What can Colour Therapy treat?
According to practitioners, the range of diseases which are treatable by colour therapy is wide and includes:

• migraines and headaches
• asthma
• fatigue
• stress-related conditions
• depression and insomnia
• inflammatory conditions
• autism
• mental problems
• emotional and behavioural problems
• metabolic problems

Principles
Cultures and civilisations throughout history have associated colours with symbolic meanings and the impact of colour on mood is widely recognised. Colour therapists go further, believing that colour can stimulate the patient's innate resources on several levels ' mental, emotional and spiritual ' and improve health.

Many colour therapists claim that the body emits an 'aura' or 'energy field' which supposedly envelops the body. The aura encompasses all aspects of our being and is filled with constantly changing colours. Mental, physical and emotional traumas are registered in the aura and, if not cleared, may create problems such as disease and ill health. Although the aura is invisible to most people, some practitioners claim to be able to 'see' a person's aura and to 'read' the colour of the aura to determine the patient's state of health.

Colour therapy uses the energy of colour ' via illumination, decor or dress ' to cleanse and harmonise these subtle formative energies and to allow natural healing to take place. Colour practitioners believe that each colour of the spectrum has its own unique vibration and different conditions are believed to respond to different colours.

Consultation and treatment
The first session will take up to two hours. The practitioner will take the patient's case history and discuss problems. There are three main methods of diagnosis. Some practitioners use Spine Chart analysis, a diagnostic technique which relates parts of the spine to different colours and body areas. Other practitioners may ask you to choose from a range of coloured cards and assess your physical and psychological health from your selection. Practitioners working with the aura may claim to 'see' which colour your body requires.

Treatment is often in the form of colour illumination therapy, in which coloured light is shone for a precise length of time either directly onto a specific part of your body or diffused around you as you sit under a light source. In addition to colour therapy, a range of related disciplines may be called upon if appropriate: in particular, Music, Bach Flower Remedies, Aromatherapy, Hom'opathy, Herbalism, Reflexology, Astrology, Massage and Crystals.

Sessions last up to twenty minutes and are accompanied by soothing music. This is then followed by a discussion of supplementary techniques which the patient can practise at home, such as colour breathing or meditation or visualisation. Patients are encouraged to enter into the effort of therapy treatment by learning to desire recovery at every level and by allowing the healing energies to work by becoming quite relaxed during treatment. Colour Stage Reports and distant healing are sometimes possible for patients who have special needs.

Costs
Costs start at '25 for 45 minutes. Initial consultations cost from '45.

Self-help
A practitioner may recommend supplementary techniques which the patient can practise at home including colour breathing, which therapists claim is excellent for stress relief and insomnia, visualisation and meditation. You may also be advised to include specific colours in your clothing, environment and food and to drink water that has been 'solarised' by absorbing sunlight through stained glass of a particular colour.

How to find a practitioner
Colour therapy is unregulated and anyone can set up as a colour therapists. The umbrella organisation is the International Association of Colour Therapy, founded by Theo Gimbel. Gimbel is also head of the Hygeia College of Colour Therapy, the main college in the UK which trains people in colour therapy. Practitioners can join the Hygeia Register of Colour Practitioners after a year's part-time course of academic and clinical work. After working for two years, a colour therapist can apply for membership of the Institute for Complementary Medicine and inclusion in the British Register of Complementary Practitioners.

Precautions
Practitioners are not clinically trained and may not be able to spot underlying disease. It is important to see a doctor before seeing a colour therapist. People suffering from high blood pressure, epilepsy, heart disease and asthma should not be subjected to red light.