Madeline Gordon was trained in conventional medicine and works part-time at the Well Woman Clinic. But her main work now is as a homoeopath and a Bowen technique therapist.
What prompted your interest in complementary health therapies?
On a specific level, my interest in homoeopathy began when my nine-month-old son injured himself at a friend's house. The friend's mum gave him arnica [a homoeopathic remedy for bruising and internal injury] and I was very impressed at how quickly the bruise healed. On a more general level, I feel I never completely fitted into the conventional medicine scene. I didn't find myself in sympathy with it and the detective work of blood tests didn't turn me on.
Conventional medicine is for people who are fascinated by disease and I tended to see the psychological and social reasons for illness rather than having a desperate interest in the actual end point of the process. This didn't endear me to my supervisors during my time working in hospitals.
Do you believe complementary therapies work better than orthodox approaches?
I believe they do for some conditions. Although I don't work as a GP, I think homoeopathy is extremely good for childhood illnesses such as measles and chicken pox where nothing can be given by conventional doctors. In other areas where psychological factors are at play, such as stress, grief or shock reaction, homoeopathy is very good. I believe all illness comes from something deeper and the physical illness is the symptom.
However, I do believe that some conventional drugs and homoeopathy can work very well together. For instance, I give homoeopathy to women who are on the contraceptive pill. Homoeopathy is very good for premenstrual tension, menopause symptoms and for women who don't want to take hormone replacement therapy. There are areas where homoeopathy isn't suitable. If I had a patient with meningitis symptoms, I would take him/her straight to hospital. Conventional medicine is also essential for life-threatening illnesses or surgery. I would like to see more homoeopathy used in conjunction with surgery to relieve pre-operative stress and to aid healing post-operatively. Homoeopathy is also very useful "to ease the passing" for those with terminal illnesses.
Do you find it difficult to combine the two disciplines?
Yes. For personal reasons, I felt that once I started looking at things from the alternative viewpoint, it became increasingly difficult to be conventional in my approch. That's not to say that you can't use both disciplines. I would never advise someone with asthma to come off their medication while I treated them with homoeopathy. But, personally, I don't want to be the person prescribing conventional drugs as well as homoeopathic remedies. Conventional drugs treat the chemistry of the body, while homoeopathy and the Bowen Technique [a hands-on technique which involves rolling the muscle and connective tissue to promote the body's own healing] treat the body's energy systems.
How have your medical colleagues responded to your interest in complementary therapies?
Because I never worked as a GP, I didn't have a set bunch of colleagues who saw me change. I do work part-time in the Well Woman Clinic and the doctors there are interested in homoeopathy and have, at times, taken a few homoeopathic remedies themselves. I have given talks to GPs and some send me patients, but a lot are still threatened by homoeopathy and assume it doesn't work because they don't understand how it could work. They can't see it in modern scientific terms. [Homoeopathy is based on the principle that like cures like and minute doses of remedies which mimic the symptoms of the illness are given to stimulate the body's own healing reactions].
How have your patients responded to your change of focus?
I didn't have a patient caseload before I started practising homoeopathy and the Bowen technique. People have sought me out over the last 15 years, because I do what I do.
