Clinical Aromatherpy

I have used Aromatherapy at home for many years to treat and  alleviate the symptoms of colds, coughs &  flu etc. I decided a year ago to enrol on a diploma course in Aromatherapy and integrate this as an additional tool into my clinical therapies.

Often when you speak of aromatherapy, people can assume that it is a treatment using different smells - well sort of true by the tittle: aroma + therapy, the sense of smell does have a powerful effect and influence on the mind - peppermint is a great example, smells fresh & clean, one use is  to open the airway and it is useful to alleviate the symptoms of a cold.

Aromatherapy works by the absorption of  plant oil into the body, via inhalation ( oil burners & steamers) via the skin from aromatherapy massage (black pepper for muscle ache) a compress ( Arnica for bruising ) or ingestion as part of our food. ( garlic oil capsules used for heart conditions etc. The use of aromatherapy these days is widely accepted as the norm & used in many products: mint  / lavender / tea tree shower gel etc etc.

Aromatherapy is very similar to herbalism using plants and their therapeutic properties. The main difference is that herbalism will use the whole of the plant where as, aromatherapy uses the extracted plant oil.

It is possible to purchase aromatherpy in high street stores but it should be noted that most of these oils are pure and very concentrated and should only be used as directed by a qualified aromatherapist.