Therapeutic Touch

Therapeutic Touch (TT) was specifically designed for healthcare settings, making it one of the most widely practiced and researched forms of energy healing in medical contexts. The practitioner centers themselves, assesses the patient's energy field by slowly moving their hands 2-6 inches above the body, detects areas of imbalance (often felt as temperature differences, tingling, or pressure), and rebalances the field through specific hand techniques. The process follows four phases: centering (the practitioner achieves a calm, focused, compassionate state), assessment (scanning the energy field for disturbances), intervention (clearing congestion and directing energy to depleted areas), and evaluation (reassessing the field to confirm improvement). Over 100 research studies have examined TT's effects. Consistent findings include: reduced anxiety, decreased pain, accelerated wound healing, reduced need for pain medication, and improved physiological indicators such as hemoglobin levels and immune markers. TT is practiced in hospitals across North America and is taught in numerous nursing programs.

Therapeutic Touch was developed in 1972 by Dolores Krieger, RN, PhD (1921–2018), professor of nursing at New York University, in collaboration with Dora Kunz (1904–1999), president of the Theosophical Society in America and a self-described natural clairvoyant. Krieger's *The Therapeutic Touch: How to Use Your Hands to Help or to Heal* (1979) is the foundational text; the technique was introduced into NYU's nursing curriculum and from there into other US nursing programmes. The Nurse Healers-Professional Associates International (now the Therapeutic Touch International Association, founded 1977) is the main professional body. The most-cited skeptical test is Emily Rosa's 1996 controlled study, conducted at age 9 and published in *JAMA* in 1998 (Rosa, Rosa, Sarner & Barrett), which tested 21 experienced TT practitioners on their ability to detect a human energy field through a screen — practitioners scored 44%, no different from chance (50%). This study led to widespread questioning of the modality's central premise in academic medicine, though TT continues to be practised in hospice and oncology supportive-care contexts. Cochrane reviews (O'Mathuna 2016) found low-quality evidence for limited benefit beyond placebo.

If you're a healthcare professional considering training, the Therapeutic Touch International Association (TTIA) maintains an accredited course list and qualification standards. Read both the foundational text (Dolores Krieger's *The Therapeutic Touch*, 1979) and the major skeptical study (Rosa et al., *JAMA*, 1998) before committing to the modality — knowing the critique is essential for honest clinical practice. The technique is appropriate as a relaxation-focused complementary intervention, not as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment of serious conditions; this is also the official TTIA position. For non-professional personal use, the basic centering and grounding exercises in Krieger's book are usable on their own and overlap with general mindfulness practice.