Herscu Letter Frequently Asked Questions

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What are the Herscu Letters and how do they work?
The Herscu Letter is a newsletter/distance learning program which is sent via email two times per month, and focuses on Dr. Paul Herscu’s unifying approach to homeopathy using Cycles and Segments. The Letters vary in length from between approximately 12 – 25 pages each, with the average Letter being around 15 pages. Because the information in the Letters is cumulative, whenever you subscribe you begin with Herscu Letter #1. Expect to spend between 2 and 3 hours per issue on the reading and on the assignments given.

Who is the Herscu Letter written for?
The Herscu Letter is written primarily for practicing homeopaths who want to improve their case taking, case analysis and their understanding of the Cycles and Segments approach to homeopathy. However, those who wish to have a greater understanding of the principles and philosophy behind homeopathy will also find the Letters stimulating and of interest.

Dr. Herscu has written these letters so that you will learn from them no matter what your current level of homeopathy is, and over time you can re-read them and gain deeper understanding and insight as your homeopathic experience grows.

What topics does the Herscu Letter cover?
Some of the topics covered to date include: Keynotes, Characteristic Symptoms, the Herscu Method of Cycles and Segments, Model of Health and Disease, the role of Differentials in the practice of Homeopathy, Case Taking Tools & Strategies, the questions of Vaccinations, Homeoprophylaxis & Epidemics, Acute Disease, Therapeutics & the Therapeutics of Hayfever, the materia medica of Veratrum album, Lac caninum & Nux moschata, many case examples from Drs. Rothenberg and Herscuâ€™s practice and much more.

What is the Cycles and Segments Approach?
This approach developed by Paul Herscu ND, offers students and practitioners a user-friendly way to both understand the vast body of information we have in homeopathy and to apply that information accurately to patients. This methodology informs our understanding of materia medica as well as our understanding of patients. The ideas are fully described in the first few Herscu Letters as well as in the first chapter of Dr. Herscuâ€™s Stramonium, with an Introduction to Analysis Using Cycles and Segments. In addition, back issues Vol 8 #1 and Vol 8 #2 of the New England Journal of Homeopathy focus on case analysis using the Cycle and Segments approach.

You can also read more about Cycles and Segments and the Herscu Module which is part of a computer program which helps practitioners to organize, synthesize and anlayze information with the help of this perspective.

What is the format of the Herscu Letter?
The Herscu Letter generally follows the rough format of an Introduction, Historical Writings (where appropriate and useful) and/or writing by Dr. Paul Herscu, Application of the ideas presented, and in some of the letters, a Problem-Based Learning Exercise.

Do I have to start with Letter #1?
Yes, all recipients start from the beginning so that the philosophical foundation is created, upon which the rest of the Letters build.

Do we send in our homework?
Homework assignments are not sent in. You do the work on your own, at your own pace. When a case is presented in one of the Letters, the following Letter will contain an analysis of that case by Dr. Herscu. You are given a chance to work through and integrate the ideas presented on your own and are then able to fill in any missing details of your analysis with that of Dr. Herscu’s. For those students who are currently enrolled in the Two Year New England School of Homeopathy course in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Herscu Letters make up a portion of the homework assignment.

Can we get certification for the Herscu Letter work?
At this point in time, the answer is no.

How do I subscribe to the Herscu Letter?
All you need to do is print out the subscription form and mail or fax it to us with your payment.

How do I receive the Herscu Letter?
We prefer to send the Herscu Letter to you via email. You will get it much faster and you will be able to take advantage of the web site links in some of the letters, as well as the Letters being in color vs. black/white. If you do not have email access, we can also send you a hard copy via mail for an additional charge of $5 per month in US and $7 per month internationally.

Note: if you do receive the Letter via regular mail, you may miss out on a variety of special offers, announcements and updates that we only send out via email.

How soon can I start my subscription?
We start new subscribers at the beginning of each month. Generally if we receive your subscription by the first Tuesday of a given month, we will be able to begin your subscription that month. Otherwise, we will start your subscription the following month. The letters generally are sent out around the first and third Thursdays of each month.

How do I pay for the Herscu Letter?
The easiest way for you to pay for the Herscu Letter is via Visa/Mastercard. We will charge your credit card $19 at the beginning of each month automatically, unless you have told us to cancel or suspend your subscription. We also accept cash or checks drawn on US funds only. In this case, you will need to keep track of when your payments are due and send them in on time.

What is the minimum subscription period?
There is no minimum subscription period, especially if you are paying by Visa/Mastercard. We will charge your credit card each month automatically and you can call or email us anytime to cancel or suspend your subscription. If you want to pay by check we recommend that you pay for at least 3 to 6 months at a time.

How do I cancel or suspend my subscription?
Just call, write, fax or email us. We will stop your subscription when you have received all the letters that you have paid for. Once we have sent out the first letter for that month or have processed the charges for that month – we will cancel your subscription effective the beginning of the next month. If you wish to start up again at another time, you will begin again where you left off so that you will not miss any issues.

Can I see a sample issue before I subscribe?
We have put together a sampling of portions of a number of the Herscu Letters for you to read. Please feel free to also read the published and subscriber reviews of the Herscu Letter.

Is the Herscu Letter copyrighted?
Yes, the Herscu Letter is copyrighted material and may not be reproduced without written permission with the exception of downloading or printing a single copy for your own off line viewing. The material is for personal use only. Republication, reproduction, or dissemination, including posting to study groups, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent of the New England School of Homeopathy.

Do I get anything else as a Herscu Letter subscriber?
All current Herscu Letter subscribers are entitled to a 20% discount on back issues of the New England Journal of Homeopathy and on any books, CD’s, and/or DVD’s published by the New England School of Homeopathy Press. Occasionally additional special discount offers are available that we’ve negotiated through other homeopathic vendors on books, homeopathic software and remedy kits for our students and subscribers.

We are a study group and want to subscribe to the letter. How do we do it?
For a group of six or more students starting with Herscu Letter #1 there is a 40% discount on the pricing. Each study group member receives his or her own copy of the Letter via email, sent at the same time to all members. To subscribe, one person from the group needs to gather a subscription form for each member of the study group, be sure they are filled out completely (including full mailing addresses, etc.) and send them in together. There is a minimum six month commitment for all study groups. Hard copies of the Letter sent via regular mail are not an option at this discounted rate.

I am interested in Letters #33-38. Are they on Bioterrorism? Can I order only those Letters out of sequence?
Herscu Letters #33-38 address the issues of treating during an epidemic and homeoprophylaxis. These Letters are a part of our on-going distance learning program. Under the circumstances surrounding 9/11, Drs. Rothenberg and Herscu felt it important to make this information available to a greater number of people in a timely manner.

This packet of Letters #33-38 is available by email for the cost of $57. (The same cost as if they were part of the subscription to the Herscu Letter.) We accept payment via Visa/Mastercard. You can either email, call (413-256-5949) or fax (413-256-6223) with your payment information and email address.

I am a current Herscu Letter subscriber and I am having trouble down loading the Letter on my email – Help!
Hopefully, the following will help you with accessing the Herscu Letters via email. Here are complete steps from the beginning; you may not need all the information, but can focus on the part where you are having problems.

First, you need to be sure that you have Abobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. Acrobat Reader comes installed on many computers. DO NOT TRY to open the attachment if you do not have Acrobat reader as it would change the file. If you have already tried to open it and you would like us to re-email you the letter just ask!

However, if you do not have Adobe installed, you can get the reader downloaded for free by clicking on www.adobe.com. Once their web site is open, scroll down to the bottom of the page and the middle flag at the bottom is titled ‘get acrobat reader’. Click on the flag and follow the directions according to your needs. The download is free. Acrobat Reader is a very useful program that is useful for many aspects of the internet, beyond the Herscu Letter, so it will be good for you to have anyway.

Once you have downloaded Adobe, it needs to be installed. You need to find where the download ended up on your computer. If you can find where it downloaded, most likely there will be something there that says “installer”. Go ahead and click on that. It will either put Adobe where it needs to go, or it will ask you where you want it. If it asks, then you probably want to put it in the folder with your other applications.

Once you have successfully installed Adobe, then you want to click on the attachment in the original Herscu Letter email message. It again will either put the file somewhere itself, or it will ask you where you want it. If it does ask, you probably want to create a new folder just for the Herscu Letters in a logical place you will remember!

Once you have done that, go to that place where you saved that document and open that file by clicking on it – it should then open up using the Adobe program.

Good Luck and let us know if you are still having trouble after following these directions.

I have a question which is not addressed above.
Please contact us directly and we would be happy to answer any further questions about the Herscu Letter that you may have.