Guest guest Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 Aromatherapy is a discipline in which you will find as many different opinions as there are practitioners. If you're interested in pursuing it as a practice, it's up to you to dig through the differing opinions and research and make your own decisions. So here goes... While I respect Martin Watt's research experience, I often disagree with him. I've never felt that piles of scientitfic data were the last word on essential oils, as many of the studies use unnaturally high amounts of EO's or isolated phytochemical constituents and non-human subjects to reach their conclusions. Still, the studies often provide useful information and should not be ignored... but many of them should be taken with a grain of salt. There is also something to be said for clinical experience and the vast amount of information on folkloric and traditional use of herbs and EO's. This approach is just as legitimate as the scientific one, but it is by no means flawless. The real truth lies somewhere in between. There is no black and white as Martin would have you believe, only many shades of grey. I was present for Suzanne Catty's talk; Martin was not. Suzanne presented a case study on extreme aromatherapy treatments to treat extremely chronic illness. The woman who was her client did not simply walk in off the street; she had exhausted her allopathic options. Suzanne commenced working with the woman and when necessary, referred her out to medical doctors for further examination, testing, diagnosis and treatment. She is still working hand in hand with allopathic medical practitioners on the case, and both sides are happily cooperating because they are both seeing results. The presentation was about cooperation and understanding, not about one side being wrong and the other right, pretending to practice medicine without a license, or whatever else Martin would like to assert. As I mentioned in my previous post, there were a number of medical professionals present who were quite interested in what Suzanne had to say, and hopefully this will open up some doors for medical aromatherapy. I don't always agree with Suzanne, but I do know that she buries herself in journals and research, then emerges to combine the knowledge she has gleaned with her previous experience, wise woman ways, and intuition to help her clients. This is not Martin's way, but it is her way, and I respect her for it. Katharine Koeppen Aromaceuticals Essential Oils from Artisan Distillers www.aromaceuticals.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 14, 2005 Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 Katharine said: " but I do know that she buries herself in journals and research, then emerges to combine the knowledge she has gleaned with her previous experience, wise woman ways, and intuition to help her clients. This is not Martin's way, but it is her way, and I respect her for it. " ------ How the heck do you know what " my way is " ? Only my students really know this. I have always combined the best traditional knowledge and methods with knowing the useful science and medicine. At least my traditional knowledge is based on a sound training in both herbal medicine and the essential oils trade. Prior to that, I had 20 years of growing and processing all kinds of medicinal plants. On the other hand, many of the figures who give talks at aromatherapy conferences have no sound training in these subjects. Their " experience " often amounts to illegally practising medicine on a handful of unfortunate clients. These people also experiment on clients using essential oils on which there is no information, or hydrosols which are suspect as far as safety is concerned, or may be ineffective clinically. >She is still working hand in hand with allopathic medical< >practitioners< So does Gary Young. >There is also something to be said for clinical experience< No doubt about that. However, it is fooling people that such " experience " within aromatherapy is as important as knowing a subject inside out. I don't know how many times I have said before that " experience " in aromatherapy is generally not very useful because it is only around 30 years old and no consistent knowledge base has had the time to emerge. That term is always used by AT teachers to cover up their fundamental lack of knowledge on essential oils and their respective clinical applications. >I don't always agree with Suzanne, but I do know that she buries< >herself in journals and research,< So do I, but at least I possess the underpinning knowledge to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff. Martin Watt ====================================== , aromaceuticals <aromaceu@e...> wrote: > Aromatherapy is a discipline in which you will find as many different opinions as there are practitioners. If you're interested in pursuing it as a practice, it's up to you to dig through the differing opinions and research and make your own decisions. So here goes... > > While I respect Martin Watt's research experience, I often disagree with him. I've never felt that piles of scientitfic data were the last word on essential oils, as many of the studies use unnaturally high amounts of EO's or isolated phytochemical constituents and non- human subjects to reach their conclusions. Still, the studies often provide useful information and should not be ignored... but many of them should be taken with a grain of salt. There is also something to be said for clinical experience and the vast amount of information on folkloric and traditional use of herbs and EO's. This approach is just as legitimate as the scientific one, but it is by no means flawless. The real truth lies somewhere in between. There is no black and white as Martin would have you believe, only many shades of grey. > > I was present for Suzanne Catty's talk; Martin was not. Suzanne presented a case study on extreme aromatherapy treatments to treat extremely chronic illness. The woman who was her client did not simply walk in off the street; she had exhausted her allopathic options. Suzanne commenced working with the woman and when necessary, referred her out to medical doctors for further examination, testing, diagnosis and treatment. She is still working hand in hand with allopathic medical practitioners on the case, and both sides are happily cooperating because they are both seeing results. The presentation was about cooperation and understanding, not about one side being wrong and the other right, pretending to practice medicine without a license, or whatever else Martin would like to assert. > > As I mentioned in my previous post, there were a number of medical professionals present who were quite interested in what Suzanne had to say, and hopefully this will open up some doors for medical aromatherapy. > > I don't always agree with Suzanne, but I do know that she buries herself in journals and research, then emerges to combine the knowledge she has gleaned with her previous experience, wise woman ways, and intuition to help her clients. This is not Martin's way, but it is her way, and I respect her for it. > > Katharine Koeppen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 14, 2005 Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 , aromaceuticals <aromaceu@e...> wrote: > Aromatherapy is a discipline in which you will find as many different opinions as there are practitioners. If you're interested in pursuing it as a practice, it's up to you to dig through the differing opinions and research and make your own decisions. So here goes... > Hello Katherine: That paragraph sums up, rather neatly, what I find most disturbing about AT. Not that the English, French, and US schools differ in their modes of application, etc., but that there is no standard. In any discipline, whether it be soil science or meteorology, there have to be basic standards. Clay soil is plastic, and has a specific permeability factor. Certain barometric pressures indicate a storm. All disciplines need standards, and Martin focuses on safety standards. Until AT, as a whole, settles on safety standards, there are going to be problems with anyone, either American, British, Canadian, or French or whatever, practicing AT. > While I respect Martin Watt's research experience, I often disagree with him. I've never felt that piles of scientitfic data were the last word on essential oils, as many of the studies use unnaturally high amounts of EO's or isolated phytochemical constituents and non-human subjects to reach their conclusions. If you have Plant Aromatics, you'll see that for the most part, rather low concentrations are used in the studies. Also, isolated phyytochemical constituents are not supposed to be a part of AT, are they? Just the pure oil, out of the still. I respect you trying to defend your point, but it seems you keep stepping up the dialogue, throwing new points out, and if that happens, the exchange can never be finished. >There is no black and white as Martin would have you believe, only many shades of grey. Yes, there is black and white. There are also shades of grey. That is science. It is troublesome that those who regard AT as an art constantly bend the rules of sensitization and " clinical " practice, as it can do much to harm the future of the discipline. The fact that medical practitioners asked more questions of her doesn't make her findings correct. She used their lingo, they want to know more. Period. The real outcome of their interest won't be known for some time. > I don't always agree with Suzanne, but I do know that she buries herself in journals and research, then emerges to combine the knowledge she has gleaned with her previous experience, wise woman ways, and intuition to help her clients. This is not Martin's way, but it is her way, and I respect her for it. I'm trained as a scientist (many years ago) and an engineer, and I often get lost in research in AT since that is not my field. For that reason, your defense of her interest (I'm not questioning that) and correllating it with her ability to understand is incorrect. I've read a lot of off-the-wall stuff by her, which confirms her passion, but not her ability. http://anyamccoy.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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