What is aromatherapy?

Indications and Procedures

Aromatherapy is best thought of as a complement to other procedures or treatments. Essential oils and aromatic plants are used to stimulate memories, bring about feelings of calm, aid meditation, and enhance visualization exercises. Aromatherapy helps create to conditions that enhance the ability to concentrate, to mentally or physically relax, or to discuss or recall personal information or memories. As such, aromatherapy may be an appropriate adjunctive treatment for stress-related disorders and other disorders treated with psychotherapies. Some practitioners suggest that specific scents have extraordinary properties (such as memory enhancers or aphrodisiacs), but little scientific evidence exists for such claims.

Methods of aromatherapy are varied but chiefly involve scent inhalation alone or in combination with massage. With massage, essential oils (oils from aromatic plants) are applied directly to the body and massaged into the skin. Otherwise, essential oils are inhaled briefly, as one might use “smelling salts,” or in a more diffuse manner, as with incense or perfume. Oils may be dabbed on pulse points, dispersed by fragrance diffusers, simmered in potpourri vessels, added to boiling water to be diffused by steam, or added to baths.

Uses and Complications

Allergic reactions to the aromatic oils are the greatest complication of aromatherapy. The substances typically used are highly concentrated and not safe for internal use. In the hands of an unskilled user, the oils may create unpleasant odors or allergic reactions. In addition, the long-term effects of such inhalants on lung functioning are not well documented; caution must be advised.

Perspective and Prospects

Historically, perfumes were offered to the gods by the Greeks, were essential for burial rites among the Egyptians, and were said to attract good spirits among American Indians. Today, scents are used widely by therapists and individuals alike to facilitate well-being. Future work will likely include greater research on aromatherapy’s safety and the role of olfaction on memory functioning.

Bibliography

"Aromatherapy." American Cancer Society, April 2012.

Bauer, Brent A. "What Are the Benefits of Aromatherapy?" Mayo Clinic, May 27, 2011.

Lawless, Julia. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Aromatherapy: A Practical Approach to the Use of Essential Oils for Health and Well-Being. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.

Ryman, Daniele. Aromatherapy: The Complete Guide to Plant and Flower Essences for Health and Beauty. New York: Bantam, 1993.