Evaluation of healing by gentle touch

Area of Science:

• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Integrative Health
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Healing by gentle touch is a complementary therapy offered at The Centre for Complementary Care (CCC).
• Client outcomes for this therapy have not been systematically evaluated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of healing by gentle touch.
• To assess improvements in physical and psychological functioning.

Main Methods:

• A 6-year evaluation of data collected via questionnaires from 300 clients.
• Clients received four treatment sessions within 6 weeks.
• Outcomes measured included physical (pain, disability, sleep) and psychological (stress, anxiety, coping) functioning using visual analogue scales and the EuroQoL (EQ-5D).

Main Results:

• Statistically significant improvements were observed in both psychological and physical functioning (P < 0.0004).
• Key improvements included stress reduction, pain relief, enhanced coping abilities, and increased general health ratings.
• The most significant benefits were noted in clients with the most severe symptoms at baseline.
• No adverse effects were documented during the study.

Conclusions:

• Healing by gentle touch at the CCC is associated with improved psychological and physical functioning in most clients.
• The findings support the hypothesis that gentle touch healing is an effective complementary therapy.
• Further evaluation of this therapeutic approach is warranted.