Therapeutic Touch Health Article

Definition

Therapeutic touch, or TT, is a noninvasive method of healing derived from an ancient laying-on of hands technique. In TT, the practitioner alters the patient's energy field through a transfer of energy from the hands of the practitioner to the patient.

Origins

Therapeutic touch was developed in 1972 by Dora Kunz, a psychic healer, and Dolores Krieger, PH.D., R.N, a nurse and professor of nursing at New York University. In 1971, when Krieger had been working as a registered nurse in a hospital, she became very frustrated when one of her patients, a 30-year-old female, lay dying from a gallbladder condition. In desperation, she tried what she was learning from Kunz. After one treatment, the patient's condition began to mend; and she lived, surprising the other hospital staff. Krieger and Kunz met during the study of Oskar Estebany, a world renowned healer. They had invited Estebany to form a study group for three years, observing his work with patients. In this study, Estebany practiced healing on various patients using the laying-on of hands. Using her psychic and intuitive abilities, Kunz would observe and assist in the healing, while Krieger recorded the activities of the healing session and compiled profiles of the patients.

As the study progressed, Kunz began teaching Krieger how to heal, based on her perceptions of Estebany's healing techniques. During her research of ancient healing methods, Krieger concluded that the energy transfer between the healer and the recipient that takes place in a TT session is prana, an Eastern Indian word that means energy, vitality, and vigor. Krieger then combined her research with Kunz's techniques to develop TT.

TT was initially developed for use by persons in the health professions, but is currently taught worldwide to anyone who is interested in learning the technique. As of 1998, an estimated 100,000 people around the world have been trained in TT; 43,000 of those persons are healthcare professionals, many of whom use TT in conjunction with traditional medicine, as well as osteopathic, chiropractic, naturopathic, and homeopathic therapies. TT is taught in over 100 colleges, universities, and medical schools.

Benefits

The major effects of TT are relaxation, pain reduction, accelerated healing, and alleviation of psychosomatic symptoms. Studies have shown that TT has a beneficial effect on the blood, as it has the ability to raise hemoglobin values. It also affects brain waves to induce a relaxed state. TT can induce the relaxation response often within five minutes.

Krieger has said that it is not individual illnesses that validate the effectiveness of TT, but rather the body systems that are most sensitive to TT. She and others have found that the most sensitive body system is the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which, for example,

controls urination. Next in order of sensitivity are the lymphatic and circulatory systems, and then finally the musculoskeletal system. In addition, the female endocrine system is more sensitive to TT than the corresponding male system. Thus, TT helps with dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, problems with conception, and the course of pregnancy.

TT is reported to have a positive effect on the immune system and thus accelerates the healing of wounds. Nurses use therapeutic touch in operating rooms to calm patients before surgery and in recovery rooms on postoperative patients to help speed the healing process. TT is used in the treatment of such terminally ill patients as those with cancer and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), to relieve anxiety and stress, create peace of mind, and reduce pain.

Many nurses use TT in the nursery. The conditions of many premature babies who received TT have reportedly improved rapidly. TT has been used to calm colicky infants, assist women in childbirth, and increase milk let-down in breast-feeding mothers.

Other claims made for TT include relief of acute pain, nausea, diarrhea, tension and migraine headaches, fever, and joint and tissue swelling. TT has been used to treat thyroid imbalances, ulcers, psychosomatic illnesses, premenstrual syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, stroke and coma, multiple sclerosis, measles, infections, asthma, and bone and muscle injuries.

Therapeutic touch is performed in many different locations, including healing centers, delivery rooms, hospitals, hospice settings, accident scenes, homes, and schools.