1. Kathleen, please tell us about yourself. What led you to becoming a homeopath?
Thank you for reaching out and for the chance to share more detail about this
experience with the CHC community.
I got interested in studying homeopathy after it helped my son and step-son
profoundly, in a short amount of time, with chronic health issues. I didn't know
what homeopathy was really, and I had been referred to a professional homeopath
by an osteopath who had helped one of my kids with his glue ear. I was so
impressed with the results for both kids within a month of treatment, that I had to
find out more. Once I did, I knew I had to study and eventually practice
homeopathy. It was a long transition for me from Silicon Valley engineer to
homeopath, but really rewarding and I feel that my engineering career informs my
homeopathy practice quite a bit.
2.Please tell us about your involvement with IHAN in one of the most devastating and destructive wildfires is US history, near Butte County California. Share the story of your mission with our readers.
I had discovered the Integrative Healer's Action Network (IHAN) after the 2017
NorCal wildfires. I was one of many hundreds or maybe thousands of natural
health care practitioners who wanted to help survivors and first responders. At that
time, IHAN was only registering licensed California practitioners to work directly in
the Red Cross shelters. I was in touch with them in the following year a couple of
times to try to register as an IHAN provider and understand the requirements, and
intention behind the requirements including licensure. It wasn't until after the 2018
Camp Fire had happened, and there was a group of homeopaths including myself
trying to organize a volunteer effort in Chico, California that I was able to have a
focused meeting with one of the IHAN founders about our potential involvement.
IHAN definitely wanted homeopaths involved, as one of the founders is a
naturopathic doctor who had some training and familiarity with homeopathy and
recognized the unique benefits from our modality in a trauma situation. However
they have an obligation to the Red Cross to only work with licensed providers. I
explained about both California Health Freedom Law, together with the CCH
credential being NCCA certified, and described in detail the level of training and
demonstration of skills required, including annual CEUs. This satisfied IHAN's
founders and they were impressed with the integrity of the credential, so decided
to include CCH homeopaths as volunteer providers.
3.Did you find your CCH credential necessary/helpful in any way in the process of establishing access into the IHAN?
I know the CCH credential is not commensurate with homeopathic ability and
experience, it is simply a minimum criterion for professional merit. But we need
such a minimum in my opinion, including the rigor that comes from annual CEU
education which has some accountability and feedback for quality and relevance.
I hope to work with other leaders in the homeopathic community in the coming
year to create more opportunities for CCH homeopaths, including locally with
the
San Francisco Health Plan
.
4. What message would you convey to your fellow CCH practitioners and the broader homeopathic community?
To the broader homeopathic community, I would express the hope that we can
work together to strengthen opportunities for everyone, and to be visible and
active members of the fabric of the integrative health care community. No
credential is definitive of a profession, it is a jumping off point. We bring our
creativity, our individuality, our passion to the homeopathic profession even as we
have an agreed upon solid foundation in our credential. Still, a regulated credential
is helpful to instill confidence in our peers of our training and accountability.
I will be working with IHAN in the coming year to help them expand their reach
in California. Their mission is to expand to a national partnership with the Red Cross.
They have just received their non-profit status as well as a grant from the Red
Cross - big steps! I believe that we have a tremendous opportunity beginning here
in California to demonstrate the model for integrative medicine with this
opportunity and beyond. This takes collaboration, accountability, a tremendous
amount of work, and belief in the integrative model - that many kinds of help can
make a big difference to people, and working together to provide the best options
depending on the level of intervention needed is the way of the future. And the time
is now.