This book review is reprinted from No. 23, Autumn/Winter 2004 edition of The Homoeopath with permission from Nick Churchill of The Society of Homoeopaths.
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Vital Practice, Stories from the Healing Arts: The Homeopathic and Supervisory Way
By Sheila Ryan
Sea Change , Portland UK,2004, Paperback, pp210
ISBN 095478670X
Reviewed by Angela Earney
I worked with Sheila when we were beginning to set up the Professional Supervision Network in Ireland, and have always admired her skill and perceptiveness. I feel that this book about homeopathy, supervision and how they work together, is exactly the right book at the right time.Before I began reading, I had very strong notions about what I wanted. I wanted a how-to book, written by an expert, with lots of easily transferable ideas and devices for organising a supervision session/workshop/network. Finally, the penny dropped. This book is not written from an expert viewpoint. As Sheila reminds us 'supervision is a quality of looking.' It is a method of 'getting alongside'. Having expectations about the outcome, or a superior, let's say 'expert' stance, can block us from seeing what is really going on.
Therefore, this book is not a book of answers, more a book of stories and questions. The 'quality of looking' is demonstrated by the stories of the patient, homeopath and supervision sessions. Each story has questions, that illustrate the process of 'getting alongside'. There are also questions about our own practices, which encourage us to supervise ourselves. For example, 'where are you in your practice room?'. ... The image jumped into my mind that I was hiding behind the door, (I'd better see my supervisor). Each of the stories is also linked to the remedy by its themes, and the images that come up when the questions are asked. The stories also parallel the remedy themes in the way each chapter takes on the flavour of the remedy involved.
In the second part of the book, 'Vital Kit', the material is presented like a toolbox, with definitions and descriptions of the different types of supervision structures. Sheila explores other important themes about healing in Vital Practice. She also manages to be homeopathic and supervisory while writing it. This is a book that can be enjoyed for its stories, but it is also a book to come back to regularly, to be challenged by the questions. Try it and see!