How Do I Find a Homeopath?
The National Center for Homeopathy publishes a directory of homeopaths in the United States and Canada. It is available from them as well as from Homeopathic Educational Services of Berkeley (addresses for these organizations are in the Resources section, Part IV). In addition to listing homeopathic practitioners, it also lists several hundred homeopathic study groups. These groups of laypeople meet once or twice a month to learn homeopathy together. Homeopathic study groups are usually the best resource for learning about homeopathy and for getting recommendations for the best practitioners in the area.
This directory is by no means complete because every practitioner listed must be a member of the National Center for Homeopathy and must pay a small listing fee, and many good practitioners do not need or want additional publicity. For further recommendations of practitioners, consider checking out the following:
1) Health food stores. It is useful to go to local health food stores and ask people who work in the homeopathic section for recommendations. Some health food stores have personnel who are more knowledgeable than others, so you may have to check out a couple of stores.
2) Homeopathic pharmacies. Some pharmacies have begun to specialize in homeopathy. Such pharmacies are a great source for finding a homeopath.
3) Conventional pharmacies that sell homeopathic medicines. There are also a growing number of conventional pharmacies which sell a small number of homeopathic medicines. These pharmacies are usually relatively new to the field and may not know much about homeopathy. Still, it may be worth asking them.
4) Health and medical professionals. Health and medical professionals, especially those who utilize some natural therapies themselves, are sometimes aware of homeopaths in the area. Many conventional physicians still remain ill informed about homeopathy and homeopathic practitioners, though a select few have seen enough of their own patients improve under homeopathic care to refer patients to homeopaths.
5) Alternative newspapers and magazines. Newspapers and magazines that cover natural health and healing often have listings and advertisements for homeopaths.
6) The Yellow Pages. You may be able to find homeopaths by simply looking in your Yellow Pages. However, because many homeopaths do not know that they can obtain this separate listing, the number of homeopaths in the book is usually limited.
7) Check with the Internet. There are now various alternative medicine/holistic health forums with people discussing homeopathic and natural medicine. The Internet is great for asking for what you need and getting it.
8) Your friends. One of the tried-and-true ways to find a homeopath is to ask a friend. You'd be surprised how many people assume that their friends aren't into "this homeopathic stuff," but once the question is broached, you may discover that they and their family have been using these medicines for a long time and may be aware of a good homeopath in the area.
How Do I Know If a Homeopath Is Good?
This may be a more difficult question than at first it seems. While it may be easy to compare mechanics, it is not so easy to compare homeopaths or other types of healers. Still, there are various specialty board certifications available, some of which are open only to those who have certain professional degrees. One can generally assume that practitioners who have received one of the following certifications are qualified homeopaths.