Notes from Europe: Week Three

Greetings from the Canton of Bern in Switzerland! Joachim and I arrived earlier this week after a four hour car trip heading south out of Oeringen, past Stuttgart. We have rented a lovely studio apartment that is part of this old Ofenhaus on Mertonsee, one of my favorite and lesser known lakes of Switzerland.

The purpose of our trip is to pay a visit to my mentor and dear friend Dr. Heiner Frei and the theme will be Homeopathy rather than Gemmotherapy. Dr. Frei is renowned throughout Europe for his precise and efficient Homeopathy prescribing method, Polarity Analysis and he was the most influential guide in my early work. Today Dr. Frei has become much more than a teacher as he is also a dear family friend. He sets an incredible example for me with his steadfast but determined approach to share his method. In addition to his speaking and teaching across Europe and beyond he maintains his busy practice in the small village of Laupen, where he moved with his family many years ago.

Like many Homeopaths before him, Dr. Frei’s first training was as a medical doctor in Bern and he specialized in pediatric oncology. After some years of working under growing pressure in the field of research and cancer treatment he gathered up his young family and headed for the small village of Laupen. There he built a private pediatric practice on the ground floor of the half timber building he shared with his wife and three growing children. While caring for the families of Laupen, he looked toward Homeopathy as a less invasive therapy. Over the years he returned to research but on his own terms. Now researching the effectiveness of Homeopathy, he set out to prove to his medical colleagues that its effect was more than placebo.

It was during Dr. Frei’s Double Blind Study of ADHD symptoms and Homeopathy that he began to shape what is now known as Polarity Analysis. P.A. (Polarity Analysis) is a development of Boenninghausen’s Concept of Contraindications. It serves to determine in individual disease a healing probability for each Homeopathic remedy in question. The method leads to an efficient and reproducible choice of remedy and increases the precision of prescriptions as compared to a conventional Homeopathic procedure. Polarity Analysis is based on the revised edition of Boenninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocketbook, an exceedingly reliable repertory, and is generally practiced with computer software.

This past year, my tie with Dr. Frei grew closer as he teamed with my data scientist husband Joachim to develop an online tool for Polarity Analysis prescribing. They launched the beta version of this software in May and it is still available to all practitioners without cost at www.Polarity-Analysis.com. A monthly subscription price will go into effect in the fall and currently the program is available in German, English, and soon Spanish.

While Homeopathy was my first love, it actually was its shortcomings that led me to study Gemmotherapy. While I believe Homeopathy is the ultimate therapy for the vital force and constitution, I also believe there is preliminary work that must be done to prepare the body first. And that work is best done with Gemmotherapy. Over time I have learned through observation that chronic conditions respond best with a protocol of Gemmotherapy and dietary changes before introducing a Homeopathic remedy. Once elimination has been optimized I then take a case using Polarity Analysis. I do believe the two together are much more powerful than any other natural healing therapy.

Though our daytime hours in Switzerland are taken up with discussions, Joachim and I have carved out some time in the evenings to get out and enjoy the local nature. Still light outside until nearly 10 pm, we have been on our bikes exploring the paths circling the shores of Murtensee. Two years ago we did the same with our son Sebastian and due to those memories we chose to return. Enjoying every last ounce of daylight, we have certainly gotten the most of our time here.

Please return next week as I share my last week in Europe soaking up time with our loved ones and enjoying Joachim’s lovely hometown of Oehringen.