Growing up in Germany, it seemed just normal that the GP who looked after me used mainly homeopathic medicines in the treatment of her patients. I remember how I liked going to see her – she was warm and friendly, and interested in every little detail about me and my conditions. I guess I revelled in her kind attention. It worked too and I can’t remember ever taking any conventional drugs in my youth. 

 

When I had the opportunity to study medicine, this lovely GP may have been a more influential role model than I ever knew. It seemed obvious that I chose to attend the seminars in homeopathic medicine that the university offered. I noticed that I particularly enjoyed combining the knowledge and scientific insights of modern medicine with the wisdom of older methods of understanding disease and treating patients. I felt that both aspects of medicine enhanced one another. 

 

Three years after graduating I took up a post in an institute for training doctors using homeopathy in a general medical practice setting, qualifying in this speciality in 1990. 

 

After many years in practice I became more and more interested in finding a philosophy, a further skill, to both support me in my work as doctor, and at the same time have perhaps more to offer to people when life throws those curve balls and the capacity of managing oneself wisely in serious situations becomes most important. 

 

I found Mindfulness to be the field in which I could learn and practice a meaningful and inspiring way of understanding myself and others. Since training and qualifying as a Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Teacher (MBCT) in Oxford it has become a major influence on how I practice and what advice I may offer to people in challenging times or when managing mental health issues. 

 

In 2018 I retired from conventional medicine but continue to offer Medical Homeopathy for adults and children, as well as instruction in the principles and practices of Mindfulness for individuals and groups. 

 

I believe that the synthesis of knowledge of conventional medicine, together with the alternative approach of homeopathic analysis and treatment, within the envelope of a mindful stance, provides the scope for the attentive holistic health care I experienced in my youth and aspire to offer to people.