Dr Julie Geraghty
MBChB, FFHom, DCH, DFFPHomeopathic Physician
10 Belgrave Road
Bristol BS8 2AB
drjuliegeraghty@gmail.com
I am a homeopathic doctor with 30 years of experience, working in private practice in Bristol. I am trained as a GP but no longer work in general practice. I am also trained in management of chronic pain and related conditions, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, anxiety and depression. I also use techniques from the psychotherapeutic approach Internal Family Systems (IFS) developed by Richard Schwartz.
About me
I did my medical training at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, qualifying with MBChB in 1984. After my house officer year in 1985, I came to England to do my GP training, including three years working in Paediatrics, and gained the Diploma of Child Health qualification.
During my final year of GP training in 1993, I started studying homeopathy. In 1994-5 I trained at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital (GHH), where I passed my membership examination of the Faculty of Homeopathy (MFHom) in 1995.
At that time, GHH received referrals from all over Scotland, often patients with very complex problems. The team offered homeopathy, acupuncture, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and we were able to help many of these patients who had come to the end of the road of what other NHS services had to offer. This was integrative medicine in action, and it inspired me to pursue my training in complementary medicine.
From 1995-2001 I continued to work in GHH outpatients, started teaching on the MFHom course for health professionals, and started a private practice in Glasgow and then in Edinburgh.
Since moving to Bristol in 2002 I worked one day a week at the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital (subsequently NCIM – National Centre for Integrative Medicine) until the NHS Homeopathic service was decommissioned in 2019. I taught on the four year part time course for health care professionals run by the Academic Department of NCIM from 2002-2019.
In 1993 I gained my Specialist Registration with the Faculty of Homeopathy. My dissertation was on three case studies of young people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, all cured with different Phosphorus salt remedies.
From July 2015 to August 2019 I was Medical Dean of the Faculty of Homeopathy and I was Vice President of the Faculty for four years until 2011.
My own study of homeopathy is ongoing: in this vast field, one never stops learning. My main teachers have been Dr Jan Scholten in Holland, Dr Massimo Mangialavori in Italy, Dr Rajan Sankaran in India, Dr Annette Sneevliet in Holland and Michal Yakir in Israel.
My most recent interest is treating chronic pain and associated conditions like anxiety and depression. I completed the Freedom From Chronic Pain Practitioners’ Training Course with Dr Howard Schubiner in Michigan, USA in December 2021.
This course included basic training in the psychotherapeutic approach called Internal Family Systems (IFS), developed by psychologist Dr Richard Schwartz. Integrating techniques from IFS has proved transformational for many of my patients with chronic physical and mental symptoms that have their origins in traumatic past experiences where vulnerable young parts became stuck in feelings of shame, fear, hopelessness etc.
The homeopathic consultation
Homeopathic doctors need to be very good listeners. If I see ten patients with eczema, I will probably give each one a different remedy. This is because of the individualising nature of homeopathy, like taking into account how and when the skin problem first started — so it becomes very relevant information to hear that it started following a bereavement, or whilst under great stress at work etc. We also focus on the nature of the rash, whether it is dry or weeping, what makes it better or worse, and any associated symptoms like asthma or hay fever.
In so doing I build up a profile of the whole person, including the patient’s past medical history, family history, food preferences etc. We also discuss key life events and emotional issues that have had a big impact on the person. What I find most satisfying is when the patient is able to make connections or identify patterns for themselves during this process of exploring their life story. I call this ‘getting to the heart of the matter’. But this all takes time, therefore the initial homeopathic consultation takes 2 hours. Follow up appointments take 45-60 minutes.
Homeopathic practice is very satisfying in that one treats patients of all ages with a huge range of health problems. However since training in chronic pain management I have decided to no longer treat children under the age of thirteen. This is because my practice is very busy and I want to be able to focus on offering more frequent appointments to patients with chronic conditions, especially when I am also integrating some Internal Family Systems work.
Some patients prefer to seek homeopathic treatment from a homeopath who is also qualified in medicine, and for any sceptics out there, no doctor in their right mind would devote 30 years of their life to studying and practising a discipline that either didn’t work, or only worked through the placebo effect!
The chronic pain consultation
As mentioned, I have long had an interest in treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which is often accompanied by chronic muscle and joint pains, often leading to the additional diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Although homeopathy has been very helpful for around 60% of my patients with these conditions over the years, in 2021 I started exploring other techniques to help the other 40%. In particular, I was drawn to the work of Dr Howard Schubiner in USA, and his program ‘Unlearn your Pain’. From October to December 2021 I attended the online practitioners training course with Dr Schubiner to learn how to deliver this program to my own patients. I am now using this in practice to treat chronic pain conditions as well as related conditions like anxiety and depression, chronic vertigo, nausea and irritable bowel syndrome.
Dr Schubiner calls these conditions Mind-Body disorders, where the chronic pain being experienced by the patient is no longer triggered by physical damage to tissues (although there might well have been an injury initially), but is being repeatedly triggered by neural circuits in the brain. These neural circuits are pain messages that have become hard-wired in areas of the brain that have become over-sensitised over many years of picking up ‘danger/alarm’ signals, both physical and emotional.
The more we fear the pain, anticipate the pain, and avoid situations than might trigger the pain, the more we feed into these pain pathways and re-enforce them. We become trapped in a chronic pain cycle. This is what the program seeks to unpick, through exploring the roots of these potent ‘danger/alarm’ responses, often originating in traumatic childhood experiences, then appearing later as physical pains and sensations, including fatigue, sweating, palpitations, tinnitus, nausea and more.
But the very positive news is that there are many techniques we can learn to reduce the intensity of these neural circuit pains and sensations by switching off those ‘danger/alarm ‘areas of the brain that are driving them. To achieve this, we can learn to switch on other areas of the brain that automatically down-regulate these more primal centres. I also use IFS techniques to unburden traumatised parts who have been frozen in time, carrying feelings of fear, shame and hopelessness. This journey in reducing one’s pain while at the same time learning to understand oneself at a much deeper level is transformational for many patients.
I cannot thank you enough for all the support and guidance you have given me and my family through what has been a difficult year. I am truly grateful.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your help and latterly your words of encouragement regarding my recovery from M.E. I cannot thank you enough for your excellent medical care as well as your support.
To say that the homeopathy I have received from you has been helpful is an understatement, it has helped me and my quality of life enormously as my eczema has improved. I have also valued your support and your non-judgmental presence over the months, and that has been very valuable to my healing journey.
Fees and hours
I consult privately on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am to 5:00pm and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm.
I usually see patients every six to eight weeks. I do offer reduced rates for students, pensioners and those who are on low income or unemployed. Please ask about this if it applies to you.
Adults
First consultation- The first consultation for an adult takes two hours and costs £240. All prices include the homeopathic remedy.
Teenagers
First consultation- The first consultation for a teenager takes one and a half hours and costs £180. All prices include the homeopathic remedy.
Adults
Follow-ups- Follow-up appointments take 45-60 minutes and cost £120. All prices include the homeopathic remedy.
Teenagers
Follow-ups- Follow-up appointments take 45-60 minutes and cost £90. All prices include the homeopathic remedy.
Directions to 10 Belgrave Road by bus from Bristol Temple Meads station
Exit the station and walk straight ahead across the taxi rank / car park towards the dual carriageway ahead. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing (slightly to your right as you exit the station area) and head to the bus stop on the other side of the road.
Take a Number 1 or Number 2 bus (both going to Cribbs Causeway) and get out at the Belgrave Road stop on Whiteladies Rd, which is directly opposite BBC Bristol. Cross the road, and you will see Belgrave Rd slightly to your left. No 10 is the first house on the right after the BBC garage building.
It will take approximately 15-20 minutes on the bus with light traffic, but up to 30-40 mins at rush hour.
Directions to 10 Belgrave Road by car from M4/M32
From the M4/M32 motorway, pass IKEA on the right, keep going straight ahead through the next roundabouts, then keep straight ahead at the traffic lights with House of Fraser ahead, following signs to Clifton and City Centre.
Keep in the middle lane as you approach the next roundabout. With the Premier Inn ahead, take the exit after Premier Inn, turning left towards Bus Station, Bristol Royal Infirmary. You will pass the Bus Station and then Bristol Magistrates Court on your left.
Keep straight ahead at the next two traffic lights, you will then pass the Bristol Royal Infirmary and immediately after that the Children’s Hospital on the right (with the modern sculpture of coloured hoops outside).
Keep going up the hill, straight through the traffic lights (at the top of Park Street). The road will divide around the one way system of the Triangle, keep in the right lane, following signs to Clifton and turn right at the end of the Triangle. Keep in the right lane, but bear left, and then pass the soldier statue on the little green before the roundabout.
You are going to stop following signs to Clifton at this point (which would lead you straight ahead) and instead turn right at this roundabout, in front of the columned Victoria Rooms with the fountain of fish and mermaids.
Take the exit immediately after the Victoria Rooms, you are now at the bottom of Whiteladies Rd. Keep going up, through the traffic lights, after which you will see the BBC on the right, which spans the whole next block. Immediately after the BBC, turn right into Belgrave Rd, and the clinic is in the first house on the right, after the BBC garage. You can park in the driveway.
Directions to 10 Belgrave Road by car from M5
From the M5 motorway, take the Cribbs Causeway Junction 17 and then the A4018 to Clifton / Zoo / City Centre, this will take you down through several roundabouts, past the turn off to Westbury on Trym village and shops, and then past Badminton School on the right. Keep following signs to Zoo / City Centre A4018. Go straight through the roundabouts, keeping the Downs on your right. Watch out for when the left lane becomes a bus lane.
Coming up to the next roundabout you will see the Spire Hospital on your left. Go straight through the roundabout, into the top of Whiteladies Rd (called Black Boy Hill) following signs to City Centre. Do not follow signs to Clifton / Zoo, which lead off immediately to the right here, but keep going down the hill, past Clifton Down Shopping Centre / Sainsbury’s on the right, lots of pubs and restaurants and a small Morrisons on the left.
Turn left after the block with Moti and Oskar, into Belgrave Rd, the clinic is in the first house on the right, after the BBC garage building. You can park in the driveway.
Directions to 10 Belgrave Road by car from Clifton Suspension Bridge
From the Clifton Suspension Bridge, go straight ahead with the park on your left until you get to a roundabout, turn left along the buildings towards the church (not sharp left which goes back into the park), and then first right into Clifton Park (not Clifton Park Road).
Go down, bearing right down the hill, until you get to a T junction, turn right into Pembroke Rd and go along until you get to a roundabout, turn left and then immediately left again at the next roundabout, into St Paul’s Rd.
Go down to the traffic lights and turn left into Whiteladies Rd, pass the BBC in the first block on the right and turn first right in to Belgrave Rd. The clinic is in the first house on the right, after the BBC garage building. You can park in the driveway.
Directions to 10 Belgrave Road by car from A4 (direction Bath)
From the A4 from Bath, follow signs to City Centre. Pass PDSA Pet Aid Hospital on your left, then take the left fork at Arnos Manor Hotel. As you are going slightly downhill you will pass Paintworks on your right, go straight through the traffic light after Paintworks.
Following signs for City Centre, bear right at the fork in the road (left fork goes to Wells), go over the bridge to the big roundabout over the river, going straight across following signs to M32/M4/M5.
Pass Temple Meads Railway Station on your right, bear right at the next roundabout again following signs to M32/M4/M5, leading immediately to a second roundabout where you pass the first exit to City Centre and take the second exit to M32/M4/M5. Then keep straight ahead over the bridge over the river, then bear right going under the underpass, and get into the left lane as you pass the new Cabot Circus shopping centre on your left.
At the T junction stop following signs to M32/M4/M5 and turn left, following signs to Clifton and City Centre. Keep in the middle lane as you approach the next roundabout. With the Premier Inn ahead, take the second exit left towards Bus Station, which you will pass on your left.
Keep straight ahead at the next two traffic lights, you will then pass the Bristol Royal Infirmary and immediately after that the Children’s Hospital on the right (with the modern sculpture of coloured hoops outside). Keep going up the hill, straight through the traffic lights (at the top of Park Street). The road will divide around the one way system of the Triangle, (you will see STA Travel ahead of you on the facing angle of the triangle). Keep in the right lane, following signs to Clifton and turn right at the end of the Triangle. Keep in the middle lane as you bear left and then pass the soldier statue on the little green before the roundabout.
You are going to stop following signs to Clifton at this point (which would lead you straight ahead) and instead turn right at this roundabout (in front of the columned Victoria Rooms with the fountain of fish and mermaids), taking the exit immediately after the Victoria Rooms – you are now at the bottom of Whiteladies Rd. Keep going up, through the traffic lights, after which you will see the BBC on the right, which spans the whole next block.
Immediately after the BBC, turn right into Belgrave Rd, and the clinic is in the first house on the right, after the BBC garage. You can park in the driveway.
Directions to 10 Belgrave Road by train to Clifton Down Station
Local trains run from Temple Meads to Clifton Downs Station. You exit the station towards Whiteladies Rd, turn right and proceed down past the Clifton Downs Shopping Centre on your right. Cross the road at one of the zebra crossings, and pass several bars and restaurants and a local Morrisons on your left. When you have passed Moti and Oskar on your left, turn left into Belgrave Rd.
No 10 is the first house on the right after the BBC garage building.
Teaching and training
I have been very committed to teaching and training over the last 30 years, and was honoured to be the Medical Dean of the Faculty of Homeopathy from 2015-19. In this role I led on all matters relating to education, clinical and ethical standards for doctors in Homeopathic Medicine for the Faculty. I was an Examiner for the Faculty MFHom Clinical Examination for nearly 20 years from 2002 -2020.
At present I am taking a break from teaching, having completed the Freedom From Chronic Pain training course, and continuing to study Internal Family Systems.
I want to thank you for the course today … it was utterly inspiring. You are a most gifted teacher and I will travel anywhere you lecture.
Thank you for a great day on Friday. I enjoyed it immensely! Your clear and knowledgeable presentation made the whole day and I would like to be on your mailing list for further events.
The feedback on our WhatsApp group from your wonderful seminar has been superlative: ‘Best ever teacher’ and ‘Inspirational’ is the general message.
I wanted to say something about your lecture as I enjoyed it so much. Your fluency and clarity of speech, and your clear delivery style made it easy to follow and understand. It was a most enjoyable and informative lecture, and it was a very interesting case.
Julie is an engaging speaker, she explains all aspects and cases clearly. Interesting case analyses as she uses a variety of techniques.
Thank you again for the most informative and educational seminar you held on Saturday. I don’t think I have ever heard homeopathy explained so clearly and logically. I also loved the interactive way you presented the cases.
Supervision
I offer supervision to homeopathic doctors and professional homeopaths on Fridays at a cost of £120 per hour.
I am very pleased with the progress I have made with my prescribing and case taking since having supervision with you, and I am very grateful for your passionate dedication to Homeopathy.
Rhododendron
Echinacea
Delphinium (Staphysagria)
Helleborus
Iris
Poppy
Rose
Hamamelis (Witch-hazel)
Contact details
To contact Dr Julie Geraghty, please email drjuliegeraghty@gmail.com