It is useful to dive a bit deeper into level 4 treatments and cures, to make the distinction clearer. As mentioned earlier, since Freud do we know that whatever feelings are denied or suppressed, it comes with a price. His famous case of his ‘hysterical’ paralysed patient Anna O. proves this. Although in that case the sexual feelings were suppressed, which probably added to the fact that Freud overstressed sexual problems, he was the first to understand that the body expresses what the mind forbids. That accounts for all suppressed feelings and traumata, who linger in the subconscious layer and find an outlet in physical symptoms.
Psychosomatics are the underlying assumptions in a lot of therapeutic modalities. The purpose is to make the symptoms vanish by making the subconscious conscious. More often than not great results are achieved; and it doesn’t really matter whether these were brought about by psychoanalysis, prayer, body work, shamanistic rituals and what have you. Most likely, a lot if not the majority of homeopathic results and cures come forth in this way.
Again: this differs from clinical homeopathy, which also has its time and place. In that case the treatment is aimed at treating the symptoms (level 1 and 2) and not the patient, regardless of the fact that psychological disturbances might be the cause. Therefor the success of a clinical prescription often depends on a physical cause, rather than a psychological one. This could be flu-like symptoms, pneumonia, any epidemic, or cleansing symptoms of the body, or temporary weakness, due to exhaustion or failing immune response. Obviously physical symptoms might also be the results of flaws in lifestyle, drug abuse, intoxication, deficiencies etc.
In summary: constitutional treatment in homeopathy often focusses on level 4. The idea is, within homeopathy as well as without that the mind is ruling the matter (mind over matter) and hence, with the right method one can create his own healthy reality. I find this a slippery road: it implies that the person also created his illness, be it with his subconscious mind. If the mind can heal, it can also make sick. I’d recommend some precaution here: this conviction easily leads to a feeling of guilt (what have I done to deserve this?) and by the bystanders to judgments (his sickness must be a result of negative thought patterns). Many people believe that a patient ‘attract’ a disease to balance their karma, that they need this disease to learn their lessons in life. Those beliefs not only make the sick person even more miserable, but also cause the empathy from others threatens to dampen (you have to take responsibility for yourself).
All this doesn’t deny that the mind is a wonderful and extremely powerful tool, that can turn around hopeless and incurable diseases. But not everybody is a Clemens Kuby who cured himself from paraplegia as he didn’t except his ‘wheelchair for life’ destiny.
The main reason why I made an excursion in level 4 is to warn homeopaths. It will happen that remedies prescribed on level 4 will make symptoms disappear while they would persist with a level 5 prescription. This is contrary to what we expect: after all, the similimum should cures everything, doesn’t it? In daily practice it doesn’t. It is therefore reasonable to prescribe on level 4, when symptoms persist after administering a similimum. It can involve symptoms on the conscious layer (Scholten), subconscious (Delusion) or unconscious (‘Source’/ mythical). If the symptoms originate from level 4, a level 4 prescription will help.
