffer from acute problems. They show symptoms attributable to drug or alcohol use, are in poor physical condition and/or suffer from fresh emotional traumas. I am convinced that treatment must start at this level.

Summary

Homeopathy helps to overcome addiction.

Homeopathy can prove to be a valuable adjunct to conventional medical care in the treatment of addictions, especially when carried out in an established clinic with an interdisciplinary team.

Any 'good' homeopath can treat patients with addictions. Homeopathic work does not differ substantially from general medical practice.

Working in a team often provides information that complements and completes the homeopathic interview and facilitates the choice of remedies.

Likewise, the homeopathic case-taking provides information that can be useful for other therapies.

To find a good remedy we must exploit all available knowledge. In my experience Jan Scholten's method of analysis[2] has proved very useful for finding remedies for traumas and constitutions, but in practice I use all the methods I learned from Vithoulkas, Geukens and Sankaran, etc.