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What's it really like?

Sabera Chowdhury, LicCPH, MARH, RHom, is an experienced registered homoeopath who works both from her practice in South London and by appointment in Central London, she can be contacted by email, sabera03@hotmail.com.

How long have you been in this particular job?

I qualified in 2007, after a 4-year licentiate training.

What did you do before this job?

While I was training, I worked part-time in the natural health retail sector, where I learnt about the properties of herbs and homoeopathic remedies, and gave advice “over the counter” as a trainee homoeopath. Prior to this, I worked in education and as an English language teacher.

How did you end up doing this job? Was it a childhood dream or was it by accident?

I reached a point in my career where it felt as if something was missing, that what I was doing wasn’t quite fulfilling enough. I had always been drawn to natural therapies and was fascinated by the seeming simplicity of how they helped to bring well-being to a person, so I spent about 6 months going along to a few workshops and training seminars to find out more. At the homoeopathic college open day, something just sparked inside of me, and I knew this was a training I wanted to do. I signed up there and then.

What do you do in a working typical day?

I see clients in my home practice or in town by appointment. Sessions are around an hour and involve talking through the health problem(s) and other difficulties that are the main limiting factors in a person’s current life situation. The aim of the session is to find out how the problem manifests itself, what the trigger factors are, e.g. dietary, physiological, environmental, emotional, due to infection, as a result of a previous issue or physical trauma, etc., and then to establish a strategy on how best to work on “neutralising” these symptoms and restore greater balance to the body and mind through the use of homoeopathic remedies. I also sometimes advise on lifestyle changes where they are paramount in facilitating and speeding up healing and recovery.

I do an in-depth analysis of the case after I have seen a client, as it can take several hours, based on the complexity of the symptoms and other factors that are involved. In homoeopathy we look not only at the symptoms themselves but also the “context” or reasons behind these symptoms, and the treatment involves treating the context as well as the symptoms. Treating the root causes of a limiting illness or difficulty with homoeopathic remedies helps resolve them more fully and helps the body and mind to heal in the true sense of the word.

Depending on how long the condition has been present, the prescription of remedies can be for short, medium or longer terms. Follow-up sessions take place every 4 to 8 weeks on average, in order to review the progress of the case and modify the prescription as required. When seeing someone for the first time, the session usually lasts up to 90 minutes, as I spend time taking previous medical history and also finding out about the health of parents and other hereditary factors that may be affecting the symptom and difficulty. Even though hereditary or congenital factors cannot be “cured” as such, it is helpful to be aware of them and sometimes to prescribe remedies that can alleviate the symptoms that may be associated with them.

With some clients, I prescribe remedies straight away; with others, as is usually the case, I need to spend time thinking through the best strategy for their treatment and then email them a prescription later. My working day is therefore usually split between seeing clients and analysing cases. I sometimes do home visits for those who cannot come to see me, and I also do telephone and Skype prescriptions for those who live far away.

What conditions do you treat? Do you have a speciality?

People come to see me with a range of conditions and difficulties. Homoeopathy is suitable for all conditions, as it is a modality that works on balancing a person from within and not just at the symptoms' level. Some people come with mainly physical symptoms such as skin problems or effects from a physical injury that have never quite healed; others may suffer from more chronic conditions that are not understood by the orthodox system because of symptoms that do not “show up” in any tests or diagnoses. Some people are held back in their lives and careers because of deep-rooted emotional pain from unresolved conflicts or losses that they cannot overcome. The aim of homoeopathy is not just to remove unwanted symptoms but to restore health and well-being from the inside out, and give people back a sense of empowerment.

I see anyone who comes to me and wants to use homoeopathy to treat their symptoms. Homoeopathy, as a holistic form of treatment, is wide ranging; it is a unique and very powerful treatment modality because it helps to improve mental and emotional well-being in parallel with treating physical symptoms. Homoeopathy is gentle and safe enough to treat anyone from the newborn to the elderly, without adverse effects. Homoeopathy is all about restoring balance on all levels of the body and mind. It can take time if the condition is chronic but it really addresses the underlying issues in a way that most other orthodox treatments fail to do.

How do you find your clients?

Many come through recommendation from people who know the work I do or who have themselves been treated by me; sometimes I am contacted directly through the national professional register of homoeopaths in which I am listed.

Homoeopathy is a “talking therapy” in the sense that all information is discerned through the consultation process. As a practitioner who often deals with very sensitive issues, I need to listen well, use questions carefully and build good rapport and trust with my clients in order to be successful in reaching the core elements of a case and genuinely help people. Homoeopathy is a tool in itself and its effectiveness lies in the skill of the individual practitioner. One is always learning and developing one’s intuition and prescribing skills on the job.

Do you prepare your own homoeopathic remedies?

Homoeopathic remedies are prepared from essences (or the molecular “imprint”) of various herbs and substances. Essences are used to “medicate” pills, tablets, liquid or powder given as a prescription. Different forms are chosen mostly according to personal preference but sometimes due to efficacy – for example, single doses are often given in powder form. Homoeopathic essences come in various strengths or potencies depending on the rate of dilution, and these are prepared in homoeopathic pharmacies. I stock a small range of the most common essences in my practice and make them up for clients if needed.

What do you like about the job?

I like working with people and the one-to-one interaction that is involved in the homoeopathic consultation process. As my mentor used to say when I was a trainee, homoeopathy requires you to be a bit of a detective, because often the trigger factors or underlying causes of a particular set of symptoms are not evident and need to be carefully uncovered through a keen and systematic process of enquiry and understanding. It is always wonderful and a privilege to witness people’s symptoms improving and to see their sense of renewed energy and self-confidence.

What do you dislike about the job?

There is nothing about homoeopathy I dislike. However, I do feel frustrated when homoeopathy is misrepresented and misunderstood in the media and people are denied the opportunity to experience a treatment modality that is completely natural and free of the toxic chemicals that are present in ordinary drugs. Homoeopathy is not just for treating the common cold; it is a holistic system of medicine that brings balance to the person on a much deeper level, which means that their overall immunity is strengthened. Perhaps the only “drawback” is that homoeopathy is a “process” and not always a “quick fix” – and in this day and age where people want immediate results, they may get put off from trying it. Real health, once experienced, has no substitute.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of doing this job?

If you have an enquiring mind and are really interested in learning about the complexity of reasons why people get ill and develop limiting symptoms, then homoeopathy may be a suitable career choice. More and more people want real answers about why they don’t feel well and aren’t satisfied with simply taking long-term drugs to manage or cover up their condition, as often it causes terrible side effects and other long-term health problems. Natural health and well-being are becoming more and more a priority in people’s lives and so experts in this field are really needed. If you are interested in health and working with people, and feel passionately about working from a holistic perspective, then homoeopathy would be a rewarding career choice.

What job(s) do you think you might do after this role?

My passion is in helping people access their own well-being, through overcoming personal health difficulties and limitations so they can live and experience the best of themselves and lead full lives. I am always interested in further training alongside the homoeopathy skills so that I can become more effective in my work.