Homeopathy has been widely used throughout the world for more than 200 years.

It was Samuel Hahnemann, a brilliant doctor working in 1796, who developed the scientific and philosophical foundations of this gentler way of healing. These scientific principles form the basis of successful homeopathic practice today.

Samuel Hahnemann discovered a different approach to the cure of the sick which he called homeopathy [from the Greek words meaning 'similar suffering']. Like Hippocrates two thousand years earlier, he realized there were two ways of treating ill health: the way of opposites, most commonly used by conventional medicine, and the way of similars.

Hahnemann discovered that diluting and successing [shaking] remedies, which homeopaths call potentization, not only produce fewer side effects but also produced better results. Homeopathic remedies are drawn from the natural world and prescribed on the principle of treating 'like with like', or the way of similars.

By the late 1800's homeopathy was very popular in the United States. By the early 1900's there were 22 homeopathic medical schools, 100 homeopathic hospitals, and over 1000 homeopathic pharmacies. Boston University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, and New York Medical College were among those educational institutions that were teaching homeopathy.

However, it was not long after this period of time [in the early 1920's] that many of the schools closed -- mostly due to the decline of homeopathy's popularity which was greatly affected by the American Medical Association. This was also around the time when modern drug companies began releasing drugs that were easy to administer to patients, a trend that also contributed to the decline of homeopathy.

Today the study of homeopathy is reestablishing itself as a successful alternative to the allopathic science with many schools that teach homeopathy both here and abroad. The Council for Homeopathic Certification is a certifying board that sets a national standard for practitioners of classical homeopathy. Successful candidates receive a certification stating that they are 'Certified in Classical Homeopathy' which help to define a national identity for the homeopathic profession.

As more and more people begin to understand the gentle nature of the homeopathic healing process, we will see an ever greater increase in the growth and acceptance of this medical science.