Clinical Aromatherapy Diploma Holistic Massage Diploma Case Studies
Case Studies As part of the IFPA Aromatherapy Diploma students are also required to complete 60 hours of aromatherapy / massage treatments, i.e. 10-15 clients, 10 of which must be for at least 4 treatments each of at least 1 hour. You should try and choose a good selection of clients: Male and Female A range of ages from young to old A mix of cultures if possible A range of medical conditions which you feel able to treat People that have received holistic treatments in the past and new clients Treatments can include: Full body treatments Part body treatments Consultations with aromatherapy products to use at home Compresses Inhalations Foot baths, sitz baths and baths Recording treatments You should record all of your consultations on the client record card supplied along with the logged hours for the treatments on the main sheet. At the end of each set of treatments you need to compile a case report and summarise the treatments Below are the IFPA requirements for case studies: Your case studies should be compiled and presented in the following way: The completed set of case studies should carry a frontispiece, giving your name, address and the date of submission. It should also detail the number of treatments carried out, stating in each case the date and length of time spent with the client. This will include consultation and treatment time. For each client you must present: 1. An introductory sheet Introduction to client and their background in terms of health, lifestyle, occupation, nutrition, exercise, presenting and ongoing conditions and medication. Client s reason for treatment 2
Your aims and objectives for the course of treatment. Evidence of researched information on their presenting condition The use of outcome measures to evaluate your sessions is encouraged. The choice should be justified here. 2. The initial consultation sheet. Remember, confidentiality, no full names or addresses to be included. 3. A treatment record sheet for every treatment supported by a separate sheet giving more detail on: Feedback from previous treatment An update on the client's health, emotional and physical and any changes, including conditions, diagnoses and medication details Reasons for current treatment Home-care advice and how it is being followed. Expansion on reasons for choice of essential oils giving botanical families, latin binomials, relevant actions, composition, safety considerations Reasons for carrier choice and quantity Dilutions and reasons for this Advice/referrals suggested Any other comments from client (this should include a questionnaire designed by the student and assessed prior to commencement by tutors) Any other comments/observations from student 4. Evaluation sheet Evaluation of the course of treatments. Have you achieved what you set out to achieve? How has the client benefited? Do they need further sessions? If so, when? How could you have improved your practice? Would you change your practice with hindsight? If so how? Remember to be honest, if a blend does not work, say so. Similarly if you have great success with a client, say this also. An appraisal of the results of outcome measures used in relation to the client s condition(physical, emotional, psychological). Your work should be referenced wherever possible and contain as much detail as possible. 3
You may find this useful for writing a case report When planning a case report, consider the content under the five headings shown in table 2. This should not be regarded as a rigid structure but is intended to help the therapist plan and report and to act as a check list that all essential information has been included. 1. Description of the case Since case reports are highly individual and may be re-published in the general media or on the internet there is a chance that the client s family and friends may see the report and recognise the client. Confidentiality must be assured and it is necessary for clients to give their permission for you to publish their case. Client information State the age of the client, and give the relevant health history including any current medication together with the dose. This should include herbal, dietary supplements and homeopathic medicines. Conditions requiring help together with brief description and orthodox tests should be included here. Previous experiences with CAM and the purpose for treatment should be clearly- written. 2. Treatment protocol The aims and objectives need to be stated with clear thought and understanding. The selection of essential oils, vegetable oils and hydrosols require both botanical binomial (i.e. genus and species) and common name when first mentioned; and the rationale for their selection and formulation should be provided. Formulations and dosages should ideally be expressed in percentage terms. The method of essential oil application must be documented and the massage style / techniques described, if applicable. Duration of sessions and frequency of treatment sessions. 3. Client response to treatment Observations during treatment. Immediate client responses and those followed up at subsequent treatment sessions. 4
4. Evaluation State here the assessment of the treatment from the client s perspective and what can be learned from the treatment and why it had such a powerful impact on you. Be careful about drawing the conclusion that there is a link between the aromatherapy treatment and the effect in a single case: it could be just a coincidence. Remember it is only an anecdote so ideally include an assessment of how far it can be regarded as reliable. 5. References Where rationale is given regarding essential oil selection, application method, massage style or vehicle base selected, the source that influenced your selection should be referenced. All statements, opinions, conclusions, etc. taken from another writer s work should be acknowledged whether the work is directly quoted, paraphrased or summarised. The report should use the Harvard method of referencing. This is a system in which names and dates e.g. Clarke 2002, are given in the body of the text and the full references are listed alphabetically at the end of the report e.g. Clarke, S (2002) Essential Chemistry for Safe Aromatherapy, Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Table 1. Case report writing style Keep sentences short. Use short paragraphs Avoid complex sentence structures that bore or confuse readers Design the case report to be read by a busy reader, who wants to grasp the main points easily Lay it out clearly; avoid large slabs of text[s] Demonstrate clear thought and reasoning Avoid jargon, abbreviations or colloquialisms Obtain feedback from a friend or colleague Table 2. Recommended section headings and contents for case reports Title: Author(s), addresses and affiliations 1. Description of the case 2. Treatment protocol 3.Treatment methods 4. Client response 5. Evaluation 6. References 5
The IFPA Council encourages submission of case reports from students and practising members NOT ONLY for the Case History of the Year Award but throughout the year for publication in its journal In Essence. 6