Touch Me?

The Value of Therapeutic Touch (TT)

There are many types of touches:

• A greeting (i.e. handshake, high-five, fist bump)
• A consoling light touch to let someone know you are with them
•     An affectionate hug or kiss
•     A strike of violence rooted in anger
•     A therapeutic manipulation or assessment from a healthcare professional
•     A massage to help one feel better

But consider the value of therapeutic touch.  Some may not understand the term.  TT can be differentiated from massage, consoling touches, assessment and manipulations.  TT is defined as a healing technique that does involve hands but where touching is not involved.  The direct human energy from one's hands are used in a process to help the patient heal (Therapeutic Touch, 2011).

TT basically involves four phases: 1.) Centering - the therapist clears their mind to focus on the energy levels of the patient. 2.) Assessment - the therapist runs their hands palm down a few inches from the patients body up and down searching for irregularities in the energy levels. 3.) Extinguishing - the therapist runs their hands over the patient's body several times and gets rid of the negative energy by flicking them off when at the end of the body.  4.) Transferring - the therapist then transfers their own healthy energies to the patient using a similar motion of the hands over the body (Therapeutic Touch, 2011).

 

While Therapeutic Touch is a safe procedure, many people still question if it is a real and effective method treatment.  Numerous studies have assessed it but many of these studies have been criticized for small sample sizes, lack of random sampling and poor overall design (Freeman, 2009).  One must be careful with such a treatment not to delay other forms of evidence based treatment for the condition.  This is where the problems may lie. 

I have my doubts about the effectiveness of TT at least at the level that most in the field claim.  There may be some value in the proximity of the practitioner to the patient--an intimacy factor.  But the root of TT is the manipulation of the energy field--a completely different area than intimacy.  Don't let my opinion sway you.  Do you own research. 

References

 

American Cancer Society. (2011). Therapeutic Touch. Retrieved from  
          http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/manualhealingandphysicaltouch/therapeutic  touch



Freeman, L.W. (2009) Mosby's complementary & alternative medicine: A research-based approach. (3rd ed). Mosby.