Review in The Journal Simillimum

Reviewed by Jennifer White, ND, DHANP, CCH

A homeopath in Seattle, Washington, the majority of her practice is working with clients at the constitutional (and fundamental) homeopathic level; she also works in an Eizayaga-like and Vannier-like manner. She can be found at: www.seattlehomeopathy.com.

This book is an enjoyable read. Expect to be amused while learning materia medica. But, don’t let the title of the book fool you. You won’t be reading a book on PTSD (like I thought) but will instead find yourself reading entertaining stories grouped into traumas dispensed by a boss, parent, lover, friend, and spiritual beyond.

It’s written in a narrative style with short descriptions of part-factual and part-fictional patient vignettes. Each description comes with Mr. Kantor’s analysis of what a possible curative response for each patient would look like, which is often a modification of the patient’s symptoms into less severe forms of illness where he then suggests a less pathological remedy. He ends each patient section with a short description of complementary remedies. There are 32 remedy scenarios in the book, which range from polycrests—such as Nat-m and Lycopodium—to the rarely constitutional remedies of Absinthum, Bismuth, and Gratiola.

This book would be an excellent adjunct for a student, and the quickly read scenarios would make for an excellent book in the waiting room. Mr. Kantor’s goal of appealing to the experienced homeopath and the non-homeopathically educated is challenging due to the large gap in knowledge between the two; this thread is stretched thin while attempting to provide sufficient knowledge while at the same time simply introducing an idea. For the non-homeopathically educated, it would function well as an introduction to the type of treatment that homeopathy offers. And, for the experienced homeopath you will find the book to be enjoyably entertaining, and you will find it to be injected with occasional a-ha moments and treats of the few rare constitutional remedy pictures.

However, as an experienced homeopath myself, I genuinely look forward to Mr. Kantor writing a 2nd Edition that expounds on his ideas offered in this book. If it were to combine these ideas with materia medica, I think we’d find another jewel of a resource book for homeopaths, similar to what the Desktop Guide by Roger Morrison has been for many. The unique twist that Mr. Kantor provides is very appealing—this being his Chinese Medicine perspectives on the organ relationship to conditions and his views on the somatization of emotional, mental, and spiritual disharmonies. He also discusses an intriguing perspective on the cause of disease in Appendix One and terms it Radical Disjunct. He states that “when the denial of a need in question is sufficiently extreme, an apparent paradox results: when provided later, satisfaction of the need not only fails to satisfy, it worsens the individual’s general state.” Expounding on these ideas would be valuable to the homeopathic profession.

In the end, The Toxic Relationship Cure is nicely entertaining and could easily serve to educate those new to homeopathy and the non-homeopath. For the experienced homeopath you will find seeds of thought and insight into health from an organ perspective and perspective on somatization.

Dr. Jennifer White, ND, DHANP, CCH is a homeopath located in Seattle, Washington. The majority of her practice is working with clients at the constitutional (and fundamental) homeopathic level; she also works in an Eizayaga-like and Vannier-like manner. She can be found at: www.seattlehomeopathy.com.