The video for this presentation is available on our Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/allceuseducation A continuing education course for this presentation can be found at https://www.allceus.com/member/cart/index/index?c= Using aromatherapy, meditation and guided imagery in the treatment of addiction, anxiety, depression

1. Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery:
Aromatherapy, Meditation and
Guided Imagery
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes
Executive Director, AllCEUs
Host: Counselor Toolbox
AllCEUs.com Unlimited CEUs and Specialty Certifications $59

2. Objectives
 Review the concept of mindfulness, and how to
incorporate it into daily life
 Learn about the history, benefits, cautions and
methods of incorporation into practice of
 Aromatherapy
 Meditation
 Guided Imagery

3. Mindfulness
 Being aware of your current state
 Emotionally
 Mentally
 Physically
 Spiritually
 MindLESSness allows people to ignore “minor”
stress until it adds up to a meltdown
 What discriminative stimuli can you put in the
environment to remind you to do a mindfulness
scan?

4. Mindfulness Activities
 Body scan
 Mindful Breathing
 Mindful Observation
 Mindful awareness – Think before you act
 Mindful appreciation: Random Acts of Kindness

5. Aromatherapy
 History
 Hippocrates, known as the father of modern medicine, maintained
2,500 years ago that “the key to good health rests on having a
daily aromatic bath and scented massage’.
 Some of the plant materials Discorides wrote about in his Materia
Medica 100 AD include many of the herbs and essential oils we use
today including cardamon, cinnamon, myrrh, basil, fennel,
frankincense, juniper, pine, rose, rosemary, and thyme.
 Scented ointments and oils were recognized as having great
benefit on both the physical and psychological level.
 One of the principle aspects of ayurvedic medicine is massage with
aromatic oils.
 Distillation of essential oils is credited to the Persians in the 10th
century
 1887 French physicians first recorded laboratory tests on the anti-
bacterial properties of essential oils.

6. Aromatherapy
 History
 In 1910, Rene Gattefosse discovered the healing properties of
lavender and later used the wound healing and antiseptic
properties of essential oils in the care of soldiers in military
hospitals during WWI.
 Gattefosse coined the term “aromatherapy” with the 1937
publication of his book, of the same name. Translated into English
as Gattefosse’s Aromatherapy (1993).
 Dr. Jean Valnet, a French army surgeon used essential oils in the
treatment of war wounds during the French Indochina War and
wrote the book, Practice of Aromatherapy, which was translated
into the English in 1964.
 Marguerite Maury, a French biochemist and nurse, lectured and
gave seminars in the early 30ies throughout Europe on the
rejuvenating properties of essential oils and resulting overall sense
of well being they provided.

7. Aromatherapy
 The inhalation of aromatic molecules affect us on a
variety of levels – physical, emotional and spiritual.
 When inhaled
 Aromatic molecules enter the nasal passages
 Stimulate olfactory receptor sites and trigger messages to
the limbic center which stimulates physiological responses
within the body via the nervous, endocrine or immune
systems impacting pleasure, pain, emotions, memory,
sleep, appetite and sex.

8. Aromatherapy
 Benefits
 Anger
 Anxiety
 ADD/ADHD
 Concentration
 Depression/Grief
 Fatigue/Energizing
 Irritability (adults and children)
 Pain Mangement
 J Dent. 2006 Nov;34(10):747-50. Epub 2006 Mar 13. The effect of clove and
benzocaine versus placebo as topical anesthetics. Alqareer A1, Alyahya A,
 Peace/Contentment
 Relaxation/Sleep

9. Anger Anxiety
ADD/
Concentration Depression Grief
Fatigue/
Exhaustion Peace
Pain
Management
Relaxation
/ Sleep
Bergamot x xxx xx x x x x
Chamomile
(Roman) x xxx x xx x x
Clary Sage xx x x x x
Clove x x x
Frankincense-
carterii x xx xx x x x x
Geranium x xx x x
Ginger x x xx x
Helichrysum x x x x x
Jasmine xxx xx x
Lavender x xxx xx x x

10. Anger Anxiety
ADD/
Concentration Depression Grief
Fatigue/
Exhaustion Peace
Pain
Management
Relaxation
/ Sleep
Lemon x xx x x
Myrrh x x x x
Neroli x xx x x x x
Palo Santo x x x x x x
Patchouli x x x x x
Peppermint x x x
Rose x xx x x x x
Rosemary x x x
Sandalwood x xx x x x x x x
Valerian xx xx xx
Vetiver x xx x x x x x
Ylang Ylang x xx xx x x

11. Aromatherapy
 Cautions
 Sensitivities / allergies
 Photo-sensitivity: Bergamot, lemon, lime, bitter orange,
angelica root
 Pregnancy
 Prior learning may impact experiences
 May interact with medications (dermal absorption)
 Some essential oils are thought to increase estrogen
 Lavender
 Tea Tree Oil
 Fennel Oil

12. Aromatherapy
 Methods of Incorporation
 Topical: Essential oils have a chemical weight of less
than 1000m (m = weight of molecule) and can be
absorbed by the skin and enter the blood stream
Facial steam – 1-3 drops in a bowl of hot water. Use skin
friendly essential oils (lavender, geranium, R.
Chamomile) and keep eyes closed.
Compresses – hot, cold & alternating; local treatments
for headaches, menstrual pain, muscle pain. (Rice
heating pad infused with EOs)
Clay masks
Massage Oil: 2-3% dilution in a carrier oil

13. Aromatherapy
 Methods of incorporation
 Inhalation
Electric micro-mist diffusers
Heat generated diffusion (tarts, bulb rings)
Spritzing
Steaming
Sniffing
Aromatic bath: 6-8 drops total. Avoid irritating oils such
as peppermint, spice, & citrus oils. Note: Water and heat
increases absorption.

14. Meditation
 History
 The structured practice of meditation is believed to
have been developed approximately 5000 years ago in
India
 Initially developed by Hindus to understand and get
closer to the true nature of their higher power
 The first articles on the health benefits of meditation
appeared in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology in
1970.
 In 1979, the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
program was founded in the United States, which used
meditative techniques in the treatment plans for
patients with chronic diseases.

15. Meditation
 Fluctuations of mood arise because we are too
closely involved in the external situation.
 We are like a child making a sandcastle who is excited
when it is first made, but who becomes upset when it
is destroyed by the incoming tide.
 By training in meditation, we create an inner space and
clarity that enables us to control our mind regardless of
the external circumstances.
 Gradually we develop mental equilibrium and balance
instead of oscillating between the extremes of
excitement and despondency.

16. Meditation
 Psychological Benefits
 Reduced stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD symptoms
 Reduced irritability and moodiness
 Increased creativity and intelligence
 Increased learning ability, memory, concentration
 Feelings of vitality and rejuvenation
 Increased emotional control
 Increased self-esteem
 Increased alertness
 Improved relationships

17. Meditation
 Physiological Benefits
 May help lower blood pressure
 Prevented, slowed or controlled pain
 Boosted immune system
 Lowered cholesterol levels (lowers cortisol)
 Improved airflow, especially in those with asthma
 Helps manage the heart and respiratory rate
 Improved sleep

18. Meditation Types
 Concentration Meditation
 Focus attention on an internal or external object (e.g.,
sound, word, bodily sensations, etc.) while minimizing
distractions and bring the wandering mind back to attention
on the chosen object.
 Mindfulness Meditation
 Mindfulness is an outgrowth of a Buddhist tradition called
vipassana, which focuses on the present moment.
 Focus attention alertly but non judgmentally on all
processes passing through the mind.
 One of the main influencers for Mindfulness in the West is
John Kabat-Zinn. His Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction program (MBSR)

19. Meditation Types
 Open monitoring meditation Instead of focusing
the attention on any one object, we keep it open,
monitoring all aspects of our experience, without
judgment or attachment.
 Focused attention meditation Focusing the
attention on a single object during the whole
meditation session. This object may be the
breath, a mantra, visualization, part of the body,
external object, etc

20. Meditation Types
 Qigong (also spelled chi kung, or chi gung)
 Means “life energy cultivation”
 Is a body-mind exercise for health, meditation
 Involves slow body movement, inner focus, and regulated
breathing to increase/remove blockages of chi through the
eight extraordinary meridians
 Extraordinary meridians are considered in Traditional Chinese
Medicine to be storage vessels or reservoirs of energy
 Tai Chi (gee) is a martial arts form of qigong
The Root of Chinese Qigong (1997), Jwing-Ming Yang
For more information http://www.qigonginstitute.org/

21. Meditation
 Cautions
 PTSD
 Victims of violent crimes
 Depression
 Anxiety

22. Meditation
 Methods of Incorporation
 Before getting out of bed –Mindfulness meditation
 At the beginning & end of session –Mindfulness meditation
 Before eating –Focused attention meditation
 Prior to going to sleep- Focused attention meditation
 At the first sign of a anger/anxiety trigger

23. Guided Imagery
 History
 Various forms of guided imagery have been used for
centuries, as far back as ancient Greek times
 Jacob Moreno’s technique of psychodrama can be linked
to guided imagery, as the enactment can be understood
as a method of directing a person’s own imagery.
 In the 1970s, Dr. David Bressler and Dr. Martin
Rossman
 Established support for guided imagery as an effective
approach for the treatment of chronic illness
 Founded the Academy for Guided Imagery in 1989

24. Guided Imagery
 How does it work?
 The body does not have to be actively experiencing
something for the mind to respond to it
Watching a tennis match
Lemons
Child birth
Happy place

25. Guided Imagery
 Research shows guided imagery to be helpful in the
treatment of a number of concerns, including:
 Stress
 Anxiety
 Depression
 Substance abuse
 Grief
 Posttraumatic stress
 Relationship issues
 Diminished self-care
 Family and parenting issues

26. Guided Imagery
 Cautions
 Although the use of guided therapeutic imagery is
supported by research, some studies suggest it can lead
to false memories.

27. Guided Imagery
 Methods of Incorporation
 Happy place
 Mental rehearsal of coping and refusal skills
 Visualization
Muscle tension
Cancer
Anxiety
Depression
Public speaking/social anxiety
Test anxiety

28. Summary
 Mindfulness involves increasing awareness of our
emotional, mental and physical selves
 Aromatherapy has many uses for emotion, hormone
and pain regulation
 Meditation is a practice designed to quiet the mind
and help people develop nonjudgemental
acceptance of the experience
 Guided imagery can facilitate skill acquisition and
relaxation