Accepting Your Power To Heal With Therapeutic Touch

The world is awakening to a compassionate responsibility for the environment and all forms of life. This re-examining of the nature of being has supported a resurgence of healers and healing and a reinstatement of their credibility. Therapeutic Touch (TT) is one of these healing techniques. TT is a non-invasive, holistic approach to healing which stimulates the receiver's own recuperative powers and is based on principles of an energy exchange between people.

It is most useful to reduce or eliminate pain, promote healing, and elicit a relaxation response. TT can be used effectively on oneself, at a distance with others or integrated into various professional practices, including meridian-based therapies. It was developed in the early 1970's by Dolores Krieger, Ph.D., R.N., then a Professor of Nursing at New York University, and her mentor, the late Dora Kunz, a well-respected 'natural' healer. Together they developed a healing form, which interacts with the human bio-field and which is easily taught and easily learned. Although both Krieger and Kunz believed that this ability to project healing is a natural human ability, TT was first conceived as an extension of professional nursing care.

There are many advantages to all of us because TT grew up within the nursing profession. Many of these nurses, when advancing to Masters and Ph.D. programs, based their thesis on TT and, luckily for us, an extensive body of patient-based research began to emerge. Today there are more than 18 Ph.D. Thesis on TT and 22 Post-Doctoral TT Research Projects. Today health professionals and laypersons alike stand firmly on it's 30 years of effective clinical practice and the solid TT research that has resulted in it's wide acceptance. TT is used and accepted because it works - not all of the time, of course, but then, neither does anything else. TT has now moved into the community at large, half of all TT practitioners are laypersons.

Knowing a reliable healing modality allows a person to express their compassion and caring in a way that lets them impact people safely and effectively. With some instruction and practice they can make a noticeable difference in pain and stress levels, bring about a relaxation response and help to re-charge immune systems in their loved ones. Grandparents, parents, young adults and 'expecting' husbands are learning this healing skill allowing them to facilitate body-mind healing in their loved ones. Practitioners say they feel especially blessed to have TT at their fingertips, so to speak, to be available within families and friends. Whether it's helping recovery from a serious operation, helping to heal a broken bone, a cut or splinter, relaxing someone before dental surgery and helping them to heal afterwards, soothing grandchildren's growing pains, helping them to settle for the night, or offering the gift of an almost instant relaxation response, knowing TT allows people to have a way to effectively offer the compassionate part of themselves to those they care about.

Parents of adolescents, especially adolescent athletes, report that although their children are often hesitant and even initially embarrassed to try this weird new healing stuff, they often come to depend on it to help with pulled muscles and scrapes, headaches, and for helping to relieve anxiety during studying and before exams. Adult athletes in the family often decide to take advantage of TT as well.

The beauty of this type of healing modality is that it is instantly available in the home, the office, on the beach, in stores or wherever it's needed because no instruments are required. Recently, while on a plane, I quieted a hysterical child, with openly expressed thanks from my fellow passengers. On my street I treated both an injured dog and the little girl crying at it's side as she waited for her mother to bring the car to take them to the vet. While visiting a high school I helped a youngster who had just been hit in the face with a soccer ball. While traveling by bus I helped a youngster who was hit on the head by a falling suitcase. With aging parents TT allows us to comfort without the need for talking. It is especially useful in hospice work, allowing volunteers and family members a positive way to utilize their compassionate feelings, giving them an effective form through which their loving feelings are organized in a positive and healing way.

Many times in my life I had wanted to reach out to help someone in need and hesitated because I was not sure how to do this without harming them. Knowing TT allows me to confidently lend that helping-healing hand to family, friends and clients. As one of my students said, "Knowing TT is never having to feel helpless"

Crystal Hawk Toronto, Canada

crystal.hawk@sympatico.ca

http://www.therapeutictouch.com

You can learn TT in the UK at the Oxford Energy Therapies Conference: