– Research
– Books on Therapeutic Touch
Research
Research studies have found that Therapeutic Touch®
• reduces anxiety,
• regulates and supports the immune function,
• alters the perception of pain and
• encourages general healing.
Dolores Krieger, PhD, RN, who, along with Dora Kunz, developed Therapeutic Touch did the earliest research in the modality. “Therapeutic Touch: The Imprimatur of Nursing” was published in 1975 in The American Journal of Nursing 75.5 (1975):784-787.
The research examined the effect of Therapeutic Touch on hemoglobin levels. A group of registered nurses were trained to offer Therapeutic Touch to patients as part of general nursing care. The control group received the nursing care without Therapeutic Touch. The hemoglobin levels of patients who received Therapeutic Touch changed.
Since then, a large body of research on outcomes of Therapeutic Touch has been accumulated. The Research Links page on this site offers a bibliography of the most recent Therapeutic Touch research with links leading either to the article itself, or, more often, to the abstract. From the abstracts, there are links to the instructions for purchasing the full-text article.
An Annotated Bibliography Published Therapeutic Touch™ Research 1975 to July, 2004, commissioned by The Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario, includes forty-five studies. It was compiled by Theresa Moore RN, MScN and is available from the Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario (TTNO). Two meta-analyses of Therapeutic Touch, one conducted by P. Winsted Fry and J. Kijek, and the other by R. M. Peters, both published in 1999, are included in the Annotated Bibliography. These meta-analyses find that, in general, Therapeutic Touch has a medium effect on various conditions and illnesses when comparing those receiving Therapeutic Touch to those not receiving Therapeutic Touch, i.e. the control group.
Books on Therapeutic Touch
The following is a list of books specifically on Therapeutic Touch.
Thank you for your comments and suggestions.
| Arrington | Reflections on the Art of Therapeutic Touch |
| Borelli & Heidt | Therapeutic Touch: A Book of Readings |
| Challoner, H. K. | The Path of Healing: Finding Your Soul’s Potential |
| Cowens, Deborah | A Gift for Healing: How You Can Use Therapeutic Touch |
| Gelder and Chesley | A Most Unusual Life: Dora Kunz |
| Hallett | A Far Reaching Thing – Tales of Healing with Therapeutic Touch |
| Hawk, Crystal and Cooke, Alison | Be Your own Healer: Self care with Therapeutic Touch® |
| Kraft, Dean | A Touch of Hope |
| Krieger, Dolores | Guide du magnétisme |
| Krieger, Dolores | Therapeutic Touch Inner Workbook |
| Krieger, Dolores | Therapeutic Touch as Transpersonal Healing |
| Krieger, Dolores | Accepting Your Power to Heal: The Personal Practice of Therapeutic Touch |
| Krieger, Dolores | The Therapeutic Touch: How to Use Your Hands to Help or to Heal |
| Krieger, Dolores | Living the Therapeutic Touch: Healing As a Lifestyle |
| Krieger, Dolores | Guide Toucher Thérapeutique |
| Krieger, Dolores | Foundations for Holistic Health Nursing Practices: The Renaissance Nurse |
| Krieger, Dolores | A Healer’s Journey to Intuitive Knowing: The Heart of Therapeutic Touch |
| Kunz, Dora | The Spiritual Dimension of Therapeutic Touch |
| Kunz, Dora | Spiritual Healing |
| Kunz, Dora van Gelder | The Personal Aura |
| Kunz, Dora van Gelder | The Real World of Fairies: A First-Person Account |
| Kunz, Dora van Gelder | Spiritual Aspects of the Healing Arts |
| LaFortune, Gail | Heal to be Free: Therapeutic Touch Healing Stories |
| Macrae, Janet | Therapeutic Touch: A Practical Guide |
| May, Diane | The Therapeutic Touch Handbook: Level One-Basic |
| May, Diane | The Therapeutic Touch Handbook: Level Two-Three |
| May, Diane | The Therapeutic Touch Handbook: Advanced Practice |
| Rossiter-Thornton | Therapeutic Touch(TM): An Introduction for Beginners |
| Sayre-Adams, Jean | Therapeutic Touch |
| Scheiber, Bela | Therapeutic Touch |
| Wager, Susan | Doctors Guide To Therapeutic Touch |
| West, Andrée | Le Toucher Thérapeutique |
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