| It is estimated that between 4% and 6% of the global population suffers from some form of anxiety disorder. Medications, the primary source of treatment for such disorders for the past several decades, come with several potentially dangerous side-effects that make it desirable to identify other forms of intervention. Aromatherapy is a complementary and alternative form of treatment that can be used to reduce anxiety along with psychotherapy. Aromatherapy was introduced several hundred years ago and is gaining popularity again, especially in the Western world. The purpose of this project was to create a guide to aromatherapy for the general public to use in conjunction with psychotherapy to alleviate their anxiety. The book was 20 pages and covered topics such as aromatherapy and anxiety, science of aromatherapy, cultural influences of aromatherapy, a list of essential oils used for anxiety with a brief description, and precautions for use. Ten masters' and doctoral-level clinicians and 10 participants from the general public reviewed and evaluated the book. Eight questions employed a 5-point Likert-scale, and three were open-ended. Based on content areas, the Likert-scale questions were divided into two categories: (a) clarity of writing and ease of understanding, and (b) likelihood of use and recommendation. For questions in the first category, the mean for mental health professionals was 4.7 (SD = .45), whereas for the general public the mean was 4.8 (SD = .41). For questions pertaining to likelihood of use and recommendation, the mean was 4.4 (SD = .67) for mental health professionals and 4.7 (SD =.43) for the general public. Overall, the review panel found the guide to be interesting, clear, engaging, and worthwhile for use with adults dealing with anxiety. |
