Bach flower therapy-

This therapy was devised by “Doctor” Edward Bach, a homeopath, who devised a system of treatment of emotions with 38 flower essences.  Flower essences are prepared by a sun method involving floating the flower heads in pure water for three hours in direct sunlight or boiling the woodier plants and those that bloom when the sun is weak.  Once the “energy of the flowers has transferred to the water, the energized water is mixed with an equal quantity of brandy”.  This becomes the “mother tincture” that is further diluted into brandy at a rate of two drops of mother tincture to 30ml of brandy to make the stock bottles seen in shops.  These “flower essences” are paired with a Bach list of remedies- for instance Aspen is used to treat the “fear of unknown things”, Cherry Plum is used to treat the “fear of the mind giving way”, Chicory for “selfish, possessive love”, Clematis for “dreaming of the future without working in the present”, Gorse for “hopelessness and despair”, Holly for “hatred, envy and jealousy” and so on.  The Bach center in Mt Vernon offers courses in the system including becoming a practitioner, becoming a licensed trainer, Level 1-3 courses, and courses on “How to Build Your Business” in Bach therapy.  Since Bach was a homeopath, there is no alpha or beta scientific evidence any of these treatments, consisting mainly of alcohol, actually work.  There are some delta level uncontrolled trials  (eg. I gave then flower therapy and they got better) such as a Spanish publication “Emotional support and Bach Flower Therapy (Rev Enferm 2009 Oct;32(10):16-9) and a non abstracted opinion on the use of the therapy in the treatment of chronic major depressive disorder (Altern Ther Health Med 2003 Nov-Dec;9(6):112, 108-10.)   Recommendation- avoid due to the lack of scientific evidence and the mercenary nature of marketing this alcoholic product.