Training.

Do I need to take a training course?

Aromatherapy is no different to many other subjects in that it is only worth paying for a course if the teachers know their subject. Sadly this is rarely the case in aromatherapy.

I have been contacted by dissatisfied students of UK colleges of further education. They told me that their teachers are still not giving referenced information on safety issues. Huge amounts of what they teach are still based on the popular books (I call them novels). The majority of these books are packed with errors, misinformation, corrupted science and sometimes dangerous advice.

This situation of courses run by teachers who know little about their therapy themselves, is common throughout aromatherapy. This is an appalling indictment of the UK Department of Education and their lack of ability to monitor the quality of information provision in our Colleges. Their Civil Servants only listen to what trade association representatives tell them. These Civil Servants have this strange idea that trade interests know best how to set standards in their own trades and what is best to protect the publics interests! That crazy concept has been shown time and time again to be quiet contrary to protecting the public from rogues in any trade.

The fact a course is "approved" by a so called leading trade association is almost meaningless. None of these organisations - apart from IATA http://www.aroma-iata.com have ever undertaken an evaluation of the accuracy of what their members are teaching.

Various aromatherapy newsgroups have discussed these issues on many occasions, but despite it often being proven how fault ridden the "approved" courses are, little has changed. There are too many people making cash out of a gullible public to force change in this trade.

A ‘good’ training course in aromatherapy should help improve therapists skills. It should maximise the effects they can achieve by using essential oils in a safe and effective manner. However, getting a good course is clearly not so easy.

If you want to use massage, then training is advisable because there are medical conditions where massage should not be used. However, it is vital to remember that massage is one therapy, and the use of essential oils is another. A short course on massage is always worthwhile - in the UK there are many of those.  In the USA the courses tend to be very expensive and lengthy, only worth doing if you want to become a professional.

In the USA and Canada, there are so called "advanced" courses that can cost several thousand Dollars. The instruction on essential oils is mainly based on inaccurate aromatherapy books. These courses pack their lessons with peripheral issues such as anatomy, chemistry, etc. etc. simply because their knowledge on the important issues of essential oil use is so weak. Therefore, you are paying a high price for information that could be learnt better from other more expert sources. Some masquerade as teaching information based on the French aromatherapy system. A system that itself is packed with major errors and poor science. To this day much of their information is based around theoretical considerations based on the major components found in the oils, NOT on research based on the whole oils. So paying thousands of Dollars for aromatherapy education can be a waste of money, but of course some think it gives them more credibility in the trade, no so!

If you are an essential oil supplier, or natural product maker, then you should gain a deeper insight into what you are doing rather than just reading the popular books. This is particularly important in regard to the safe and legal use of essential oils in products.

If you want to take a course simply to enable you to better use the therapy for your Family and friends, then a good short term course may be worthwhile.

If you want to study anything as a career then you should always keep pace with developments in your trade and continue learning for very many years. I can never hope to learn all there is to know about this huge subject of essential oils in my lifetime.