Handley, Rima (1943 – 2017)

Rima Handley D.Phil FSHom. (1943 – 13 January 2017) was a literary scholar, poet, and historian who later became a practicing homeopath in the north east of England.

Handley was an early member of the Society of Homeopaths and in 1981 was co-founder, along with Dorothy Wallstein (nee Hannon), of the Northern College of Homoeopathic Medicine in Gateshead.

Rima Handley was born in Blackpool, Lancashire in Fall 1943. Her mothers name was Craig.

In 1973, Rima Handley received her doctorate in medieval language and literature from Oxford University’s Lady Margaret Hall. In addition to her interests in homeopathy and medieval literature, she also received training in counselling and psychotherapy, particularly person-centered counselling and Psychosynthesis.

Rima Handley came up to LMH from her home in Blackpool in 1963 with a scholarship to read English. She focused on medieval literature,going on to receive a D.Phil in 1973. From Oxford, she went to work in the English department at Newcastle University, before training in homeopathy, counselling and psychotherapy, which became her career. However, she did not entirely leave English literature behind, later studying for an MA in poetry at Newcastle University and receiving a distinction. She published one collection of poetry, Palimpsest (Diamond Twig 2003). Always passionate about education, Rima co-founded the Northern College of Homoeopathic Medicine in Gateshead, one of the first of its kind, in 1981 with Dorothy Hannon (now Wallstein).

Dorothy writes: “When Rima and I started the Northern College, we tried to create a culture that reflected the actual meaning of that word, college: to learn together. Our vision and goal was to foster true enquiry, academic humility, professional ethics and rigorous, evidenced-based learning, in a non-profit educational setting. ‘We were committed to encouraging students to continue to question all authority and dogma while developing their own skills and insights. Rima and I also served, in the early days, to develop the Society of Homeopaths, the All Party Parliamentary Committee for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the development of a national Code of Ethics. Rima was an academic and clinician of highest integrity and she inspired everyone to be a better student, researcher, or clinician.’

Rima wrote several books on homeopathy which have been published in multiple languages. They include: A Homeopathic Love Story: The Story of Samuel and Melanie Hahnemann (1990); Homeopathy for Women (1993); Homeopathy or Emotional Health (1995); In Search of Later Hahnemann (1997); and Homeopathy, an Introductory Guide to Homeopathic Medicine (2003). She was awarded a Fellowship of the Society of Homeopaths in recognition of her life’s work. In later life, she met her partner Simone Silver Path, and lived happily on the fells in the wildest part of Northumberland until she had a stroke 11 years ago. Rima loved wild places, good food and poetry. It was her intention in retirement to write and walk her dogs, but sadly her stroke made this impossible.

Francis Treuherz, Rima’s friend and colleague

Rima Handley died at Corbridge, Northumberland, on 13 January 2017.