Meet the family - homeopath Vicki Trudgen

Arnica flowers

Vicki Trudgen, homeopath

Here at the Centre we have a team of 14 practitioners offering a range of therapies.  Although you may see one or two of us coming and going when you’re waiting for your appointment, only a few know us all.  So we thought we’d introduce you through a series of interviews.

Homeopath Vicki Trudgen was kind enough to be our first interviewee.  Vicki has been with the team since February 2018.  She used to come to the Centre to see homeopath and transformative coach, Therese Boyle.  After she graduated from her Diploma in Homeopathy (with distinction), Vicki knew she wanted to come and work with us.  And I am delighted that she did.  She’s slotted in beautifully with the rest of our team.

Tell us a little about yourself
I am a mother of 4 wonderful grown-up children and one beautiful 3 month old grandson.  Family is very important to me.

I love being in nature – gardening, tramping, swimming and sailing.  I live in Eastbourne but originally came from Taupo to Wellington when I was 17 to study occupational therapy.  I left after the first year because I felt I needed more life experience to bring to the job.

I then did a secretarial course, which eventually led to me teaching secretarial students at Petone Polytech.   I worked and travelled overseas for about 3 years with my now husband and I still love travelling.  In my late twenties we bought a house in Eastbourne (where we still are now) and decided it was time to have a family.   My third pregnancy was twins, which was when I first came across homeopathy.

That leads nicely into my next question…Why did you choose homeopathy?
It was because of my family’s positive response to it.  It was gentle, effective and reduced the need for antibiotics and other allopathic medicine. That was what sold me on homeopathy.

I believed in keeping them well.   They would go to the homeopath for physical complaints but the remedy prescribed would address both their physical and emotional needs.  So rather than just being an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff homeopathy was a great health maintenance programme  - a bit like getting your car serviced.

I sometimes use homeopathy alongside conventional medicine.  For example, if I am going overseas I will get a vaccination when needed but I will also take homeopathic support to reduce the chance of a negative reaction to the vaccination.

So you used homeopathy for you and your family and then decided to study and become a homeopath yourself.  Where did you study?
I studied at the College of Natural Health and Homeopathy, Auckland. I spent four years studying to gain a Diploma in Homeopathy, which is equivalent to an undergraduate degree.  With homeopathy you never stop learning and ongoing study is a requirement and important for my professional development.   I love that I can continue to learn and get the opportunity to attend seminars run by the masters of homeopathy.

What’s your most memorable experience of a homeopathy remedy?
When I was pregnant with the twins I developed a hernia and my midwife suggested homeopathy, as the doctors were telling me I would have to be in hospital one month before the birth.  With a hernia you get a little tear in your gut that is usually sewn back up again with a small operation, but they obviously couldn’t do that until after the babies were born.

So I went to see the homeopath having no understanding of it at all.  I had my eldest Nichola with me, she was 3 years old and very clingy due to an  earache.  The homeopath prescribed Pulsatilla for my daughter, which is a common childhood remedy made from a flower and the ear pain eased straightaway.  For me she prescribed a remedy that enabled me to stay out of hospital, carry my children to full term and - guess what? - the hernia went away.

Are a lot of homeopathic remedies made from plants?
Yes, there are a lot of homeopathic remedies made from plants, they are also made from minerals, animals, disease products and other substances.  There are over 4,000 remedies and they are being added to all the time.  Most commonly people take the remedy in a small pill form.

Homeopathy is an energetic medicine.  The art is finding the remedy that matches the personality and presenting picture of that person.

Why do you think people choose or don’t choose homeopathy?
I think they choose it because they want a natural safe medicine, and it is often recommended to them by friends and family that have had a positive response to homeopathy.  Also, sometimes they choose it because nothing else has worked.

There is currently a lot of homeopathic research being done.  For those that are interested in knowing more about homeopathy there are some links below.
https://www.hri-research.org
https://homeopathy.co.nz
https://www.homeopathycenter.org/homeopathy-today/8-great-remedies-earaches
 
If you’d like to get in touch with Vicki you can email her [email protected]

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Pulsatilla flowers