The Pave Project Report - Queen's University Belfast

72
The PAVE Project Report
Philosophy based services offered by the groups in this study included
complementary therapies, which were particularly popular among their members and
in high demand, but relied heavily on funding cycles.
Complementary therapies
Eighteen groups offered a range of complementary therapy services, including
reflexology (n=18), massage (n=13), aromatherapy (n=12), reiki (n=10), art therapy
(n=8), music therapy (n=5), drama therapy (n=4), Indian head massage (n=3), yoga
(n=3), and acupuncture (n=2). Other therapies offered were the Bowen technique and
homeopathy. The number of complementary therapy service users per group ranged
from 7 to more than 100, and the number of trained therapists ranged from 1 to 19.
Therapists were usually brought in rather than in permanent employ of the groups.
The number of sessions offered varied greatly among the groups, and in the vast
majority of cases, as stated above, this depended on the funding cycle.
Many interviewees were particularly fond of complementary therapies, although not
everybody enjoyed the same ones, and many lamented the fact of not being able to
have them for longer periods of time due to funding restraints: