Part of the wonderful new world of regulated alternative medicine is the insistence that all registered practitioners undergo Continuous Professional Development. Just like in real professions, quacks will be expected to attend a certain number of hours per year in keeping their skills up to date and learning about the latest developments in their field.
The Prince of Wales and his new Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council are right behind this initiative and, with the government, there are going to be lots of shiny new ‘training standards’ for their members. Existing non compulsory ‘regulators’, such as the Society of Homeopaths also insist in Continuous Professional Development.
So, what do we expect homeopaths to learn? The latest meta analyses and why scientific results do not support homeopathy? Basic chemistry lessons and why no atoms means no effect? No.
Let me show you an example. This evening, homeopaths can earn on of their CPD certificates by going to a talk in St Albans given by Myriam Shivadikar. The talk is entitled, MEDICAL ASTROLOGY FOR HOMEOPATHS.
Every ancient civilisation used astrology for forecasting events, promoting health and in the prevention of disease. The alchemists used astrology and based prescriptions on the patient’s planetary constitution. As a physician, we need to understand patients in order to treat them. The best physician can predict a disease before it occurs- Why wait for a person to get sick?
This simple yet effective system of astrology is based on ancient wisdom using Planetary Cycles and popularised by Robin Murphy. You do not need to have prior knowledge of ‘Western Astrology’ to use this system.
Western Astrology? I thought ‘Western’ was bad and allopathic? Fortunately, you do not need prior knowledge of anything before attending this course. Trainees need not have prior knowledge of the differences between their arse and their elbow.
What new skills will homeopaths pick up?
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Your constitutional 3 main planets based on your date and time of birth
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The 7 sacred planets
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7 year cycles – How to predict and prevent diseases.
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Diseases and remedies associated with each planet
Marvelous. This is for real. Adults appear to believe this stuff.
The event is being put on by Gala Homeopathy (slow load). Gala appears to specialise in charging homeopaths to attend events in exchange for their CPD certificates. In a few weeks, you can hear a talk by Lionel Milgrom who believes quantum mechanics explains homeopathy. It’s utter nonsense of course, but the homeopaths lap it up. You can also learn about Live Blood Analysis, a technique that I have discussed recently and has been described as ‘High-Tech Hokum’ and a ‘money making scheme‘.
This event simply demonstrates that the whole approach of regulation by ‘box ticking’ is deeply flawed. The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (Ofquack) appears to believe that simply ensuring that homeopaths and other quacks are properly trained will protect the public. The important question is; what are they being trained in? No one wants to address this question. All Ofquack will be doing is endorsing nonsense. Once you have accepted that it is quite alright to accredit training in the nonsense foundations of most alternative medicine you loose the ability to sensibly decide what is good training and bad training. Offering training in delusion can only make quacks more efficient at fleecing their customers and engaging in meaningless or even dangerous practices.
I now think that the only way to tackle regulation of alternative medicine is by using prosecution under trading standards legislation. Everything else appears to legitimise the nonsensical, deluded and even fraudulent. Fortunately, despite the best efforts of Prince Charles and the many bodies representing alternative medicine, this is going to be the regime we will get. Time will tell if it is effective.
Yes, they truly are dangerously ignorant and dumb. Don’t forget that they offer AIDS quackery as part of their CPD as well.
I used to be into Astrology. That there is a difference between “Eastern” and “Western” interruptions of what effect the planets have on us was one of the things that led me to realise it was shite.
This talk is another of the Altie cannards. “Western” = bad, “Eastern” = good.
In a 3 hour talk, you would not be able to convey enough information across for the audience to draw up a horoscope. I reckon it will be along the lines of “if they are this sign, then they will be prone to respiratory diseases, poor lungs etc “, rather than if a person works in a dusty environment, regardless of star sign, they will be prone to repiratory illnesses.
The chinese system is different to the western system in that it uses less consellations and their zodiac is named after the twelve animals, instead of the names we use. Also their zodiac is measured using the position of Jupiter, instead of the position of the sun the western system uses. This means that the dates are different. But where they interlap, for instance in the sign of Leo and the Sheep, then the characteristics of a Sheep and a Leo are opposed. Which is right? West or East? The right answer is that both are bollocks.
Maybe I will go for the easy money and do talks on Indian, Arabic and Babylonian systems to alties.
Of course the problem with legislating against the teaching of bollocks to future practitioners thereof is that it would catch out every seminary in the country. So it would never get past the Lord’s Spiritual. Just look at what they did to Lord Joffe’s Assisted Dying bill.
Best argument for Lords reform yet 😉
Did you read the speaker’s “profile”, LCN? It reveals that she has taught lots of other homeopaths, and has also done recurring radio slots as their expert on “Complementary Therapies”.
Complementary therapy, astrology, eye of newt…
Un-freakin’-believable.
BTW, loved your demonstration a column or two back that large quantities of various “traditional wisdom” alternative modalities were invented by one or another 19th or 20th century quack. The Alties’ readiness to accept absolutely ANY bonkers nonsense – as long as it SAYS it is “complementary” and as long as it definitely ISN’T “Allopathic” – is…. mind-boggling.
Damn, I live in St Albans and that sounds like a comedy goldmine. Sadly, I didn’t find this out until today, the day after this informative seminar.
*kicks self for not reading quackometer more frequently*
In a few weeks, you can hear a talk by Lionel Milgrom who believes quantum mechanics explains homeopathy.
And why shouldn’t they lap it up? It’s complete fantasy and they know nothing about quantum mechanics (which Milgrom is relying on), but it will allow the quackery footsoldiers to confirm their delusions and prejudices.
We should be asking what this says about Milgrom, if it wasn’t already obvious, and what his motivations are, also if they aren’t obvious.
“the whole approach of regulation by ‘box ticking’ is deeply flawed.”
You hit the nail on the head. The government, egged on by the leprechauns in the Department of Health, have pressed on with handing over their responsibilities to the Prince of Wales, despite pressure from some of us.
And to make it worse, the box-ticking culture extends far beyondfar beyond the fantasy world of CAM.It does enormous harm to real science too.
Are you all daft? if you disagree with this article you must not have any understand of “old” medicine or TCM or anything thats not traditional Western medicine. Go to one of Dr.Myriam Shivadikar’s seminars and then make a comment.
Would this be the same Myriam Shivadikar who appears in this article?
Yes she has just changed the spelling of her name. DEEPLY DANGEROUS.
Sounds like "Dr." Shivadikar is better at causing disease than curing it.
Thank you so much for your post!
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