HFA working with patients

Facial analysis is practiced in some other alternative therapies but for patients familiar with Homœopathy, facial analysis will be a new diagnostic. You will need to practice how to explain facial analysis to your patients. It is important during the consultation that the patient is comfortable with the process, so it is best to explain how you will be undertaking a facial analysis at the beginning of the consultation.

The beginning of the consultation is a time to explain several aspects of the Homœopathic clinical process – how the case will be taken, what you the practitioner are looking for and trying to achieve, how long the consultation will take and what sort of information you will need to choose an appropriate remedy. Photo analysis must be part of this discussion.

Example

“At the end of getting all this information about your health, I will be undertaking a form of diagnosis called facial analysis. You may be familiar with iridology – where the structural appearance of the eyes gives the practitioner information about you – well facial analysis is similar except that we use all of your facial structure. What this means for you, is once I have all the information about your health issues, I will take photos of your face and do an analysis of your facial structure. Your internal energy or defence mechanism presents itself on your face and is very helpful for me in choosing a remedy with the same energy pattern. Do you have any questions?”

The majority of patients are putting themselves in your hands and don’t require long explanations about Homœopathy or how you practice. However it is a good idea to ask your patient if they have seen a Homœopath before and to either find out who they saw (if you know the other Homœopaths in your professional group or locality) or to ask whether they practiced “classical” Homœopathy. Although “classical” means different things within the profession, it still covers an understanding of using totality and working with a single remedy. Finding common ground or clearly differentiating your own style of practice from a previously experienced practitioner, helps the patient to feel more comfortable. Sometimes you will have to remind the patient that Homœopathy is practiced in a multitude of ways and not always in the same way across different practitioners. It is the best we can do to provide clarity to our patients, who often can’t understand why we practice and prescribe so differently under the same umbrella “Homœopathy”.