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Research: BETTS,
Listed in Issue 99
Abstract
BETTS, Birmingham University Seizure Clinic, Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham B15 2QZ, UK, t.a.betts@bhem.ac.uk, has published the results of a follow-up study on the use of aromatherapy in the treatment of intractable epilepsy.
Background
The author's group have been trying the effect of aromatherapy with or without hypnosis in patients with intractable hypnosis, when the patients asked for it. This paper reports on the results of the first 100 patients to undergo the treatment and followed up for 2 years after the end of the treatment.
Methodology
Patients were offered one of three treatments: aromatherapy on its own, aromatherapy plus hypnosis, and hypnosis on its own. The offer was only made to patients who asked for it. Treatment was carried out when there was time and space for it.
Results
Over a third of patients treated with aromatherapy with or without hypnosis became seizure-free for at least a year. Of the three treatments, the combination treatment had the best and most lasting effect in that a third of patients are still seizure-free after two years. Aromatherapy by itself might best be recommended as a short-term treatment for people going through a bad time with seizures.
Conclusion
Because this treatment was only offered to patients who asked for it, it must thus be seen as describing the best possible outcome of this approach to intractable epilepsy. The best treatment option, aromatherapy plus hypnosis, is demanding in terms of therapist time and skill, and also in terms of the time and effort that patients have to commit to it.
References
Betts T. Use of aromatherapy (with or without hypnosis) in the treatment of intractable epilepsy – a two-year follow-up study. Seizure 12 (8): 534-538, Dec 2003.
Comment
It is a feature of many complementary therapies that they work best for patients who choose them for themselves, and who are prepared to invest some time and effort into getting better. Very refreshing to see a study published which explicitly acknowledges this fact, and perhaps gives some impulses for the research community to incorporate the factor of patient preference and personal commitment into research designs.
