Re-orientation Training Programme, Khamgaon, June1998
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1998 May / Jun VOL VII NO 4.
Synopsis of Lectures
By Dr Ajit Kulkarni 19/6/98-21/6/98
1] Case Taking: Dr Ajit Kulkarni dealt with the subject exhaustively. Basic processes of communication both verbal and non verbal, use of techniques in the interview, several types of personality and how to effectively deal with them etc were covered.
Dr Ajit Kulkarni said: "Language is the most widely used instrument of communication and one of the most prized possessions of man. It acts as a repository of wisdom, a propeller for the achievement of knowledge and a telescope to view the vision of the future." He defined communication as a process of 'sharing' and a network of interactions; it is the momentary intensification of a continuing, cumulative process. He then elaborated on the components of communication in terms of frame of reference, source, channel, message, interaction between a sender and a receiver and 'noise' - the factors that act as 'barriers' to communication which are of 15 types.
The interview has two attributes. CONTENT and PROCESS and has following stages"
Preparatory Stage
! Decency skills like greeting, politeness and kindness.
! Body language, observation, and listening, which is more than mere hearing
First Stage: responding which is more than mere reacting
Second Stage: personalizing [dealing with specific problem of the sufferer]
Third Stage: initiating and
Fourth Stage: stage of evaluating.
Through several examples, Dr Ajit Kulkarni emphasized the role of visible code in the interview. He explained each element like personal appearance, posture, gestures, facial expression, eye contact and space distancing in detail. Homoeopathic interview is a complex, multi dimensional process and lots of skills have to be developed by a physician to establish 'rapport'. Techniques like facilitation, open ended questions, direct questions, support, empathy, reflection, silence, clarification, confrontation, summation and interpretation, were pointed out with illustrations.
This deliberation ended with a thoughtful sentence, "A wise man has long ears, big eyes and a short tongue."
The second part was on recognising the PERSONALITY TYPES and dealing effectively with them.
He classified the personalities under 8 types as under:-.
- Dependent, demanding individuals
- Orderly, controlling individuals
- Dramatizing, emotional individuals
- Long suffering, self- sacrificing individuals.
- Guarded, suspicious individuals
- Superior, special individuals
- Aloof, reclusive individuals &
- Impulsive individuals.
! Superior, special individuals behave like VIPs. They try to establish superiority even over a physician. The physician caring for such individual should help the patient feel most comfortable by implicitly acknowledging him as a person of worth and strongly affirm his own expertise.
In the post lunch session, he defined synthesis as a process of integration that occurs in the mind of a physician, with a lot of cartoons, graphs and slides. He explained the concept and necessity of a synthetic and comprehensive MM. A select Hom MM Part I and II [Authors Dr Ajit Kulkarni and Dr PI Tarkas] was presented to the participants as a model of synthesis. He presented the portrait of Bryonia-alb as an example of appraisal of the conceptual frame, being developed through scanning of the old and new literature, clinical experiences and original thinking. A lively discussion followed that guided the students to look behind the manifestations, and the quality of a physician to coordinate and formulate the concepts out of scattered data to make a design, and to prescribe for the patient with logical and scientific vision, The concept of posology was also discussed in that context.
The morning session on the second day was on Lyco. He explained the portrait of the remedy with the help of charts covering doctrine of signatures, source preparation and its relation with pathophysiology and bio- chemistry, profile of Lyco personality and relationship with drugs in MM. He summed Lyco as potentized fatty acids and called Lyco a metabolic remedy where liver becomes a focus. Lyco contains Alum, Silicea, Copper, Magnesium, Sulphur and Phos-acid to see each of these metals reflection in Lyco symptomatology. He thence called Lyco as a quasi- mineral drug. He compared Lyco with Arg-n, Caust and Nat-m at various levels. Silicea, Graph, Alum, Carbo-v, Sul, Chel were also compared.
An interesting aspect of presentation was putting reasons behind several modalities like <4 to 8 pm, easy satiety, > motion, > open air, < tight clothing, tendency to cholelithiasis/nephrolithiasis in terms of sedentary work, sluggish portal circulation, reduced intestinal motility, the sycotic overtone, lowered renal and cerebral functioning.
He pointed out the basic, fundamental antagonism between mental and vital functioning. He explained Lyco through four types: Type A, Type B, C and D.
Type A is shy, timid, reclusive, introvert with philosophical bend, having Inner Light potential but outer weakness. This type is more in children and young individuals.
Type B phenomenon of compensation begins and gets momentum and the personality becomes increasingly self- centered, overbearing, egoistic and dogmatic disposition gets firmly established. The theme is to hide the weaknesses experienced during upbringing period and to project oneself as a capable, competent fellow full with potential; as if he has perceived his strength and grasped the different level of consciousness.
Type C projects the state of exhaustion where the personality displays ennui, melancholia, depression, anxiety with failing intellect, etc. It is as if the system starts repaying the bloated ego and hyperactivity manifested in the Type B adulthood phase and the transition into type C. The phase of old age,the Type D is a cool, balanced, resilient one; judgmental and full with potential, governed by head than heart [opp Nat-m] The common theme that runs through all types is self deception.
Group Study Of MM: He pointed out that what is achieved by individual remedy study is not achieved with group study. However, in certain cases, group study may help in selection of a remedy.
He later presented acid group, fish group, halogen group, Calcarea group and Nat group. Baryta group, mercury group, metal group, spider group, ophidian group could not be presented due to time limit. Each group was presented as
