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The Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy (NAH) curriculum provides what is necessary to become an excellent homeopath. The school is built based on the experience of other homeopathic schools and the experience of its faculty and staff, as students of classical homeopathy. Time is allocated to various homeopathic subject areas utilizing the 1993 guidelines published by the International Council on Classical Homeopathy and the current CHE guidelines. NAH makes homeopathic education accessible to working adults as the program is designed with a part-time schedule, allowing students to continue working while learning.
Curriculum Hours - Overview 2006-2007
The philosophy of homeopathy is a deep subject; the level of mastery determines the ultimate quality of a homeopath. NAH provides twice as many hours in philosophy as any comparable school in the country. The primary focus of study is on the work of Samuel Hahnemann. Added insights from other homeopathic masters and the NAH faculty provide a well-rounded learning experience. To best understand the human being, instruction begins at the center of the individual and progresses outward, imparting homeopathic perspective to physical, spiritual, mental and emotional health. Focus on the philosophy of homeopathy at the beginning of the program ensures full understanding of the principles of constitutional practice before studying the particulars.
Materia Medica
In the study of homeopathic remedies, the Materia Medica is a vast treasury of information which describes the indications for utilizing over 3,500 remedies! Certain remedies are more commonly known in homeopathy and are called polycrests. NAH faculty thoroughly teaches the use of polycrests at the beginning of the program, spending about three hours of lecture time on each remedy. In the practice of homeopathy, there has been a tendency for homeopaths around the world to employ polycrests and overlook lesser-used, but often better, remedies. In later semesters, NAH faculty teaches the lesser-known remedies to train students to use the Materia Medica in the fullest possible way. These lectures draw upon the literature and the vast clinical experience of the faculty. Students are given thorough differentials, comparing the most common remedies in various acute and chronic situations.
Homework assignments encourage creative, synthetic thinking in the use of the Materia Medica, although there is a factual base that must be committed to memory.
Repertory
The homeopathic Materia Medica contains far more knowledge than any one person could ever retain. The homeopathic Repertory is the first key to accessing information, which a homeopath may still not know, but may be needed in an individual's case. Students will be trained to appropriately use traditional printed repertories and the most advanced computer repertories, for any given situation.
Clinical Training
The clinical training component is the strength of NAH’s professional homeopathic training program. Clinical experience is of fundamental importance to the art of healing. Homeopathic students, in general, often have difficulty bridging the gap to real practice due to lack of actual clinical experience.
The Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy has addressed this problem by providing over 600 hours of clinical training in a progressively staged sequence. At first, students watch instructors take live cases. Live cases are real people with real issues. Students take part in the case analysis, learn case management skills and observe healing progress through client follow-up visits. As competency increases, students begin taking cases in a student case-taking team with instructor supervision. Later, students take cases on their own and present the analyzed cases to instructors for evaluation. Finally, students gain enough skill to independently manage most cases and will present to the instructors only the cases found to be difficult. At this point, the student is becoming a practitioner and the instructors function mainly as preceptors.
Case Taking
Case taking is a multi-faceted, social art which is a central part of the NAH curriculum. The importance of case taking is well articulated by the late master of homeopathy, Constantine Hering, who said " A case well-taken is a case half-cured". The case-taking component of this program ensures mastery of the many skills needed.
Case Analysis
Case analysis is the process a homeopath uses to choose the appropriate remedy for a given case. Although case analysis follows set principles, the process is individualized to each particular case. Proficiency in case analysis requires a thorough knowledge of philosophy and clinical experience. NAH students analyze hundreds of cases, including live cases and paper cases.
Human Sciences
NAH incorporates a human science component into its program to enable non-medically trained students to practice safely and competently. Through a basic study of anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology and medical terminology, students learn what is needed to understand western medicine, make referrals, and communicate effectively with clients and medical practitioners alike. These sciences are taught by expert homeopaths and medical doctors in a manner congruent with the needs and viewpoint of the homeopathic student.
Natural Sciences
Students require a foundation of natural science in order to become well-rounded homeopaths in modern society. A solid grounding in the natural sciences also enables students to fully understand the Materia Medica and the clinical sciences.
Traditional college courses often focus on the quantitative aspects of science and incorporate a materialistic perspective which is of less practical value for the homeopath. To address this area, NAH has developed its own natural science component. Biology, chemistry and other natural sciences are taught in a conceptual way from a more vitalistic standpoint. This vitalistic natural science component is the first of its kind to be offered in homeopathic education.
Preparing a student for the client-homeopath interaction demands more than Materia Medica, Philosophy and Science can offer. While study and practice of homeopathic subject matter is important, the face-to-face exchange that occurs during “case taking” relies completely on the homeopath’s ability to be present and open to the client. NAH addresses this important aspect with its Self Focus component. Students are guided in self exploration and personal discovery via journaling exercises and indivual conferences with instructors. The personal benefits to the student of the Self Focus component reach far beyond the successful client-homeopath interaction.
Besides mastering the art of homeopathy, there are many other skills needed to establish and manage a successful practice. A portion of class time is devoted to ethics, practice management and other important, but often overlooked, skills of a successful classical homeopath.