JAMES TYLER KENT & THE REPERTORY

1849-1916

THE HOMEOPATHIC ‘TOOL KIT’

1. PROVINGS

2. MATERIA MEDICA

3. REPERTORY

MATERIA MEDICA

HAHNEMANN: “Materia Medica Pura”, 1821, and “Chronic Diseases” 1828.

ALLEN: “Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica” 1874-79. First person to try to present remedies as distinctive individual entities

HERING: “Materia Medica with pathological index” 1873 and “Guiding Symptoms of the Materia Medica” 1878-91

KENT: “Lectures on Homeopathic Materia Medica”, 1905.

WHAT IS THE REPERTORY?

Word ‘Repertory’ comes from Latin and means “store or stock (eg of information) that can be drawn upon”

In French, ‘Repertoire’ means a collection of songs, plays, music etc

In Homeopathy, ‘Repertory’ refers to books which are compiled indexes of the Homeopathic Materia Medica

In modern terminology they are the homeopathic clinical and research databases

THE FIRST REPERTORIES

Hahnemann created the first Repertory - the “Symptom Dictionary” (only for his own reference and not published)

Later, Jahr & Boeninghausen compiled clinical indexes to the homeopathic materia medica

And then there was Kent.

KENT’S LECTURES ON HOMEOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA

First person to present homeopathic remedies as individual pictures

He presented well-defined and ‘colourful’ pictures of each remedy

He gave his lectures in a colloquial, semi-clinical form which meant that students could get a sense of and remember each remedy’s uniqueness

He created a continuity of symptom pictures from lists of disjointed proving symptoms

He introduced the idea of “Hierarchy of Symptoms”

KENT’S REPERTORY

The need for a repertory arose naturally when the information known about remedies exceeded what a person could remember

To compile his Repertory, he drew on previous authors plus his own experience

His repertory is the foundation on which modern repertories have been built

First published in 1897

KENT’S REPERTORY

Kent’s Repertory - information derived from:

1. provings

2. toxicological symptoms already recorded and verified

3. cured symptoms

PRINCIPLES & ORGANISATION OF KENT’S REPERTORY

The importance of case-analysis and choosing the correct rubrics / sub-rubrics

The Repertory is a source of remedy suggestions only i.e. it is not definitive

The Repertory is organised according to human anatomy from head to toe

But the Mind section comes first

Reflects primacy given to mental / emotional symptoms (the importance of understanding the whole person) in selecting remedies

MURPHY’S METAREPERTORY

49 chapters arranged in 3 sections

1. Mind

2. Anatomy listed alphabetically inc non-anatomical aspects i.e. children, food & thirst, sleep & dreams.

3. Clinical (diseases included)

Rubrics (symptoms) and sub-rubrics also arrange alphabetically

Modern terminology

LAY-OUT OF YOUR REPERTORY

RUBRICS

Within each chapter, rubrics are organised according to variables such as time, modalities (which make the problem better or worse), location, sensation etc

Within each rubric remedies are listed alphabetically

The remedies are graded i.e. given a degree of emphasis

Grading of remedies is a subtle and multi-facetted process drawing on provings & clinical experience

REMEDY GRADINGS

Similar to Kent’s Repertory

Strongest remedies in rubric or sub-rubric designated in underlined bold capitals eg CALC (4 Points)

Then e.g. CALC (3 points), Calc (2 points) and Calc (1 point)

Criteria for gradation:

Frequency & intensity of symptoms in provings

Remedy’s toxicology & cured symptoms

Remedy’s Remedy’s clinical picture inc research findings

Remedy’s history & folklore

HOW TO USE A REPERTORY

It is not straightforward like using a dictionary or encyclopedia!

It is not meant to provide the answers, rather it is a tool or sign-post towards more study. It is an index to remedies only.

‘Three legged stool’

Homeopaths disagree about the gradings of remedies…

Example: look at page 118 - Head, heaviness with sub-rubrics

Usually 6-8 rubrics chosen for each case

Rubrics should represent the most important and characteristic aspects to the case - what makes the symptoms individual

Need to be precise to accurately reflect the patient’s state

Once chosen, there is a process of cross-referencing to find out which remedies are common to all rubrics

A list of ranked remedies is produced - all are possibilities to benefit the client

The homeopath then studies the Materia Medica of all these remedies to find the one that fits best

Best way to become familiar with the Repertory is to use it!