Flower Essences Application & Responses

Flower Essences are generally taken in liquid form, several drops at a time, although some practitioners apply them directly to meridians or other energy points on the body during a therapeutic session. They can also be added to skin creams or bath water, or put in misting bottles to be sprayed around the body and the environment.

Typically, the response to the remedies is of a more general nature in the early stages. Individuals report feeling calmer, clearer, better able to cope, or less fatigued. Through counselling, working with dreams, keeping a journal or other ways of learning to observe and articulate levels of emotional and mental phenomena, much more specific responses can be documented. For instance, the following is an actual quotation from an individual who was being treated with flower essences by a family therapist "My usual reaction whenever my daughter starts whining and crying, is that a I get a knot in my stomach and feel quite tense and irritable. Invariably, I then begin to yell or get angry with her. However, since using flower essences, I don't seem to react so strongly to her. Instead, I'm understanding why she's upset and gradually seem to be discovering more creative ways to address her discomfort".

Combining Flower Essences

Although single remedies are quite effective, flower essences can be skilfully combined to create synergistic formulas - a typical formula involves up to five or six remedies. These "dosage bottles" are used several times daily: just before and after sleep and before meals. The flower essence formulas are used in cycles - a typical rhythm is about one month. During this period, the emotional body, like the moon itself, has usually "waxed and waned" through a phase of inner development. Flower essence therapy usually involves seeing a client for several months, with new applications of remedies as the individual moves through successive stages or "layers" of change and unfoldment.

Dr Bach identified 38 remedies in the rural areas of England and Wales during the brief time span of eight years before his untimely death in 1936. Since then, other practitioners from many countries around the world have confirmed through their own observation and research, the unique healing benefits of flower essence therapy. In 1979, the Flower Essence Society (FES) was founded as a non-profit world-wide educational and research organisation.

The FES has investigated and collected empirical case studies not only for the original 38 English remedies, but also significant new essences derived from medicinal herbs and also North American wildflowers.

In the UK, there is a register of qualified Bach Flower Remedy practitioners who have been trained by the Bach Centre.

Application of Essences

Cases have been collected that demonstrate the successful application of flower essences for a broad range of conditions and ailments including: learning disorders, child abandonment and abuse, family and personal relationships, work performance and career goals, environmental sensitivities and allergies, depression and grief, body tension and general stress, nutritional and lifestyle choices, parenting, masculine and feminine identities, artistic expression, sexuality, coping with terminal illness or chronic disease, psychosomatic illness, overall immune response and a large number of specific diseases.