Friday, August 2, 2013

Sound-Smell Association: A case study on how aromatherapy can help an elderly with physical and psychological constraints

Lavender Sound-Smell Association

The following case study was conducted by one of APA's students for her final Diploma Course exam. She kindly allowed us to share her successful treatment process with us which highlights the importance of observation beyond the treatment room to help the client heal:


Intake Overview:

Mr. C is a 65-year old Malaysian Chinese, widower and retired. His Cantonese is very limited which is one of the reasons of his small network in Hong Kong. He has a very strong character and easily loses his temper due to language barriers, generation gap and cultural differences. Mr. C loves gardening and listening to Buddha music which calms him.

He was diagnosed with Type B hepatitis 20 years ago and recently suffers from Diabetes. His main complaints are joint pain and skin itchiness around his arms, legs and ankles due to very dry skin.

Treatment Plan: 


Since Mr. C talks a lot about his physical problems, the student plans to "answer" him by working on his skin itchiness and joint problems while also focusing on his emotional and communication difficulties. Over the course of seven treatments, the student hopes to build a connection with Mr. C in order to gain his trust and to be able to work on his deeper problems.

Client Response:


In the first three aromatherapy treatments, the student worked on the client's joint problem and skin itchiness which already showed signs of improvement after the second treatment. The client felt more and more comfortable with the student and started to share his emotional problems after the third treatment showing her the flowers in his garden and talking about his late wife.

Aromatherapy Case Study at APA
Also, the student noticed that her aromatherapy massage and choice of essential oils initiated a shift in his emotional state as he felt happy and comfortable after the fourth treatment. The client even got actively involved in choosing the essential oils and put on his favorite Buddha song for listening during the massage. In his fifth treatment, the student noticed the deep relaxation of her client during massage with essential oils of Rosa damascena, Salvia sclarea and Boswellia thurifera working on the emotional plane.

By the time the student met her client for his last treatment, he told her he started writing diary about his experience of using essential oils (during massage and his home blends) combined with different songs he listened to. The student had successfully developed a trustful connection with her client and he asked her to continue the aromatherapy treatments or to come and visit to make essential oil blends with him.

Results / Treatment Summary: 


The student successfully introduced the Sound-Smell Association with a 65-year old client. Once a positive feeling is built between a sound (in this case Buddha music) and a particular aroma blend, the client can choose to either listen to the music or smell the aroma blend to experience this feeling again.

Gardening also played a vital role for her client: it was a place where Mr. C was hiding this sadness and anger. By transforming the garden atmosphere from "lost" to "hope" with her home blends, the student was able to create a turning point for her client during the treatment process

Through observation beyond the treatment room, the student learned that aromatherapy is not only limited to the massage bed but to the environment around us.


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