Eileen Hutcheson, M.Ed., holds a Master's degree in counseling and a postgraduate certificate in Gestalt therapy (two-year program).   She has also completed over 300 hours of study/training in dance/movement therapy and graduate coursework in theology.  At the undergraduate level, she holds a B.A. in religious studies and teacher certification in Spanish, French, and dance.  What Eileen loves most is to hike, kayak on mountain lakes and streams, and spend time "just being" in nature. 

Early in her life, Eileen worked as a bilingual secretary (Spanish- English), multi-lingual secretary, Spanish teacher, and modern dance and creative dance teacher (for high school and children).  More recently, for about ten years, she led workshops which integrated creative dance with spirituality and psychology.

Eileen has been involved in natural health care and alternative medicine on a personal level for over thirty years.  She has followed a natural foods vegetarian diet for over thirty-five years and a vegan lifestyle since 2003.  She has attended many trainings in alternative healing, such as Healing Touch, Touch for Health, Pranic Healing, and Energy Medicine (with Donna Eden).  Eileen's primary focus lies in the area of vibrational medicine, of which flower essence therapy is one modality.

Eileen is currently a flower essence therapy practitioner, certified by Australian Bush Flower Essences, Flower Essence Society (FES), and Pacific Essences. She finds that flower essence therapy is fulfilling in so many ways:  it lends itself well to a psychological framework; is very spiritual and, dealing with subtle energy, is rooted in Mystery; helps foster a deep sense of connection with the earth; puts one in touch with the aesthetic dimension of life through the beauty of the flowers and the natural world; allows her to help her clients by creatively selecting essences; and is oriented toward the inner life and awareness, even the inner world of dreams. 
 

In pursuing flower essence therapy certification requirements, Eileen, in 2001, attended the week-long Pacific Essences energy medicine practitioner training on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, with Sabina Pettitt, acupuncturist and author of Energy Medicine. That same year she attended the four-day Australian Bush Flower Essences practitioner training in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, with Ian White, herbalist, naturopath, and author of Australian Bush Flower Essences and Bush Flower Healing.  In 2002 she attended the week-long FES (Flower Essence Society) practitioner training in California, USA, led by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz. These trainings became the catalyst for the long and complex case study work required for certification.  It has been invaluable for Eileen to learn so many different approaches to working with essences--from muscle-testing meridians and chakras to the attention to depth process which is so characteristic of FES--and to be able to integrate them into a cohesive working model. 

Flower essences and essential oils complement one another beautifully. In 2003 Eileen began studying aromatherapy through the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy, directed by Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph.D., author of Medical Aromatherapy and Advanced Aromatherapy. She chose this school because of its emphasis on the French medical approach, which allows for internal ingestion of essential oils, when appropriate, in addition to topical application, and because Dr. Schnaubelt's work is very scientifically-based, well-researched, and respected. Eileen completed her Certificate of Aromatherapy Studies in early 2004. 

Eileen is the author of a featured article, "Getting Physical with Flowers," in the July 2003 issue of CAM Magazine for Practitioners of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (London, England).  She finds it fascinating to be engaged in a range of 
alternative therapies which connect us with our past and which 
are at the cutting edge of the future of medicine. 

First photo:  Eileen and Coccolino, her companion parrot for twenty-five years.

Second photo: A rest and reading break along the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.

Third photo:  Kayaking on String Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA.

Fourth photo:  Zinnia helps one experience the playful inner child (courtesy of FES).

Fifth photo:  Indian Paintbrush fosters lively, energetic creativity.

Background:  Holly, a classic Bach remedy, is helpful for anger, jealousy, and envy.  It stimulates forces of love in the heart.