ABSTRACT
There are a number of forms of complementary therapy that are being used with people who are going through a period of mental distress in their lives. This chapter presents massage and aromatherapy and examines the claims for efficacy made by practitioners of these therapies. Massage is claimed to reduce stress and anxiety, insomnia and tension, and aid relaxation, by a ‘combination of mechanical, neural, chemical and psychological factors’. E. James recounts her own experience of recovery from mental illness which she attributes to massage. A small study of four older people with mental distress measured the length of time asleep using the normal amount of medication, then withdrew medication for two weeks, and finally replaced medication with lavender oil for another two weeks. The findings showed that sleep was reduced without medication, but with the use of lavender oil, sleep returned to the previous level, and patients were less restless during sleep.
