by Sharon Rondeau
(Feb. 10, 2025) — In advance of the February 17 premiere airing of a film on homeopathy, “Introducing Homeopathy,” Mary Holland of Children’s Health Defense (CHD) on Monday hosted a “roundtable” discussion featuring four unique viewpoints on the practice.
The panel included a medical doctor, a veterinarian and PhD, a “classical homeopath,” and a co-producer of the film.
Dr. Mitch Fleisher, MD, defined homeopathy and its foundation of “likes cured by likes.” The Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates, he said, wrote about “three principles of healing” which he said involve the ability to “cure disease by using similar medicines”; “to use drugs that produce symptoms different from the disease process…just to maintain but not cure,” and to “heal by prayer.”
The first, or homeopathic principle, is the one Hippocrates “promoted the most,” Fleisher said.
In her introductory remarks, Holland referred to “allopathic” forms of treatment, otherwise known as “modern medicine.”
Gabrielle Traub, Board-Certified Classical Homeopath, explained the philosophy behind the system and how it differs from other forms of treatment. “The end goal is to gently nudge a bioforce on the immune system to create the necessary change to maintain balance, or ‘homeostatis,'” she said. “When you’re taking supplemental herbs, the treatment is often ongoing; you have to keep taking the supplements to get the same effect. With the homeopathy, it’s a catalyst to trick the immune system to cause a whole cascade of reactions in the body to actually self-correct…”
She quoted from a 2011 study published in PubMed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reporting that “An estimated 43% of US children (32 million) currently have at least 1 of 20 chronic health conditions assessed, increasing to 54.1% when overweight, obesity, or being at risk for developmental delays are included; 19.2% (14.2 million) have conditions resulting in a special health care need, a 1.6 point increase since 2003.”
“A purpose with the film is to get a message out there that there is another way, a way that is safe and gentle, yet highly effective, and that healing is not just about getting rid of a symptom or absence of disease,” Traub continued. “True health is about having a sharp mind, a strong immune system, to feel vibrant and resilient, to become the best version of yourself that you can be. True healing really is a path to liberation.”
“Introducing Homeopathy” Communications Director Isabel Wells said all members of her team have “had their lives intimately touched by homeopathy” and that it was produced to “give back to the homeopathy community.”
“We’ve also faced the difficulties that can come across in conventional medicine,” she added.
Homeopathic veterinarian Dr. Richard Pitcairn refuted the claim proffered by Holland that “homeopathy is just a placebo” by sharing an account from an Ohio homeopathic veterinarian who treated a cat’s severe eye injury with striking positive results shown on-screen.
The roundtable lasted just under 50 minutes and can be viewed here.