Experienced the comforting squeeze of a hand or the silence-inducing embrace? Energy healing practitioners use simple touch to clear and balance the body’s energetic fields.
Participants in this study identified three qualitative themes: sensing, reflecting, and connecting. Connecting was linked to presence as defined within SUHB24-25.
What is Healing Touch?
Healing Touch is an energy-based therapy using gentle hand techniques designed to restructure a patient’s energy field and accelerate healing of body, mind, and spirit. Used worldwide by nurses, massage therapists, doctors, palliative care teams, end of life care facilities and palliative settings alike – with some clinical studies suggesting its beneficial properties include relieving pain and anxiety; decreasing nausea, apprehension and restlessness as well as improving comfort levels and increasing quality of life.
This study of hospice participants with advanced cancer involved both massage and simple touch as therapeutic, with content analysis of tape-recorded interviews revealing three major themes: Sensing, Reflecting and Connecting; the overarching theme being Touch as Sanctuary which captures feelings of peace, security and unity through touch; this experiential dimension of touch is theoretically linked with Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings (SUHB).
Participants reported sensations including warmth, tingling, blanketed feeling of comfort, relaxation and calmness. The practice-level theory of healing through touch was created based on qualitative themes identified during participant interviews and related to SUHB concepts; Table 2 below contains quotes from these interviews along with their code numbers and theoretical interpretations.
Reflecting is the second theme, providing a deeper awareness of oneself within a larger universe. It creates the experience of not feeling isolated; connecting with others like therapists, loved ones not physically present and spiritual figures provides the sense of integral presence as part of pandimensionality awareness.
As well as these three major themes, healing through touch also includes a practice level theory based on the belief that humans are naturally healthy beings; our lifestyles and thoughts only disturb this natural energy flow and lead us toward illness. A HEALING TOUCH practitioner seeks to focus and channel energy back towards its source to restore wellness by gently moving hands several inches above client body or placing lightly upon body surface – either way creating an “energy vortex.”
How is Healing Touch done?
At the heart of Healing Touch sessions is a practitioner who places her hands gently over or near the body, using techniques such as off-body touch (touching the energy field without direct contact), hands-on healing techniques like chakra balancing or magnetic passes (slow, rhythmic hand movements over the body) or scanning their energy field to detect sensations and imbalances.
Healing Touch is founded in the belief that life energies flow through and around each individual, and any disruption of these energies may cause physical, emotional, and spiritual issues – these issues compromising one’s ability to heal and overall quality of life. Practitioners believe Healing Touch can restore equilibrium to these systems while supporting their inherent capacity for self-healing.
Healing Touch has been used to address a range of health conditions, from pain management and cancer symptoms to hormonal imbalances and anxiety and depression. It’s often combined with traditional medical therapies. There have been studies conducted on its benefits; however, due to difficulties studying biofield therapies such as Healing Touch using traditional scientific methodologies such as clinical trials, their results were often mixed.
Studies have demonstrated the positive results of Healing Touch therapy on people, including decreased pain levels, improved range of motion and an enhanced connection to spiritual self. Furthermore, researchers in this study discovered that those receiving Healing Touch reported longer lasting feelings of wellbeing compared to those who didn’t. Three narrative themes emerged in this research relating to Rogerian Science concepts related to sensing, reflecting and connecting. They are related to experiencing one’s individual nature through bodily feelings while simultaneously integrating information towards transformational perspectives as well as experiencing oneself as part of an interconnected Universe.
What are the Benefits of Healing Touch?
Healing touch is believed to balance a patient’s energy field, leading to overall healing of body, mind, and spirit. People receiving this therapy may experience side effects like pain relief, increased relaxation and decreased anxiety; some studies even suggest healing touch can lower stress levels, enhance mood changes, and boost immunity levels to reduce risks such as cancer or chronic illnesses.
A 2024 meta-analysis of 137 studies concluded that touch therapies such as massages, hugging and skin-to-skin contact significantly enhanced feelings of well-being and decreased pain levels for individuals receiving these interventions from someone they knew (e.g. being hugged by their friend) rather than from strangers or healthcare professionals. The research further indicated that its positive impacts were comparable with traditional medical treatments like medication and surgery.
Study participants undergoing massage and simple touch described their experiences and perceptions through three major themes: Sensing, Reflecting and Connecting. Sensing refers to experiencing tangible sensations when someone touches a client’s body; this term connects theoretically to the SUHB concept of sensing as wholeness.
Reflecting is the second concept studied, which involves experiencing an increase in awareness when touched, leading participants to interpret these sensations as opportunities to reflect, reconsider and renew past-present-future thoughts or insights. This concept ties back to SUHB’s concept of awareness as pandimensional; experiencing oneself as part of an energyspirit connected with other persons and places.
Connecting is defined as feeling close to another person or spiritual figure when experiencing touch therapy, tied into both the SUHB concept of connecting as well as its consideration of therapist and patient as “one”. Many patients report feelings of connection, peace, and serenity during and after sessions – this feeling being further connected with sanctuary practices by SUHB.
What are the Side Effects of Healing Touch?
Energy healing (or therapeutic touch) is an alternative medicine practice based on the belief that all living things possess an energy field around them that influences both their surroundings and those they interact with, such as environment and people. Any disruption of this energy flow is thought to lead to illness; healing touch aims to restore this natural flow; practitioners believe by gently passing their hands above a patient’s body they can make their energy field more balanced.
Healing touch sessions typically last around an hour and require patients to lie fully clothed in a peaceful and relaxing setting. A practitioner will ask clients to set an intention for the work that needs to be completed; converse with the practitioner or simply relax in silence during this time, with deep relaxation coming over their mind and bodies. In addition, different techniques or modalities may also be utilized during this session by their practitioner.
Some of these techniques include the centering phase, wherein a practitioner uses their hands several inches above a person’s body in a rhythmic and symmetrical fashion to center them; intervention phase includes moving their hands to specific parts of the body which require balancing or restructuring; evaluation/closure phase is when practitioner intuitively decides when their client’s energy has been balanced enough and that it is time to end session;
Healing touch practitioners utilize this modality in various settings such as hospitals, long term care facilities, private practices and oncology clinics. It has proven useful alongside conventional medical treatments like chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, helping improve tolerance for chemotherapy treatments while alleviating pain, nausea and anxiety/stress/depression symptoms.
Research continues on Energy Touch therapy and evidence is steadily building that it works. Numerous studies have demonstrated its efficacy for aiding healing processes, inducing relaxation, relieving pain, supporting cancer care, decreasing anxiety and depression levels, as well as deepening spiritual connections. It’s important to note that your practitioner will never encourage you to forgoing conventional medical care altogether.
