The purpose of this research is to explore the potential for providing therapeutic benefits to patients afflicted with psychological disorders through therapeutic massage and therapeutic touch. Therapeutic massage is an adjunct of touch therapy, or therapeutic touch. Therapeutic touch uses gentle sweeps of the hands and arms just above the skin to promote healing, particularly after surgery. Therapists believe that the technique can help the patient direct his or her own energy towards healing. Although no scientific studies support that claim, many patients report that the slow sweeps of the hands and arms just above their bodies produce relaxation, reduce anxiety and promote healing. Practitioners of Japanese shiatsu massage claim to heal in the spiritual dimension.
Theoretical Basis for Therapeutic Massage and Therapeutic Touch
The practice of therapeutic touch, developed by Kunz and Krieger, was first described by Krieger (1973) and was described in more contemporary terms by Macrae (1988). Therapeutic touch is derived from the ancient practice of the laying on of hands; however, therapeutic touch differs from the laying on of hands in that it is not done within a religious context and does not require professed religious faith or belief by the practitioner or patient. Another major difference between therapeutic touch and therapeutic massage and the laying on of hands is that therapeutic touch does not require direct skin-to-skin physical contact between the practitioner and the patient.
Therapeutic touch and therapeutic massage are non-invasive modalities in which the practitioner's hands are used to repattern accumulated areas of tension in the human energy field with the intent of helping the patient. More specifically, the process of therapeutic touch consists of the practitioner assuming a meditative state of awareness by shifting focus from the external environment to an inner focus and caring for the patien...