Homeopathy: Hippocratic Medicine

This book weaves evidence, stats and facts, deep homeopathic philosophy and ancient wisdom to create an engaging and convincing promotion of homeopathy as an important and meaningful system of medicine in today’s healthcare. The book is perfect for anyone interested in homeopathy, one of those books that homeopaths pass on and give away to patients and people that want to know more. Great for the general public, those that maybe a little sceptical, students and homeopaths.

As we move through a global pandemic it seems timely to re-examine our understanding of health and care. Homeopath Mo Morrish’s latest work makes it clear that health is more than just the absence of illness, but the means by which people can enjoy the fullest life possible. He suggests that while many people live longer many of them rely on an increasing number of medications, further suggesting that they are not, in fact, healthy.

Drawing on thinkers such as Hippocrates and Einstein he challenges mainstream medicine for its over-reliance on pharmaceuticals and the tendency to treat symptoms rather than the underlying imbalances which give rise to them. Un-packing homeopathic practice Morrish confronts its sceptics with an evidence-based comparison of homeopathy with mainstream medicine and strongly advocates for an integrated approach to healing, greater inclusivity. Given that sickness on this planet has not decreased by half of one percent, might it not be time to work together?

This powerful book is an enjoyable and refreshing review of the fundamentals of what we do as homeopaths, placing our work within a wider medical context and helping us to be more informed and prepared to participate in the much-needed public discourse on how to re-invigorate our health service in a post-pandemic world. It is a timely and engaging reminder that homeopathy just makes sense.

From the author
“My experience is this: Through thirty years of homeopathic practise, I have helped several thousand people restore themselves to health, or to significantly improve their health, without causing any harm. I consider this to be a reasonable, ethical, honest and helpful way to earn a modest living chiming, as it does, with the Hippocratic dictum of: “Either help, or at least do no harm. This little book concerns all that I have found to be true within this experience.”

John Morgan, MRPharmS, RSHom, Helios, Managing Director & Superintendent Pharmacist: Hippocratic Medicine is another beautifully crafted book by Mo Morrish and the School of Homeopathy which presents, in a clear and very readable way, the contribution homeopathy brings to the practice of medicine and the art of healing.

The philosophy and guiding principles of homeopathy are a teaching for life and Mo’s books are not only very informative but are always presented in a way which resonates with our own subjective experience and what we feel to be true.

Drawing from his many years of practise and the wisdom of the founding fathers of medicine, Mo guides the reader through the many questions one may have about homeopathy, healing, health and disease. The book is suitable to give to someone new to homeopathy as well as the serious student or practitioner. All will find his engaging style thought provoking as he reminds us that both art and science are essential for effective healing with the guiding tenet of “do no harm” at its centre. This book a timely reminder of the importance of homeopathy in the world and the power it has to improve the health of humanity to those who are open to hearing its message. Thank you Mo for sharing more of your wisdom, understanding, experience and compassion with us.

Book foreword:
Dr Michael Dixon LVO, OBE, MA, FRCGP, FRCC
This book is an excellent description and defence of homeopathy. It is pithy, elegantly written and argued with integrity. It is also a great read with wonderful quotes.

I see it as a plea for personalised medicine rather than simply the application of population-based evidence. Good medicine needs to include both. As the author says, we must not polarise between Western medicine and complementary medicine as both have their place or, in his words “both approaches are helpful”. I also see this book as a plea for a form of medicine that goes with the grain of nature and nudges our own natural processes of healing and health. Conventional medicine, which has been so effective in so many ways with diseases such as cancer and heart attacks often works by challenging and reversing nature’s processes. Again, there is room for both perspectives but wherever possible there is a strong case - in terms of safety and sustained effectiveness as well as a human and economic case – for supporting rather than confronting the forces of nature.

I am not a homeopath but simply an observer. What I do observe is that many of my patients are being helped by homeopaths. I observe consultations that are often more personal and have more depth than I am able to offer in the standard ten-minute NHS consultation. I also observe my own profession feeling threatened and defensive in the face of a model of healing that they cannot understand or explain. I also observe that when it comes to research, we are too often asking the wrong questions and getting the wrong answers. As a pragmatic GP, I am not too concerned as to whether a patient’s recovery is due to the medication, his own characteristics, those of the therapist or, indeed, the interaction between them. What I really want to know is something along the lines of “if a patient has headaches, irritable bowel or a sense of hopelessness, for instance, which treatment is more effective – conventional treatment or seeing a homeopath?” In too many areas, we don’t have the answers and the much-needed research has not been funded by an NHS that unfairly spends 0% of its research budget on complementary medicine.

Covid has changed everything. We are now living in a time of uncertainty when we need to view the world with new eyes. In this new world I think we will regard it as strange that an NHS that spent £127 billion in 2016 felt it appropriate to cut its relatively tiny budget of £92,000 on homeopathy. It was an act of meanness supported by some over vociferous clinicians, scientists and senior managers. But in the end, it doesn’t matter what any of them think - it is the patients that matter. They are quite rightly the focus of this book, which I see as a healing of the divide between the conventional and the complementary. In a pluralist society, we must keep our minds and hearts open and I believe that this book will be helpful to patients, therapists and clinicians of every kind.

About the author
Mo Morrish, BSc MCCH RSHom established The Homoeopathic Practice in Exeter in 1990, later joined by his wife, Ali, and now continues to practice from their home on Dartmoor. For over twenty years he taught Philosophy and Consulting skills at the British School of Homoeopathy, as well as various other schools.

For the last fifteen years he and Ali worked from and managed Exeter Natural Health Centre, a multi-disciplinary centre which also provided community placements for first- and second-year medical students from the University of Exeter School of Medicine and Dentistry. This was part of their commitment to getting homeopathy recognized as having an important role within integrative medicine. Furthering this, Mo has also written several books which have been widely appreciated.

A microbiologist in a previous life, Mo has become a better scientist through homeopathic practice. Poetic by nature, he is also a celebrant who, outside of “work”, loves to walk upon the moor and enjoy good food and wine with Ali and their ever-expanding family.

• Author: Mo Morrish
• ISBN: 9780954476656
• 88 pages
• Hardback
• Published in 2021
• Printed in United Kingdom

Reprinted with the permission of the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths, from the 'Homeopathy in Practice' Journal, Summer/Autumn 2021 edition. Reviewed by Elizabeth Angell, MARH.

I like this book for its simplicity and the succinct way that each chapter has been written. It's informative and, as I read through the book, I am reminded of all the aspects of homeopathy that, once qualified, we don't even think about. These include basics around health, our principles, our practices, our profession and much more. It is an easy book to pick up and put down as each chapter is pithy and to the point.

After finishing the book, I was reminded of how proud I am to be a part of this amazing profession, which provides a safe, effective and healing medicine. So, who would benefit from reading it?

I did, as it was a lovely reminder of all that is great about homeopathy. I also think it would be good for students to read at the start of their training, as it would give them an overview explaining all the different aspects of homeopathy. It would be beneficial to loan to patients who have a limited understanding of homeopathy to broaden their knowledge and understanding of this subject. It would also be useful if you wanted to give information on a specific aspect of homeopathy to anyone enquiring, explained in simple, understandable language. For these reasons I would recommend this book to any homeopath to have as a useful reference tool to use in their practice.