Luc De Schepper, MD, Author and Homeopath, Par Excellence, Passes at the Age of 78

Dr. Luc De Schepper, prolific author and healer of great skill and devotion who championed classical homeopathy and the superiority of its Q potencies, crossed the threshold on the last day of January 2025.

Though you may not have heard of Dr. Luc De Schepper, MD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac, he was considered one of the most innovative contemporary homeopaths and, as he traveled greatly in service to homeopathy, was renowned across the globe as a proponent of classical homeopathy and the use of Q potencies.

After his initial years of practice, he began treating people exclusively with Hahnemann's later suggestions according to the 5th and 6th editions of the Organon. He was known to his students as a brilliant, inspiring lecturer, and to thousands of his patients as a gentle and compassionate healer. Dr. Luc was an early practitioner of integrative or complementary medicine. He was educated as an allopath but took up homeopathy and acupuncture with alacrity. As his practice evolved, he found homeopathy to be the safest, nontoxic method of treatment—standing out above all others, as a powerful and deep-acting form of natural medicine. He used homeopathy exclusively beginning in 1991.

Dr Luc,’ as he was affectionately known, was born on the first day of May 1946, in Ghent, Belgium. He became fluent in four languages. He relocated to the United States circa 1981 and began teaching in New Jersey under the name New School of Homeopathy in the mid to late 1980s.. De Schepper would present lectures one weekend a month held in a conference room in a hotel. Later it was decided to move to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Begabati Lennihan, a nurse and classical homeopath, lived there and assisted him in transitioning and in the early years of its founding. The name was changed, circa 2000, to Renaissance Institute of Classical Homeopathy, at the behest of the Herscu's as they said it was too similar to their school -New England School of Homeopathy. There was a contest among the students for a new name and Farah Gron won with Renaissance Institute of Classical Homeopathy, or RICH.

“Mostly his patients came, some were health care professionals able to add homeopathy to their practice - they adored him. Luc lectured, they took notes; no homework, tests, etc., not really a formal school but some were health care professionals who added homeopathy to their practice. We used it when he came to Boston - it became an official school at that point with a formal curriculum, homework, exams etc. - licensed by the Board of Education - opened in 1996. It was one of the largest, if not the largest, schools in the country with a starting enrollment of 65 students, due in part to many of his New Jersey students following him to Boston, and also to his charismatic lectures about homeopathy in Boston.” -Begabati Lennihan (email communication April 25, 2025).

“Dr. Luc,” as he was affectionately known, was born on the first day of May 1946, in Ghent, Belgium. He became fluent in four languages. He relocated to the United States in 1981 and with Begabati Lennihan, a nurse and classical homeopath, founded, in 1996, the Renaissance Institute of Classical Homeopathy (RICH), located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He wrote easily over a dozen books on homeopathy, acupuncture, holistic health care, as well as critical works addressing “the human condition.”

“The great problem of our time is the fact that we don't understand what is happening in this world. We are more and more confronted with the darkness of our psyche, our unconscious, and seem to have lost our ‘meaning of life’. This spiritual disease shifts our values and everything loses its certainty. How can we become more objective with our own psyche? How can we be more honest with ourselves and confront our core delusion so that we understand why we are doing the things we do in spite of the things we say.”— Luc De Schepper

Need it be mentioned that he saw thousands of patients in his 45 years of private practice. De Schepper had successful offices in New Jersey, and in Santa Monica and San Diego, California. At its zenith, his waiting list for new patients was rarely, if ever, less than 6 months. He also practiced in Los Angeles, California, circa summer of 2007.

Again from Begabati:

“He was a prodigious practitioner; he told me that in his New Jersey practice, in the mid-'90s, he would see four new patients in the morning, do 16 follow-ups in the afternoon, then spend two hours on the phone returning acute calls for which he did not charge patients.”

He founded the Mega Medical Group Inc., a wellness clinic, in Santa Monica, California, and for 8 years supervised a staff of 16 health care practitioners including physicians, nurses, chiropractors, nutritionists, and massage therapists. While practicing in California, Dr. Luc became nationally known for his success in treating candida and chronic fatigue syndrome using homeopathy, acupuncture, and nutrition.

De Schepper received his medical license in 1971 (Ghent, Belgium) and, in 1978, a license to practice acupuncture from the Dutch Physician's Acupuncture Association (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). In 1980, he received a PhD in acupuncture from the International Society of Acupuncture (Paris, France). He moved to California in 1985, though one reference says 1981, and received his medical license from that state after serving a year-long residency/internship in neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine (UCLA). He studied homeopathy at the British School of Homeopathy and received that organization's certificate and, like so many, was influenced by Robin Murphy, ND. Along the way, he completed extensive postgraduate homeopathy education and training as you may well imagine.

Dr. Luc, ever the clear and precise lecturer, was a popular guest on some 50 television episodes in the United States and abroad, as well as being interviewed countless times on radio talk shows. Additionally, he presented over 150 public lectures and was invited to address annual conventions of several organizations, for example, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners, the American Holistic Nurses Association, Tufts University School of Medicine, the California State Homeopathic Medical Society, etc. He contributed to international homeopathic conferences and offered national and international seminars, which allowed his gift for clear communication to disseminate his profound knowledge as well as approach to health care.

“I never had the pleasure to meet or study with Dr. Luc, but I have read almost all his works. They proved foundational in cementing my knowledge, such as it is, in classical homeopathy. His posology suggestions in ‘Achieving and Maintaining the Simillimum’ are invaluable ... and I've passed them on to other homeopaths for many years. I do wish I could've known him to express my gratitude. Somber news – learning of his passing.”—George Guess, MD (email communication April 3, 2025)

Several of his books include, Achieving and Maintaining the Simillimum: Strategic Case Management (2004) and Advanced Guide for Professional Homeopaths (2008). Outspoken and, at times, controversial, he received this less-than glowing review from Wendy Howard concerning his 2008 work:

“This book is comprehensive, informative, well researched and distilled, and clearly explained. Yet it is also a book of disconcerting contradictions, which intrude uncomfortably on the narrative. De Schepper talks of avoiding conceptual boxes, of ‘going with the flow’, which he claims comes naturally and instinctively to him, yet for much of the book he is writing in a highly prescriptive, systematized vein, talking about what a homeopath ‘must’ do. Glowing testimonials on the book cover to his warm, deeply caring nature, sit uneasily with text that barely misses an opportunity to dismiss the work of other homeopaths. His thorough research into Hahnemann's methods is let down by frequent comments like ‘most homeopaths do not...’, which appear to be unsupported assumptions.”—Wendy Howard (The Homeopath, Winter 20008, 27:3, p. 107)

His Hahnemann Revisited: a textbook of classical homeopathy for the professional (1999), an in-depth guide for the experienced professional, which also includes a detailed chapter on the Q potencies, received this complimentary yet less than stellar review:

“A bit too prescriptive or dogmatic for my tastes. The author has a tendency to say, ‘this is the way’, rather than to place it in the context of his personal experience which would say, ‘this is the way it has been in MY practice’. Nevertheless, a lot of useful information is presented. As the title says, it is for the experienced, practicing homeopath.”—Julian Winston (The Heritage of Homoeopathic Literature, pp. 21, 2)

Despite these reviews his books were sought and lauded by many. He submitted a paper at the First World Congress of Traditional Medicine in 1994, which won a second place prize. One year later he won the Gold Cup (first prize) for the best paper in its category during the Second World Congress of Traditional Medicine (Las Vegas, Nevada) in 1995.

Though an incomplete listing, several of his other works include: Human Condition: Critical (1993), Candida: diet against it (2000), Musculoskeletal Diseases and Homeopathy (1994), Examine Your Life Through the Weaver of the Night (2021; a book concerning dream analysis), Discovering Life: a modern clinical materia medica -homeopathic portraits (2013), How to Dine Like the Devil and Feel Like a Saint (1993; and Rita Coronel), Full of Life - How to Achieve and Maintain Peak Immunity: combating chronic fatigue and other immune-suppressed illnesses in the 90's (1991), Homeopathy and the Periodic Table: Braving the Elements - Bridging the Gap Between Homeopathy and the Elements of the Periodic Table (2003), Acupuncture in Practice (1995), What About Men: the dark and light side of the male (1995), et cetera.

One of his most popular books, The People's Repertory: Your Guide to Safe, Effective Homeopathic Remedies (1998), was directed to lay practitioners. This book dealt with remedies for first aid, colds and flu, women's health, emotional upset, etc. Its small size makes it ideal to transport anywhere and was divided into five parts, Taking the Remedies: Frequently Asked Questions (1–30), How to Use the Repertory (31–42), The Repertory (43–74), A Guide to the Remedies (75–134), and Brief Portraits of Some Well-Known Remedies (135–182).

De Schepper was part of a homeopathic team that provided relief to victims of the tsunami, which struck Sri Lanka and that region in 2004. He did this under the auspices of “Homeopaths without Borders.” He lectured extensively in China on integrating homeopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which he included as part of his advanced-studies program material.

Dr. Luc retired in June of 2009 and selected Farah Ganjei Gron, CCH, RSHom (NA), to take over his practice, which she continues to manage to this day.

“During the transition time leading to his retirement in June 2009, I had the incredible blessing and opportunity to sit in Dr. Luc's Pacific Palisades office and observe how he worked with his patients one week a month for six months. He would get to his office around 7:30 a.m. and answer emails until his first appointment began and then would continually work with clients either in-person or by phone remotely for follow-ups. Often he did not have a lunch break and would carry on until he had his dinner at around 7 p.m. During the day, any spare moments were spent on emails and if he needed to research an issue, he would compile patient folders and take them home to work on them. The way he interacted with each and every person was upbeat and optimistic, kind, and respectful. He listened with rapt attention. He thrived on being with whomever he was helping. He would refer to many of them as “my friend” and everyone seemed to feel grateful to be with him: patients seemed to understand they had found a treasure in his skills, and his level of empathy and commitment to help. Aside from these long workdays, he would also be writing a book and getting ready to travel to teach in Europe or elsewhere. I observed how comfortable his patients felt in his presence and how special they felt. He was a friend, confidant, advisor, and a doctor—all at the same time. He was so truly loved by his patients.”—Farah Ganjei Gron, email communication, April 6, 2025

Finally:

“...he taught his students to listen with compassion and the intention to heal -he would say a client should feel better leaving the initial appointment than they started before even any remedy was given.”–Farah Ganjei Gron.

Note

Though the origin of his first name, Luc, is unknown it is possible that it is a shortened form of Lucanus or Luke, which has a meaning of “light” perhaps also suggesting clarity and brightness—both aspects of his Being.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 May 2025