The experience of therapeutic touch for novice recipients

Experiences of healing therapy in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

The use and value of different complementary therapies requires investigation. In particular, qualitative research is required to understand the perceptions and experiences of patients who undergo healing therapy as one type of complementary therapy. The aim of this research is to consider patients perceptions and experiences following a course of healing therapy.

METHODS

Twenty two patients took part in this study. This included 13 patients with irritable bowel disease (3 male, 10 female, 47.6 ± 15.0 years), 6 patients with ulcerative colitis (3 male, 3 female, 48.5 ± 25.6 years) and 3 female patients with Crohn's Disease (45.0 ± 5.2 years). Each patient undertook a single semi-structured interview following a course of healing therapy. The data was analysed using a thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Three broad themes were identified from patient interviews (1) The understanding and expectation of healing (2) Experiences and reflection on healing (3) Impact and outcome of healing. The details of each theme are explored within the text, often revealing a unique experience of healing therapy.

CONCLUSION

Patients were open towards the benefits that could be attained by healing, although most patients were not sure what healing would entail. Some patients expected to be relaxed by the sessions. However, the most consistent reports were that patients experienced a relaxing sensation that was generated within the session and lasted for a time period after the sessions. In addition to this the healing appeared to be associated with patients feeling more tolerant of their symptoms. Patients valued the therapist and their input into the healing process. It should be noted however, that this report cannot consider the efficacy of the treatment. Further details and experiences are considered within the article, including one negative experience.

Energy-based modalities

Research on touch therapies is still in the early stages of development. Studies of Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, and Reiki are quite promising; however, at this point, they can only suggest that these healing modalities have efficacy in reducing anxiety; improving muscle relaxation; aiding in stress reduction, relaxation, and sense of well-being; promoting wound healing; and reducing pain. The multidimensional aspects of healing inherent in patient care continue to be expanded and facilitated by our understanding and application of energy therapies.

Influences of a Relaxation Intervention on Perceived Stress and Power Spectral Analysis of Heart Rate Variability

This study was designed to determine whether power spectral analysis (PSA) of heart rate variability (HRV) can detect change in autonomic tone following a relaxation intervention called therapeutic touch (TT). Thirty healthy subjects underwent TT by one of three TT practitioners using the steps developed by Krieger and Kunz (The Therapeutic Touch, Prentice-Hall, 1979). Both subjects and TT practitioners were monitored by continuous electrocardiographic monitoring (Holter) before (15 minutes), during, and after (15 minutes) TT was administered. Subjects and TT practitioners completed a visual analogue scale (VAS) of perceived stress before and after TT. Change scores for VAS and PSA of high-frequency/low-frequency (HF/LF) ratios were compared for the 2-minute interval before TT began and the end of TT and the end of the recovery period, using t tests. VAS scores decreased (less stress) from before to after TT for both subjects (p < 0.0005) and TT practitioners (p < 0.0005). Mean HF/LF ratios increased significantly to reflect greater parasympathetic dominance from before TT to the end of treatment for subjects (p = 0.006), but not for TT practitioners. However, further analysis revealed that this change was due to an exaggerated HF/LF response from four outliers (p < 0.0005). Data collected in this study did not reveal differences between these four subjects and the rest of the sample. There were no significant changes in HF/LF ratios from the end of TT to end of recovery for either group. Further research is needed to determine why some subjects may have greater change in autonomic tone in response to relaxation in order to be able to predict who will demonstrate physiologic response to relaxation interventions.

The conceptual structure of physical touch in caring

AIMS OF THE STUDY

This study was conducted to clarify and to conceptualize the phenomena of physical touch in caring.

BACKGROUND

Physical touch occurs frequently in patient care situations and has specific meanings within the context of caring. However, the concept of physical touch in caring has not been well articulated in the literatures, although the phenomena of touch and physical touch have been studied in relation to comfort, sense of well-being and connectedness.

DESIGN/METHOD

The Hybrid Model of concept development was applied to develop a conceptual structure of physical touch in caring, which included a field study carried out in Seoul, South Korea using in-depth interviews with 39 adult subjects consisting of health-care professionals, in-patients, and healthy persons.

RESULTS/FINDINGS

The concept of physical touch in caring emerged as a complex phenomenon having meanings on several different dimensions which were encompassed several attributes and the conceptual structure of physical touch in caring centred around five aspects of goals for physical touch: promoting physical comfort, promoting emotional comfort, promoting mind-body comfort, performing social role, and sharing spirituality.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical touch in caring as a concept having the dimensions of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual significance needs to be treated in a holistic way and it is possible to enrich the meanings and methods of physical touch in nursing so that its application may have effects that have positive impacts on patients' well-being and comfort.

The use of DC electrodermal potential measurements and healer's felt sense to assess the energetic nature of qi

Because DC electrodermal potential measurements do not involve introducing a current into the body, it was postulated that temporal fluctuations in DC potential values on acupoints would be a useful method for assessing the subtle energetic changes of qi. DC potential measurements from acupoints and nonacupoints were therefore compared when energy healing practitioners were in an external focus state, were healing at a distance (external qi), or were self-healing (internal qi). The results show statistically significant differences between measurements obtained on and off acupoints and between external focus and healing states. Subjects' report of felt sense of the flow of qi moving in their body also correlated with DC potential readings, but only those readings taken on acupoints. The results support the hypothesis that pattern information from temporal fluctuations in DC potential electrodermal measurements reflects the movement and/or amount of a physical, electrical activity that corresponds to the traditional Eastern concept of qi circulating in the body.