Therapeutic Touch by Erin Radoja, TT practitioner Therapeutic Touch is a healing technique, which was developed, by Dolores Krieger and Dora Kunz in 1971. Dolores Krieger, a registered nurse at a hospital in the U.S., became frustrated while observing patients who would not respond to conventional medicine. She felt in her heart that there must be some other way to help these people. A friend of hers, Dora Kunz, was a clairvoyant healer and taught her a method of using her hands to heal. This ancient method of "laying on of hands" has been used by compassionate people throughout the ages. Dolores Krieger took this age old technique and adapted and refined it for use in a modern day hospital environment. She called it, Therapeutic Touch. There have been miraculous results from Therapeutic Touch. As Dolores Krieger discovered in the hospital, some people who do not respond to conventional medical treatment will respond to Therapeutic Touch. Sometimes a client will feel no results at the time of treatment but the following day will be pain free. According to the Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario, research has demonstrated that Therapeutic Touch speeds physical healing. Studies have shown skin wounds heal faster when treated versus non-treated wounds. Dolores Krieger herself conducted an experiment in which she measured patients' hemoglobin levels before and after treatment. Her tests revealed a significant increase in the hemoglobin levels of treated patients. The Therapeutic Touch Network defines Therapeutic Touch as a non-invasive, holistic approach to healing, based on an energy connection between people. It can be learned quite easily by most people and can be practiced at home or in any environment. It utilizes the energy field of the body to reach and touch all levels of experience (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual). A growing body of research attests to its effectiveness in reducing pain and psycho/physical tension as it stimulates the client's own recuperative powers. Therapeutic Touch can be thought of as a re-balancing of a person's energy field. This energy field extends outside of our bodies. The edge of this field can be felt at approximately two inches from the body. Before the practitioner can feel or experience this energy field, they must take a few minutes to center themselves. Centering is simply finding that peaceful, calm state that one accesses during meditation. Some practitioners get to this state using prayer, mantras, images, deep breathing, etc. Therapeutic Touch is not associated with any religion and a person does not need to be religious to practice it. Once a practitioner is centered, they assess their client by first finding the edge of their field and then feeling it by holding their hands over the body and moving them from the head down to the feet, front and back. As the hands move across the energy field, subtle differences in the way the energy feels on each side of the body are noted. An experienced practitioner can pick up energy imbalances quite quickly and easily. Sometimes it feels like a bubble of energy pushing up against the hands, other times it feels like a void of energy that pulls your hands in. Other sensations include tingling in the fingers and hands, feelings of hot or cold as well as movement of energy. After a practitioner gets a sense of where there might be an imbalance, they can then begin to smooth out the field, much like smoothing out a bedspread or combing out tangled hair. The practitioner attempts to ease out blocks by moving the energy down and out of the body. Visualizations such as a waterfall pouring down through a person's head and out their feet can assist the client to help with the movement of energy. The energy is coaxed down into the legs and then the feet and then the practitioner will actually touch the tops of the client's feet in order to ground the blocked energy and allow it to move out of the client. When there is a specific place on the body where there is pain or discomfort, the practitioner can modulate the area by pausing in that place and visualizing energy movement as well as working the energy with the hands. Visualizations of color and images are very effective during the process. Sometimes the practitioner gets impulses to pull energy out or send energy in and must pay attention to their first impressions. While all of this energy is being moved around, neither person becomes depleted of energy because while centered, a person has unlimited universal energy available to use. The key is to remain centered at all times. The practitioner is much like an extension cord. They plug one side into the client and the other side into the Source. Clients will often feel the energy movement taking place in their bodies. The immediate and most basic response one gets from a Therapeutic Touch treatment is complete relaxation. As the person relaxes, it becomes easier to work in their field and assist them in balancing their energy. Very often, more than one treatment is required. If someone has held on to tension which has caused them pain for many years, the energy block can sometimes be stubborn and difficult to loosen. On the other hand, sometimes people respond instantly, the second the practitioner holds their hands up. The very act of assessing the body results in a dramatic energy exchange and before anyone can blink, the healing has already occurred. People who practice Therapeutic Touch (also known as T.T.) not only feel the rewards of helping others, but gain great personal and spiritual growth. T.T. practice often makes a person become more sensitive and aware of the subtle energies that exist around us. They often become psychic or begin to see auras around people, plants and animals. At this point, one begins to feel a real connection to nature and the Universal Source. It gives one an understanding of how we are all made of the same basic stuff and we are all connected to the same energy flow. This understanding helps to peel away exterior facades people have and see through into their essence and once that is achieved, a fellow soul is recognized. Information of many kinds is available to all of us through this collective energy flow. Some experienced practitioners often pick up health issues of a person long before a doctor will spot a problem. Practitioners also operate on intuition. They learn to trust that very first impression they receive from an area of the body because their suspicions are almost always validated, if not that day, then another. When we learn to really trust and be aware of our intuition, we can use it every day. That is why T.T. becomes a lifestyle rather than just a technique. It is based on the concepts of intent and compassion. If you compassionately intend to help and heal, you can do no harm and will likely get good results. According to the Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario, there are no documented cases of TT causing harm to anyone since it has been monitored in 1971. At the very least, T.T. allows a person to relax and rest in a peaceful state. The philosophy of T.T. practitioners is to try not to attach themselves to the outcome. Some people can be healed, others cannot. Practitioners do not presume to understand all the mysteries nature holds. T.T. can make a difference not only to physical health but also emotional and spiritual health as well. Often, during a treatment, people are compelled to burst into tears and release pent up stress and tension. Others feel more in tune with the Universe and can see their own personal goals more clearly after a treatment. When administering T.T., a practitioner begins with the understanding that all of us are already healthy and whole, they are only there to assist them to re-organize or re-balance their energy. There is no doubt that this gentle and yet powerful healing technique will become better respected and developed over time.