Therapeutic Touch is an alternative esoteric healing method similar to the laying on of hands. The activation of self-healing powers and harmonization of energies forms the focus. Scientifically proven is only a relaxing effect.
What is the Therapeutic Touch?
Therapeutic Touch is an alternative esoteric healing method similar to the laying on of hands. The activation of self-healing powers and harmonization of energies forms the focus. In esotericism, there is often talk about the energy field of man. Depending on the source, it is also called prana, qi or aura. According to this theory, the human energy field is in permanent contact with the energy fields of the environment. Therapeutic Touch is a healing method based on these thoughts. The term stands for healing through targeted touch. It is an alternative medical and pseudoscientific therapeutic procedure. The healing method is a variation of laying on of hands. The therapist touches the patient thereby however not in the actual sense. However, TT therapists are supposed to be able to perceive the energy field of the person and therefore use it specifically for their treatment. The alternative method was often examined in the past in scientific studies. Thereby neither a proof for the abilities of the therapists, nor for the effectiveness of the method could be produced. The lecturer Dolores Krieger and the theosophist Dora van Gelder Kunz developed Therapeutic Touch in the 1970s.
Function, effect and goals
The aura or energy field of the human being is invisible to the physical eye, but according to esotericism surrounds the body of every human being. The aura is composed of various subtle bodies that merge into each other and form a whole. The material body of a human being is considered the lowest and last body and is penetrated and influenced by the subtle bodies of the energy field. The immune system, for example, is inextricably linked to the aura. A healthy aura should thus protect against harmful influences. Damaged or impure auras, on the other hand, allow foreign and dark energies to enter and harm the body. Each subtle body has a vibration frequency, which takes place on a certain vibration level. The material body vibrates the lowest. The aura vibrates unequally higher. The subtle organs or chakras are responsible for the exchange of energies between the subtle bodies and the vibrational level. On energy meridians the energies move through the material body system. The subtle bodies of the aura are called the etheric body, emotional body and mental body. The etheric body is a morphogenetic field with imprinting patterns of the physical body. The emotional body gives the emotional patterns and the mental body consists of mental patterns. As an energetic healing method, Therapeutic Touch aims to access these subtle bodies and harmonize them with each other. The therapist’s touches and almost-touches contain an extra dimension that allows them to direct energy. Therapeutic Touch was developed from various healing practices. The original spiritual context of the teaching was taken out in order to put the method into a form that is easier to learn. Therapeutic Touch is thus intended as an aid to self-healing. The method is one of the evidence-based methods and is now used in hospitals as well as nursing homes. The application uses TT either as holistic method or sets the procedure with other care measures in combination. Some hospitals only incorporate individual elements of the method into their everyday nursing care. The focus of the method is the restoration of a healing energy pattern in the patient’s energy field. For this purpose, the method works with touch as well as non-touch techniques. Tension and stress are to be reduced by the treatment. TT wants to support the body’s own healing processes. Pain conditions the method wants to alleviate. Thus, piece by piece, a physical and mental balance is established. The healing method is judged by the health service as a complementary healing method, since it led to positive experiences in the stationary use. Accordingly, the spectrum of orthodox medicine is extended by the method. A full TT application lasts 20 minutes. The method is primarily used against stress or diseases such as burnout.However, Therapeutic Touch is also used in hospice work and end-of-life care today and is used as a form of communication.
Risks, side effects, and dangers
A full TT session is a relatively time-consuming session that includes a pre-talk, a post-talk, and a post-rest period. Thus, the 20 minutes of actual application may expand to a significantly longer time in some circumstances. Risks and dangers are not brought with the alternative welfare method in connection. TT therapists stress as side effect however that the urine can take the days after the treatment a peculiar smell. Patients usually find the gentle healing method beneficial and feel soothed throughout the day. TT in no way replaces conventional medical treatment, but can only complement it. The procedure is not scientifically founded. Nevertheless, at least a relaxing effect is proven. Since stress can worsen the condition of patients approximately each illness, TT is presumably helpful as relaxation-promoting method of the healing. However, the science of alternative application does not confirm its own healing powers. The basis for the development of the method was a work of Martha Rogers, who described the human being as an open system in constant exchange with the environment. The spread of Therapeutic Touch took place through a publication in the American Journal of Nursing. In the USA, 100,000 people learned the method. Courses in TT were even held at colleges and universities, as positive effects on the psyche of patients were observed.
