Published in

Equinox Publishing, Communication & Medicine, 3(9), p. 191-201, 2013

DOI: 10.1558/cam.v9i3.191

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Damning with faint praise: How homoeopaths talk about conventional medicine with their patients

Journal article published in 2013 by John Chatwin ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Red circle
Preprint: archiving forbidden
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Homoeopathy is one of the most widely used forms of complementary medicine in the West. However, its methods and philosophical underpinnings are basically polarized in relation to those of conventional medicine. Many homoeopathic patients choose to continue using conventional medicine while they receive homoeopathy, but from a homoeopathic perspective, these treatments are often regarded as undesirable or even damaging. This article will utilize the principles of conversation analysis (CA) to explore points in homoeopathic consultations where practitioners address their patients’ use of conventional medications. It will be suggested that approaches which display a degree of incorporation are preferred to those which imply categorical rejection. By not emphasizing the underlying tensions between conventional and homoeopathic paradigms, and displaying an adaptive and inclusive approach, homoeopathy essentially sets itself up as a parallel (i.e. equal) system, rather than one that is purely in opposition to the dominant medical model.