Q Rep: understanding Mental Qualities and grades
A recurring mental theme may be easy to recognise in conversation and surprisingly difficult to represent in the repertory. Several rubrics can seem relevant, yet each catches only part of what you have heard. Jeremy Sherr developed Q Rep, the Repertory of Mental Qualities, to bring these related ideas together.
What does a Quality represent?
The April 2021 newsletter introduced the fourth edition through its underlying idea: inclusive rubrics organised around major mental themes. Sherr connects this approach with Bönninghausen’s principle of generalisation and with affinities between remedies.
The word Quality has two meanings here. It refers to individual characteristics, but also to the information supporting a remedy’s inclusion. Reading Q Rep therefore involves looking at both the theme and the nature of the material behind it.
The 2021 release added themes including duty and responsibility, alongside additions to existing Qualities and adjustments to remedy degrees. Those refinements matter: a repertory is an edited body of information, and its gradings express the compiler’s judgement.
Reading the grades: a current reference
The following key has been checked against the publisher’s version 5 explanation when preparing this reading edition. It updates the original newsletter’s discussion of degrees.
- Four marks: red capitals with underlining. The Quality is regarded as a major, essential characteristic of the remedy.
- Three marks: red capitals. The Quality is important in the remedy picture; the remedy is a potential candidate for the primary group, but that higher classification remains experimental.
- Two marks: blue italics. The remedy is considered to belong to the Quality.
- One mark: ordinary black text. Inclusion is experimental, with a minor symptom of the Quality that has not yet been confirmed.
This makes the grading key part of the reading process. A degree communicates something about the compiler’s assessment; it is not a probability of a treatment outcome.
Keep the context beside the result
Q Rep gives you a way into a broad theme. The next useful step is to read the associated remedy material, keeping the person’s actual words and the source context in view. A recognisable heading is the beginning of an enquiry, rather than its conclusion.
See the publisher’s grading explanation and our Q Rep catalogue entry.
Adapted from Luke Norland’s newsletter of 21 April 2021.
This article is for educational purposes and does not replace individual medical advice. Seek appropriate conventional care for health concerns.
