REMEDIES: Treating Animals and People with Flower Essence Therapy and Homeopathy

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Treating Animals and People with Flower Essence Therapy and Homeopathy

Practitioner Profile: Kimberly Rockshaw

by Jann Garitty

 

Kimberly Rockshaw, DIHOM, became acquainted with holistic medicine

because of her own chronic health problems, which were not remedied by

allopathic medicine. She learned about and utilized herbs, acupuncture,

nutritional information, and homeopathy, and she regained her health

again. As her health improved, Kim began working as the Medical Director

of an animal shelter in Illinois. It was there that she first started

using flower essences, specifically Rescue Remedy (Five-Flower Formula).

She also employed her knowledge of homeopathy and vitamin supplements,

and was successful with a number of serious cases that originally had

been given a poor prognosis.

 

In 1992, Kim moved to California, and at the same time began to do more

reading and studying about flower essence therapy. She began working on

her degree in homeopathy in 1997. Shortly after that time, she attended

a workshop given by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz, and she was so

completely impressed that she obtained a copy of the Flower Essence

Repertory to learn more. Just recently, she completed her training for

certification as a Registered Bach Flower Essence Practitioner.

 

Healing Crises Leads to Life's Work

 

In late 1997, Kim's mother had a stroke and, as a result, entered a coma

and died. At the same time, Kim became very ill herself, and, as she

says, almost died as well. She was so ill that she was not even able to

attend her mother's funeral. Kim's immune system was extensively

damaged, and became even more devastated when she was administered

antibiotics. One of her symptoms was severe pain in her stomach, which

made her unable to eat. She was not able to use homeopathic remedies,

herbs, or supplements because of the ill effects they had on her

stomach. She was also unable to sleep for more than two hours a night.

This pain and sleep pattern went on for seven months.

 

Kim continued to read and study during this time, learning about the

Self-Heal (photo at left) essence. She began to rub Self-Heal on

herself, which she feels fostered her will to live in a most gentle

manner. She continued on her quest for healing, and soon after, found

and used a Chinese herb that healed her stomach inflammation. Prior to

her experiment with the herb, she had seen four gastrointestinal

specialists, all of whom could not give her any help. She also began

using a combination of essences (Bougainvilla, Fire Prickly Pear Cactus,

Foothills Paloverde, Klein's Pencil Cholla Cactus, and Smartweed) for

immune dysfunction. She rubbed this combination into her skin on her

ears, acupuncture points, and wrists. Her sleep issues resolved within

two days.

 

Kim says, " I owe my life to flower essences! " She says flower essences

are gentle but powerful healers. Her own healing with the flower

essences influenced her decision to include flower essence therapy in

her work with others.

 

 

Flower Essence Therapy and Homeopathy:

Complementary Modalities

 

Kim successfully utilizes both homeopathy and flower essences (along

with supplements and herbs) with her clients, both animal and human. She

takes each case into consideration before determining whether she'll

prescribe homeopathics, flower essences, or a combination of the two.

Often her decision is based on the severity of the symptoms, both

physical and emotional, as well as whether she is able to ascertain

whether the health problems are manifesting as a result of underlying

emotions. At times she will start with a homeopathic remedy, evaluate

the result, and then incorporate flower essences into the therapy.

Self-Heal essence is one Kim uses often, almost as a foundational

component of the therapy. For instance, when treating animals for

cancer, she will often have the owner rub Self-Heal directly onto the

cancerous area.

 

In her determination of which therapies to utilize, Kim concentrates on

current and past issues, taking into account whether the issues involved

are physical or predominantly emotional in nature. If emotional issues

prevail, she'll start off by using flower essences. Conversely, if there

are many physical symptoms, she'll begin with homeopathic remedies. When

she first talks to a potential client by phone, she will have an idea of

which therapy she might begin with, though when she works long-term with

an individual, the therapy evolves over time. Kim chooses flower

essences for her clients purely by the interview process, listening

closely to what is being said. She feels she is a good communicator,

which enables her to easily determine which essences are needed. She has

found, in general, that essences tend to work slowly but surely if they

have been correctly chosen.

 

Though Kim has seen astounding change take place when using homeopathy,

she sometimes experiences frustration if she's unable to find the right

remedy. In contrast, she loves the simplicity of flower essences because

they " either work or they don't, " and they're powerful but gentle. She

says, " Flower essences promote physical and emotional healing by

permanently changing emotional and behavioral patterns. "

 

Simple success strategies for children with ADD

 

One young girl with whom Kim worked exhibited restlessness and an

inability to keep still. After using her first bottle of a mixture

containing Impatiens and Indian Pink, the girl was able to sit down

throughout dinnertime without running around the table.

 

Another child, a boy who had problems with concentration, was helped by

the combination of Madia, Clematis, and Larch. He has improved greatly

since beginning the formula. Recently, Kim has added Blackberry to this

combination for motivational issues.

 

Flower essences help elderly woman transcend depression

 

An elderly woman in her 70s was referred to Kim by a chiropractor. She

was chronically depressed, and had even received shock therapy at an

earlier age. At the time she started seeing Kim, the woman was in

transition after leaving her home of many years. She also had severe

health problems.

 

Prior to seeing Kim, a holistic practitioner had given the woman

numerous homeopathic " combination " remedies, and the result caused much

confusion. While first working with her, Kim tried single homeopathic

remedies, but the woman was extremely sensitive and reacted negatively

to them. Kim stopped giving the woman homeopathic treatments and turned

exclusively to flower essences. One issue she worked on was the extreme

grief the woman still felt about the death of her husband. Kim initially

gave her Borage, Olive (for the physical difficulties), and Walnut (for

going through life changes). During her treatments which occurred over

many months, she also used Heather, Olive, and Gentian, because the

woman talked a lot about herself and her difficulties. Another formula

Kim composed for the woman consisted of Heather, Rock Water, Olive, and

Gorse for the " rigidity " she imposed on herself.

 

Overall, the woman started doing well emotionally. Her attitude was more

optimistic, and she was more " perky. " When the time came for her to

move, she felt overwhelmed, so Kim gave her a combination of Elm,

Honeysuckle (because she felt she was still living in the past with her

husband), Walnut, and Gentian. As a result, Kim says the woman got

through the moving process " beautifully. "

 

Working with animals: The synergistic effects of FE and homeopathy

 

A dog named Coco who had severe " separation anxiety " was brought to see

Kim. Coco would bash herself against barriers, break through gates, and

drool severely when left alone. Kim first gave her Walnut, Red Chestnut,

and Bleeding Heart. She then thought to give her Grape flower essence.

Coco experienced a three-month plateau and improved, but still

experienced some relapse phases. Kim felt Coco was only 50% improved and

that more was needed. She treated her homeopathically with high-potency

Stramonim, because she found that Coco also had vision problems

(difficulty focusing, which caused her great fear at times) and feared

being in a dark room. The Stramonium cleared up the symptoms. Finally,

Coco was much improved.

 

Kim was involved with the case of a rescued cat that had been severely

injured in an accident and required major internal surgery involving

many organs. It was thought the cat had a 25% chance of survival from

the surgery itself, and a poor chance of recovery. The combination of

anesthetics, steroids, and pain medications – all of which suppress

symptoms – block the work of homeopathics, whose purpose is to stimulate

symptoms. Kim chose to use flower essences because they can work past

such substances on a completely different level. " That's the beauty of

flower essences – they can work through all that. " Though the surgeon

didn't believe in homeopathy or flower essence therapy, Kim advised the

staff to give the cat homeopathic Arnica and flower essences before the

surgery, as well as immediately afterwards. She recommended that Arnica,

Star of Bethlehem, and Self-Heal essences be given orally, around the

clock, every four hours. Remarkably, the cat survived, began to heal

immediately, and was able to leave the animal hospital two days earlier

than expected!

 

 

Kimberly Rockshaw, DIHOM, earned her degree from the British Institute

of Homeopathy. She incorporates flower essence therapy in her practice,

as well as other modalities such as vitamins, immune building/modulating

supplements, and herbs (Chinese, Western, and Ayurvedic). She continues

to further her education by attending seminars and workshops, and has

completed courses in physiology and anatomy. Kim can be reached at

949-366-6818.

Visit Kim's web site. (See url below for live links)

 

http://www.flowersociety.org/Animals.htm#

 

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