The Pillars of good homeopathic prescribing - Selecting Rubrics

A good repertorisation will usually contain between 4 and 8 rubrics. If you use more rubrics than this you will be left with only the large remedies. Select very carefully based on -

• The intensity/frequency of the symptom - where a symptom is experienced intensely or frequently it should be chosen as a rubric.
• The uniqueness of the symptom - a symptom that is rare (and can be found!) can often be a crowning jewel in a case, however many cases don't provide such information.

Mental symptoms - it is easy to be swept up in the mental/emotional side of the case. These rubrics need to be chosen with exceptional care as it is easy to misinterpret them. It is better to use a rubric that broadly represents the state of the patient (or their surroundings) than to try and be too specific and miss the remedy. Look at some of the cases to see how these rubrics are chosen. Remember a rubric can be chosen because the event occurs to the person even if it isn't part of their character (eg violence)

General symptoms - remember your basic training and the advice of Boenninghausen. General symptoms can make up 90% or more of the rubrics chosen and will produce sound results. They may be a sensation, a reaction to the environment, an amelioration or aggravation, a time pattern, a sleep pattern or perspiration etc. Allow time in the case taking to ensure you get some decisive generals. Generals are the main ingredients of a case - perhaps not as enticing as the mentals (the icing) but more satisfying in the long run.

[ Return ]