Have you heard of the process of treating different illnesses and ailments with the use of essential oils? Well, I’m sure this could be your first time hearing of the word aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is the technique of using natural plant extracts or essential oils to help treat different medical conditions in patients. An aromatherapist is someone who practices aromatherapy.
An aromatherapist uses the knowledge they have about essential oils to come up with treatment plans and help promote the health and well-being of their patients. There are lots of reasons why one would want to know how to become an aromatherapist. For a lot of people, it could be a way to help and improve the health and well-being of others; for others, it could also be a way to provide treatment for a lot of medical conditions.
In this article, we’ll be talking about who is an aromatherapist, how to become an aromatherapist and the different careers related to aromatherapy.
How to Become an Aromatherapist: Who is an Aromatherapist?
Who is an aromatherapist? As mentioned earlier, an aromatherapist is someone who specializes in using plant extracts like essential oils to help treat illnesses and manage the health of their patients. It could involve helping to relax the muscles, relieve pain, or improve their breathing .
Apart from consulting with patients and giving treatments for medical conditions, they also perform other treatment methods, like massage therapy.
Some of the duties of an aromatherapist include having a meeting with clients and getting more information about their health status and medical condition. It also involves coming up with treatment plans and giving the clients the right education they need to know about aromatherapy and the different essential oils. Choosing the right essential oil that suits the medical condition of the patient and massaging the oil into the skin of the patient. Lastly, take notes and keep track of the medical history of the patient.
How to become an aromatherapist? If you wish to become an aromatherapist, it is important for you to know that when you have a patient with a health condition that you cannot massage, it is very necessary to refer the patient to other specialists.
How to become an Aromatherapist
If you’re reading this article, it shows you want to get more information on how to become an aromatherapist. Here are some steps you can take to pursue your passion of being an Aromatherapist
1. Pursue a Program
The first step on how to become an aromatherapist is to go to school and register for a program. Registering for a program is very important if you don’t have any experience or knowledge in the medical field. It would be beneficial to you to pursue a certificate program with an emphasis on human anatomy and physiology, some of the courses you will take may also include the nervous system and the cardiovascular system. This would help you become more knowledgeable about aromatherapy and its techniques. You are eligible to run a program if you have a high school diploma or GED.
2. Register For an Aromatherapy program
The next thing you need to do to learn how to become an aromatherapist is to register for an aromatherapy program from any accredited school that has been approved by the Alliance of International Aromatherapists (AIA) or the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA).
Registering for an aromatherapy program would teach you a lot about aromatherapy, the production of essential oils and how to use the oils for different medical conditions. To pursue an aromatherapy program where you’ll be certified, you’re required to complete at least 200 hours in a Level II or III aromatherapy program.
As you pursue your certification as an aromatherapist, you can also apply to become a member of the Alliance of International Aromatherapists (AIA) or the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA). Your membership in these recognized bodies would help you more in your journey to becoming an aromatherapist.
3. Get Certified
After completing your training, you’ll have to take the Aromatherapy Registration Council’s (ARC) certification exam to be certified as an aromatherapist. The Aromatherapy Registration Council (ARC) certification exam is a professional exam; passing it excellently would have a big impact on your future as an aromatherapist.
So it is very important to prepare well for the examination. Before the day of the examination, take your time to go through in detail the ARC candidate online handbook. This handbook provides information about the exam and how to go about it. The certification exam consists of about 250 multiple-choice questions. And it focuses on the safe administration of essential oils and the different aromatherapy topics, like administration and scientific principles.
4. Start Applying for Jobs
After passing the ARC examination and getting your certificate, you can now begin job hunting. It’s very important to know that a lot of aromatherapists are self-employed; they have their own personal organizations where they can offer aromatherapy consultations to patients seeking comprehensive health care.
Having your own private organization gives you the ability to control your time and your work schedule. You also get to accept clients independently. Apart from practicing independently as an aromatherapist, you can also work at spas, salons, fitness centers, hospitals, yoga studios and health care centers. You can also search for more opportunities on different job search websites.
What Does an Aromatherapist Do?
An aromatherapist is someone who makes use of blends of essential oils to improve the emotional and physical well-being of clients. An aromatherapist is not a doctor; he doesn’t have the license to diagnose illness, give professional medical advice or claim to have the cure for any medical conditions. It is expected that aromatherapists should refer their clients to professionals and specialists where necessary and shouldn’t attempt to handle a condition they were not trained to.
Working as an aromatherapist is very exciting because you get to meet new clients every day and proffer solutions to any health, mental or emotional issue they may have. Aromatherapy can help to ease symptoms, reduce stress, relieve anxiety, alopecia, breathing and circulatory problems, and headaches.
Where Does An Aromatherapist Work?
Where does an aromatherapist work? A lot of aromatherapists are self-employed. They run their own private organization. They could set up a salon where they could attend to their clients or work from home. They could also choose to create a room within an existing business if they are the owners of a good health store, gym, or hair salon. Some aromatherapists may also have a mobile service where they attend to their clients in their homes.
Apart from being self-employed, aromatherapists can be employed in a spa, massage center or beauty salon. As an aromatherapist, you can also create different products of essential oils for sale, teach or train others or focus more on consulting.
3 Careers Related To Aromatherapy
Here are some additional careers you can pursue that are closely related to aromatherapy:
1. Esthetician
Who is an esthetician? An esthetician is someone who helps clients improve their skin health. The salary of an esthetician is about $50,459 per year. The work of an esthetician involves performing facials and other skin-cleansing treatments, waxing clients to remove hair while cleaning and sterilizing equipment between uses.
2. Massage therapist
A massage therapist is a trained professional who massages clients and helps to relax their muscles and manage pain. . A massage therapist applies deep pressure to particular areas of the body to relieve stress, relax muscles and educate their clients about how to continue their healing at home.
3. Chiropractor
A chiropractor is a trained professional who treats patients with pain in their bones or stiffness in their bones, nerves and muscles. The work of the chiropractor is to assess the body of clients, know what is causing the pain and apply pressure to the body to loosen muscles and relieve joint tension. Most chiropractors work with their patients over long periods of time and meet with them regularly to track progress.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at how to become an aromatherapist and what an aromatherapist is. There are lots of proven benefits to aromatherapy. It has been researched that Aromatherapy helps to relieve anxiety, stress, nausea, alopecia, menstrual problems, menopause symptoms, tooth and muscle aches, breathing and circulatory problems, headaches, etc.
As an aromatherapist, it is expected that you should have good communication skills since you meet with a lot of clients. It is expected that an aromatherapist should have good listening skills and empathy to make clients feel at ease and more comfortable with them, especially since aromatherapy massage therapy involves very close personal contact with clients who may be so self-conscious or nervous about the treatment process.
Aromatherapists earn about $95,505 per year. It is important to know that your income as an aromatherapist can vary based on your location, experience level , the type of clients you have, the kind of services you provide and whether you are self-employed or work for an employer.
