What is Healing Touch
Healing Touch*** is a non-invasive therapy classified by the National Institutes of Health as a “biofield” therapy because its effects are thought to be due to manipulation of energy fields around the body. This therapy is considered a Holistic Therapy and it is frequently used as an adjunct to medical treatment. Treatments include light touch on specific points on the body as well as around the body, with the goal of restoring energy and vitality to the body, increasing well-being and supporting the body’s ability to heal. According to the theory underlying this modality, the Healing Touch practitioner uses a conscious, intentional process of directing energy through their hands to the patient either by contacting the patient’s energy field and/or touching the body. Healing Touch utilizes additional specific techniques for direction and modulation of energy. Interventions such as Healing Touch have been shown to elicit a profound relaxation response, enhance wound healing, reduce post surgical pain and use of pain medication, reduce tension headache pain and anxiety, and to enhance mood and well-being in individuals with serious illness.
Currently more than 30,000 nurses are using this treatment in health care settings to assist reduce pain and anxiety, assist with wound and fracture healing, reduce side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, normalize blood pressure, and support feelings of well-being. Certification according to a standardized, supervised program of Healing Touch training is available through Healing Touch International.
Although Healing Touch is frequently used by cancer patients along with their medical treatments, very little is understood about the effects of this treatment on the immune system. Research is not yet able to fully explain why these methods heal the body. The concept of electromagnetic fields affecting the biological systems is not new and attempts to measure electromagnetic patterns related to illness date back to the 1940’s. There is some documentation that the physiological processes of a living system such as plant growth, enzyme activation, or hemoglobin production can be positively influenced by “exchange of energy”. However, with few exceptions, technologies to measure the hypothesis of energy transfer have been largely absent.
***Healing Touch, as used here, refers to the techniques taught in Mentgen’s standardized curriculum of Healing Touch offered through Healing Touch International and endorsed by the American Holistic Nurse’s Association.