"In 1991 a project was carried out by Jean Gonella (unpublished work 1993) over a period of 6 months, on 16 women suffering from severe stress. The aim was to try and reduce the need for medication such as tranquillizers, antidepressants and hypnotics. Each woman was referred by her GP and fulfilled the following criteria:
stress level above that acceptable to client/family
disruption/dysfunction to client/family
Clients were accepted on the project with:
physical symptoms such as backache, headaches, etc.
experience of panic attacks
unresolved or prolonged bereavement
hormone-related problems.
The treatment given was full-body massage with the essential oils Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender), Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium) and Santalum album (Sandalwood). Salvia sclarea (Clary) was added where there were hormonal problems.
RESULTS
The clients had to rate the severity of their problem on a scale of severe, medium, negligible or non-existent. The results collated from individual questionnaires show the average percentage of problem severity before treatment, with the level after treatment shown in brackets (in the table below).
Although the results were impressive, Gonella would like to see 100 clients given treatment together with an equivalent control group in order to prove that the aromatherapy could reduce drug therapy.
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Problem severity before and after aromatherapy treatment. Average percentages are given, with the post-treatment level in brackets |
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| Severe | Medium | Negligible | Non-existent |
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| before | after | before | after | before | after | ||
| Anxiety | 63% | (0%) | 25% | (50%) | 12% | (50%) | (0%) |
| Depression | 43% | (5%) | 30% | (18%) | 10% | (52%) | (25%) |
| Insomnia | 43% | (5%) | 26% | (18%) | 5% | (55%) | (25%) |
| Pain | 55% | (20%) | 38% | (25%) | 2% | (50%) | (5%) |
| Tiredness | 25% | (10%) | 65% | (30%) | 5% | (55%) | (5%) |
| Confidence | 55% | (12%) | 20% | (13%) | 25% | (75%) | (0%) |
| Coping skill | 50% | (8%) | 25% | (22%) | 25% | (70%) | (0%) |
Gonella unpublished work 1993.