Essential oils are used in clinical aromatherapy treatments.
Aromatherapy is a form of holistic therapy that is popular in the alternative medicine field. Therapies using essential oils complement alternative medicine techniques such as acupuncture, massage therapy and reflexology to help promote well being and overall good health in an individual.
Clinical aromatherapy
Clinical aromatherapy is the study of natural therapies for well being and health which are derived from aromatic essential oils produced naturally in certain plants and flowers. The benefits of these oils can be drawn in through inhaling or ingesting therapies or through skin absorption techniques during massage therapy.
Essential oils
Aromatherapists are trained to use essential oils which carry the essence or unique scent of an individual plant. Examples of essential oils are peppermint oil, with its high menthol content used for respiratory function well being in a hot tea drink or warm inhaled form, and tea tree oil with its antiseptic benefits applied topically to the skin.
Training
Aromatherapy education and training consists of deep familiarization of essential oils including individual uses and applications as well as extract the oils from their plant forms. Blending oils in aromachemisty techniques, safe handling and treatment procedures as well as anatomical and physiological study of the body and its relevant system are included in an aromatherapy study curriculum.
Degree
In order to apply essential oils to a patient, the aromatherapist must have either a valid massage therapy license, a nursing/medical doctor degree or be a licensed acupuncturist. An approved National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) clinical aromatherapy certificate program which meets requirements to become a Registered Aromatherapist (R.A.) involves an average of one year of study. (See reference 2.)
Salaries
According to NAHA, a registered aromatherapist can make between $15,000 and $45,000 per year. Salary is dependent upon how the aromatherapist chooses to practice aromatherapy, such as through teaching or sales or as a patient provider. (See reference 2.)
Tags: essential oils, essential oils, massage therapy, well being, alternative medicine, aromatherapy study