Homeopathic proving

Homeopathic provings are methods by which homeopaths determine the profile of a homeopathic remedy. They are carried out in a number of ways depending on the type of homeopath carrying out the trial. This can involve anything from following Samuel Hahnemann’s strict protocol to a person taking the remedy and meditating on the effects.

A fairly standard method of homeopathic proving involves about 20 volunteers taking the remedy for approximately 6 weeks. During this time each prover keeps a proving diary recording all symptoms both mental and emotional that are experienced during the proving. At the end of the proving period the master prover will be given the diaries and from these extract a remedy picture. In order to give a full remedy picture it is normal for the provers to take the remedy at a range of potencies.

A more recent development involves having some of the participants in a trial take a placebo. The symptoms recorded by these provers are compared to the symptoms recorded by the other provers in order to aid the process of deciding which symptoms are caused by the remedy. It should be noted that since the master prover is not blinded this can in no way be regarded as a properly controlled trial.