If you’re someone who doesn’t know much about homeopathy, Bermudian practitioner Melanie Dupres is hoping fill you in.

Ms Dupres, who currently lives and works in the UK, will be on island leading a workshop at My Sereni-Tea on March 31 at 6.30pm. She will also be consulting with clients while on island from next Tuesday until April 9th.

“I’ve been coming back to Bermuda for the last two years for a couple of weeks every six months,” she said.

“I grew up in Bermuda and seeing it’s my home I try to come back to offer my services. I feel it’s really important to give back to society, teach what I know and help people — that’s my aim in my practice.”

Homeopathy, or homeopathic medicine, is a medical practice based on the idea that the body has the ability to heal itself.

Ms Dupres said it’s about looking at the emotional and physical factors in a person’s life to try and find out what might be causing problems with their health.

She believes that people largely underestimate the power of emotional health and how it influences the body, especially when it comes to chronic disease.

“For example if someone is in chronic pain they may become depressed which perpetuates a cycle of pain and depression,” she said.

The workshop she will be leading later this month entitled ‘Chronic Diseases and Toxicity’ focuses on how medicines like antibiotics over time can fill the body with toxins and cause illness.

“I hope they can understand that the solution isn’t necessarily giving people with chronic conditions a new drug to help them with their symptoms,” she said.

“It’s important to look at why we have these conditions and examine what they can do about it through diet, exercise, meditation and yoga. All these things that can help bring them through the other side of the chronic conditions.

“So many children have chronic diseases they shouldn’t have, like diabetes, so questioning why they have it is important.

“With homeopathy we peel back the layers of what is causing the toxicity and negative side effects without all the drugs. People don’t understand that homeopathy can do that and that’s what I want to share with people.”

Ms Dupres was 18 years old and living in England when she first learned about alternative methods to healing, like aromatherapy and acupuncture.

She said she wasn’t exposed to such things while growing up on the island, but thought it was all very interesting.

“I liked that homeopathy was so honest and involved studying people to understand illness, so I started studying more and more,” she said.

Her favourite part of the job is that people can really confide and open up to her about what might be going on with their life and health.

She said: “I like that people can cry with me and just tell me how they really feel. I have people who can be truly themselves, because we all have masks and have this idea of who we should be, but when it comes to who we really are it’s precious.

“I like that people can be that in consultation room and they feel safe. It’s like they can really explore and come to grips with what’s happening to them.”

She said she hopes that her upcoming workshop can make people aware that simple lifestyle changes can be made in order to prevent chronic diseases.

“I think people generally know this, but is hard to change your lifestyle sometimes. Being aware of themselves is quite important, as well as having a balance between emotional and physical health.”

To book a space in the workshop — which costs $15 — or for a private consultation, e-mail meldupres@yahoo.co.uk.