Everyone suffers from headaches at some point in their life. However, to a homeopathic practitioner, no two headaches are alike. Sitting in her office overlooking the iconic Whatcom History and Art Museum, Homeopathic Healthcare Professional Monique Arsenault addresses this mystery. The clues lead the holistic practitioner to the right remedy for the client. And often that remedy includes the essence of a substance (often a plant) that matches the circumstances of the client’s symptoms.
As an example, Monique mentions Arnica because this plant, which practitioners prescribe for sprains and bruises, grows on the side of steep hills.
Many of us who frequent natural health stores and vitamin shops have encountered the remedies housed in blue plastic vials. Anyone who practices natural healthcare has used Rescue Remedy, one of the Bach Flower Remedies, or ingested cell salts that brought instant allergy relief. But how does that work?
Monique describes her work as an intuitive detective as she dialogues with the client. And common complaints — such as headaches — arise during the suppression of our natural being, says Monique. “We create illness when we’re not able to authenticate our being.”
An introductory two-hour session of dialogue between the practitioner and the client engages in medical sleuthing. Lifestyle, sleep patterns, eating habits, emotions, and physical symptoms provide the clues. Once the imbalance is remedied, the client often experiences more vitality and can handle life stressors more efficiently.
And some of Monique’s most common complaints include excessive worry, prolonged grief, fears, and fright. When it comes to a headache Monique explains, “I need to find where the body got stuck through a holistic process. Does sleep, food, or stress affect the headache?”
While many Bellinghamsters are familiar with homeopathy, this energy healing modality does not share the same popularity as massage, acupuncture, or chiropractic care. It provides affordable remedies in the form of pills and flower essences. However, health insurance does not cover a visit to a homeopathic practitioner. And homeopathy works best as an adjunct therapy along with either conventional or naturopathic medicine.
“For one thing, as classical homeopaths, the work that we do is not a conventional medical approach to wellness. We do not call people patients, they are clients to us. We do not diagnose or treat any condition, this is the work of the doctors, and rightly so,” Monique explains. “Modern technology and diagnostic tools have advanced us as a society. We are grateful to the medical profession for many things we need to see us through a variety of health care needs.”
Monique’s journey began with her own life-altering events that led to the adage ‘healer heal thyself.’ After experiencing personal tragedies, a visit to a naturopath relieved Monique of a two-month bout with insomnia and allowed her to process her grief.
“I went to my naturopathic doctor, who suggested I try a homeopathic sleeping aid. The very next day after taking the remedy, I began to cry. I cried so hard that I thought I was finally going crazy. And after three days of crying my eyes out, I slept like a baby. And after that, I had so much energy. That’s when I bounced in to see my ND and asked her what was that stuff she had given me. She told me it was homeopathy, which I had never even heard of before. So this was the beginning of my love affair with homeopathy.”
Since she spoke fluent English and Europe boasted the best homeopathic schools, Monique headed to England with a side trip to India. At that point, she entered a practice founded by Samuel Hahnemann, a Victorian Era German MD.
“I looked at schools but also where the best research seemed to be coming from — it was India, England, Canada, and the Netherlands. I also found out that places like England, India, France, and Germany covered homeopathy in their national health insurance programs. That means that in order to keep people healthy, those governments supported homeopathy.”
Eventually, after earning her degrees and completing her clinical work in England, Monique returned to Bellingham to set up a practice. Years earlier, she had earned her undergraduate degree in psychology (Personality and Human Behavior) from Western Washington University and remembered the city’s natural beauty.
“Like many people, I had to return to Bellingham because it has everything I love: access to lakes, trails, and mountains; fresh organic food from local farms; local artwork and music; bike paths; yoga; and cool people doing great things. We are fortunate to live in this bit of paradise here.”
With a homeopathic practitioner of Monique Arsenault’s caliber practicing in the Bellingham Towers building, Whatcom County residents also consider themselves fortunate to have this life healing service available right in our region.
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